Anchorage Baptist Temple is here to serve all people, all ethnicities without partiality

By
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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28

A DIVERSE CHURCH AND SCHOOL RESPONDS TO CRITICISM

By RON HOFFMAN, SENIOR PASTOR

As the new senior pastor of Anchorage Baptist Temple and Anchorage Christian Schools, I am determined to make a lasting impact on the next generation’s lives.

I grew up in Seldovia. After losing my parents and many family members, I moved to Anchorage with a single mom who cared enough to send me to ACS.  God used ACS to transform my life, a teenager from a small village, by establishing my faith in Jesus Christ. Because of my experience at ACS, I have dedicated my life to offering that opportunity to others.

My story is just one of the many coming out of Anchorage Christian Schools. Over the years, our alumni have gone on to become leaders within their respective communities.

From doctors, nurses, and engineers to teachers, military officers, and firefighters, we are proud of our alumni and their accomplishments.

However, I realize that not every student has had the perfect experience at ACS. 

Recently, some former students used social media to share their experiences while enrolled at ACS. To address each concern directly, I asked anyone who shared to bring their grievances to me directly. Learning from the past gives our new administration the ability to provide an exceptional education in the future.  

I am committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that our students do not experience racism at ACS or ABT. The Bible commands us to show NO partiality because Jesus’ death and resurrection provide eternal life for all who repent. 

I am committed to providing affordable private education for students and partnering with parents who desire academic excellence in a school experience. As I see what is happening in our community, I am determined more than ever to be on the frontlines fighting for the families of Alaska and our children’s future. 

Much like our school, Anchorage Baptist Temple is a diverse community of people from all over Anchorage, Eagle River, and even the Valley. Many in our community attend weekly services through our bus ministry, the majority being children. 

With over 350 children attending a Sunday morning service, we strive to provide an exceptional experience that allows us to account for every child entering our care. Yes, we feel the weight of responsibility for those children and believe parents deserve the assurance that their child will return home safely and on time.  

As we continue to examine our children’s ministry program, discussions around building utilization and classroom expansion have been underway. Any plan must, and will, ensure that children who ride the bus have an exceptional experience and can be accounted for while in our care.

We cannot change the past, but we can change the future. We cannot turn our back on our Anchorage community; it needs us to engage the culture now more than ever.  We will not turn a blind eye to hurt and pain; we must be generous with our lives to help the next generation experience the freedoms we have experienced.

We are a diverse church and school within a multi-cultural community.  Our diversity should not divide us; it should unify us around a calling to proclaim the life-changing power of Jesus.

I want to personally invite you to join us on Sundays at 11 am for our weekend worship experience. As a church, our mission is to inspire the next generation to live like following Jesus is a BIG deal. It’s important to us that we serve and connect with our local community.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. If you would like more information about ABT, visit www.abt.church. 

28 COMMENTS

  2. Awesome! ACS is amazing! Great school and I know some alumni who have really benefitted the community we live in because of the foundation that school provided.

  3. Pastor, your concern for addressing complaints is God’s plan as well. If a complaint or compliment is legit the subjects need to come to grips with handling it scripturally as that is the first step in our growing. I’m pleased in your efforts and history at ABT to see the challenges before us; particularly when it comes to kids!

  5. Is this an advertisement for a private school from a Jeebus nutter? It sure reads like one.

    • Trouser: Why are such a hater? You have no respect or tolerance for other people’s faith or belief. Why is that?
      Is it in your DNA, or were you taught that by your parents? Are you really that selfish and absorbed by your own hate, to infringe on other’s happiness?
      Hope you get well one day and get your head and heart in order before you meet your own destiny. Cheers.

      • The sad irony is that one day Trouser Bark may need a helping hand to get his emotion and spirit back together. His friends will be gone and no one to help Trouser. But Ron and his congregation will be there to help him. Think about that.

      • Oh my gosh Judie… I’m not a hater! Sheesh. Not even close.

        I do think that anybody can believe anything they’d like but I don’t think it’s fair to have to celebrate fantasy perspectives (and I don’t mean that in a mean spirited way).

        Faith is what’s required when there’s an absolute absence of evidence but you want to believe anyway. I get it. So is WWF. People do that. It doesn’t mean you hate though if you don’t support another person’s fantasy perspective.

        As we’ve been shown before, if you pray to Jesus one month and to Joe Pesci the next they’ll both be answered at roughly the same rate. There’s something inherently wrong with that and to pay someone else real dollars to reinforce the delusion may not be your wisest investment.

        When you get right down to the root of the issue, religious beliefs are a bit like a wiener. It’s ok to have one. It’s ok to enjoy the one you have. It’s not ok to force it on someone else though and that’s what we have here. If you’re analytical to the degree that you cannot celebrate someone else’s nutty fantasy you’re labeled a hater.

        Where’s the grace in that?

        • TB………Ron is not trying to force anything on you. He’s speaking to you with open arms. You would be less confused if you went to Ron’s church one Sunday and met him face-to-face. I think you would be pleasantly delighted.

        • The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. That simply means you’ve got to put your trust in someone or “something” outside yourself and your resources. Some are willing to do it,some aren’t. Believe me when I say the reward is great for those who do.

    • Actually Trouser Park this is a church leader responding to criticism and being attacked as racist because it is
      Seen As white church. Or Possibly because their former pastor Stood firmly against ungodly behavior.
      Maybe It could even be because their students are more successful than most public school students.
      If you have ever read the constitution
      Of the US you will find “freedom of religion” early in the document.
      If you are calling Jesus Christ by a ridiculous name to be funny or
      Maybe just hateful, just know that God loved bff you, we love you and we will
      Pray that someday you will
      Know the joy we do! We would love to see you Sunday morning.
      Praise his name!

