News from the North American Scene: November 11, 1991

NCC

Orthodox Enter Dialogue

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, the largest Orthodox body in the U.S., and the National Council of Churches (NCC) have agreed to conduct a dialogue about whether the Greek Orthodox will remain in the NCC. The 1.9 million-member denomination voted last summer to suspend activities in the NCC, citing concerns over its liberal leanings (CT, Aug. 19, p. 41). Milton Efthimiou, ecumenical officer for the Greek Orthodox archdiocese, says the other nine Orthodox bodies that are members of a pan-Orthodox body for North and South America will be invited to participate in the dialogue.

OBITUARY

Duncan Brown

J. Duncan Brown, a successful Christian businessman who served on the boards of several prominent evangelical organizations, died October 6 after a stroke. He was 68.

Brown was chairman of the executive committee of the Christianity Today, Inc., board of directors and a member of the boards of directors for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Grove City College, and the Coalition for Christian Outreach. He was also the chairman of the Salvation Army National Advisory Board and a member of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.

The owner of a prosperous sash and door company in Pittsburgh, Brown was active in local Christian causes. He became a close friend of Billy and Ruth Graham when they stayed in his home during Graham’s 1968 greater Pittsburgh crusade, which Brown chaired. “He always upheld Jesus Christ and lived an exemplary Christian life,” Graham said in a written statement read at Brown’s funeral. “We all will look forward to heaven with greater anticipation because he is there.”

CHILD ABUSE

Largest Church Sued

The nation’s largest church, First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, and its fundamentalist pastor, Jack Hyles, have been charged with negligence in the alleged sexual molestation of a seven-year-old girl in one of the church’s Sunday-school classes.

The parents of the girl filed suit September 11 in the circuit court of Lake County, Indiana, seeking $500,000 to $1 million in actual and punitive damages, said the parents’ attorney, James Oates. The suit was filed following the arrest of A. V. Ballenger, 54, a deacon in the church, on charges of sexual molestation. The suit claims that another church worker saw the abuse and removed the girl from the classroom but did not alert police. Oates said that when the family approached church leaders, they made “no attempt to investigate it” or prevent its recurrence.

Hyles told CHRISTIANITY TODAY, “I have full confidence in the character of A. V. Ballenger. I do not believe the charges are true.… He is of the highest caliber of character.”

HOMOSEXUALITY

Gay Priest Renounces Church

Robert Williams, the practicing homosexual whose ordination by controversial Bishop John Spong touched off an international debate two years ago, has renounced his association with the Episcopal Church (CT, Feb. 5, 1990, p. 55).

“I have been violating the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church for some time now—particularly when I have blessed the relationships of gay and lesbian couples,” Williams told Episcopal News Service. He said that if the Episcopal Church will not permit him to bless those relationships, then “it is standing in the way of my priesthood.”

Williams, 36, was diagnosed with AIDS last November, and he was denied license by Massachusetts Bishop David Johnson to lead an AIDS healing ministry in a small Cape Cod village. Meanwhile, Spong has ordained Barry Stopfel, another practicing homosexual.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Briefly Noted

Stopped: Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, by police in Indio, California, driving with a woman who claimed to be a prostitute. A spokesman for Swaggart’s ministry initially said the minister would step down to get counseling. But several days later, Swaggart told his congregation the Lord had instructed him to keep “making television programs.”

Gathered: Nearly 200,000 people at Summer Harvest ’91, an evangelistic crusade in six California cities. More than 10,000 indicated decisions to receive Christ. Organizers say the event filled venues such as Anaheim Stadium, where Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa underwrote the budget. Pastor Greg Laurie preached to thousands of baby boomers and teenagers, who also listened to leading contemporary Christian musicians.

Selected: Rex Martin Rogers as the new president of Grand Rapids Baptist College and Seminary. Rogers previously served as vice-president of academic affairs at the King’s College, Briarcliff Manor, New York.

Correction: A report on the conference of Christians for Biblical Equality (Sept. 16, 1991, p. 51) incorrectly stated that George and Emily Walther, recipients of a CBE award, were forced by their board to leave the marriage-enrichment ministry they founded. According to Mr. Walther, the board did not force their departure. Rather, the loss of financial support because of their teaching of mutual submission prompted the Walthers to leave the Colorado Springs-based organization and relocate to central Texas. They continue their ministry, Christian Marriage Enhancement, Inc., on a personal, rather than vocational, basis.

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