  6. One thing is certain DK…,Franklin Graham DID NOT utter those words in 2012 or any other time….you have fallen for a scam by someone trying to use Franklin Graham in a very dishonest manner using the internet to publish faults statements. you need to check things out before passing such garbage on as fact..!!!!!

  7. One thing is certain DK…,Franklin Graham DID NOT utter those words in 2012 or any other time….you have fallen for a scam by someone trying to use Franklin Graham in a very dishonest manner using the internet to publish faults statements. you need to check things out before passing such garbage on as fact..!!!!!

    • I have removed the essay while I investigate more thoroughly. Snopes says it is his essay, but I’m going directly to the source to verify. Thank you. -sd

      • Honor is not defined by the degree to which you are or are not a religious kook. He was a very wealthy man that got that way by entertaining people in their living rooms on Sunday TV.
        –
        And then reminding them that God has infinite powers but he’s really bad with money. Won’t you please find it in your heart to share of the blessings He’s shared with you?
        –
        And while you’re reaching for your purse sister, bear in mind that one thought you had last week. Thou shalt not covet! None of us here can convict you of a thought crime but God sure can and he knows what you were thinking. Can you imagine eternal damnation?
        –
        And how about everyone’s favorite sadomasochistic passage where you are commanded to love Him! God sees your love in your purse right now and He can feel all the good things your tithe will bring. I believe He’s lowering the temps in your reserved room now. Glory be.
        Now let’s turn to our Apostle Matthew in chapter 13 and verse 50 to remind ourselves of what God has in store for those that do not have love in their hearts and their purses.
        –
        Now, to say that racism is abhorrent at ABT you’d need to turn to a scripture on mud races and ponder what exactly they meant to say, and perhaps the likelihood of that writer having been one of our darker skinned brothers.
        –
        Yes, it’s ok to believe whatever you’d like. Don’t analyze anyone’s religious beliefs too closely though… and it would be a really good thing if you completely ignored science; For God gave Man dominion over every living beast (but He forgot to include dominion over microorganisms, germs, bacteria, viral scourges and the like).
        –
        There is no honor in fantastical alternative beliefs on the origin of species and a 2000 year old version of any book is unlikely to hold up to peer review.

  8. Graham did not write that essay, although it is often attributed to him. Suzanne, is this individual a regular poster here? Posting racially inflammatory messages on sites you oppose is a time honored troll trick.

  9. I have some experience with this kind of impartiality. When you welcome Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Bahais, Wiccans, Jews, atheists and all others as equals, then I might, might, believe that you are honest in your alleged impartiality for all. I remain skeptical. Very skeptical.
    What you appear to be saying is, “You are welcome as long as you believe what we tell you to believe, and if you don’t, you are condemned to hell.”
    Very welcoming. Welcome to Hell, whether you believe what we tell you or not.
    I would sincerely hope this was not the case. I await evidence to the contrary. I am not encouraged.

    • Preach it, brother. Us serpent handlers never get any respect.

      Taking the hubristic hat off for a moment though, it has to be that way. As an example, every Baptist is an atheist. Ask them if they also believe in the Mayan Howler Monkey God and the answer is of course not. How about Judaism? Noop. Catholics? Noop.

      Maybe Muslims got it right? An illiterate epileptic stone age merchant war lord that somehow went to heaven on a flying horse? Of course not; absolute nonsense.

      Somehow though whatever version of nonsense we learn from our parents is completely palatable. A snake with an apple? Oh man yeah! An original couple that had two sons each of whom apparently copulated with their own mom? Yeowzer! …but wait! Another version inserts some make believe sisters which would be uh, hold up, that can’t be right..

      The reality is that religious views are mutually exclusive and no matter how accepting any preacher claims to be; he’s not interested in hearing your version of fantasy. He’s only interested in you hearing and accepting his version of fantasy.

      That’s the way it has to work and it’s why so many have been killed in the name of religion.

      Now in an enlightened age it’s more common to hear a religious leader talk about the good their church has done. Fed more people, housed more crackheads or whatever. The reason is that the closer the conversation gets to their actual beliefs the more acceptance requires a complete disconnect from your senses..

      These are immortalized comic book heroes from 2000 years ago and the only reason they do boring stuff like pass out bread and fish from a never ending basket is because there wasn’t anyone as imaginative as Stan Lee at the time.

  10. For those who are wondering about the criticism, please see the over 200 comments on Facebook under Anna Simmers dated June 11.
    Please read the comments and see how traumatizing it would be for these students to face their oppressors. One even commented she has to take an anxiety pill if she is near the campus now.

    Please read and maybe you can understand how racist the institution and the main ones behind it are the current leadership.

  11. This seems to be a mess of empty words and promises. I don’t see one explanation of what actions will be taken to ensure future students/church attendees aren’t subjected the racism that runs deep in your institution.

  12. I’ve read quite a bit of those comments. Anybody who takes them seriously is a weakling.

    A good portion of it is just these former students practicing black ethno-narcissism and victim culture, the rest is your typical schoolyard bullying and banter, often with racial undertones. What a joke of culture we live in that we take this sort of nonsense seriously.

    My brothers got beat up in high school for daring to be White in an all-black school, their Asian friend regularly got called a ‘chigger’. My father told them to get over it and that the world doesn’t owe them a damn thing. That’s the only thing to say to these ‘criticisms’.

    • Apologies, this was in response to “ARMAS” above, concerning the facebook comments under Anna Simmers post.

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