Evangelistic skateboard video finds unlikely host_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Evangelistic skateboard video finds unlikely host

By Shelby Oppel

Religion News Service

PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS)–Stephen Baldwin stood under the east end of the Burnside Bridge, wearing an “Army of the Lord” T-shirt with camouflage pants and directing a Christian-themed DVD of skateboarders and BMX riders.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Did bishop slander by citing ‘spirit of Satan’?_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Did bishop slander by citing 'spirit of Satan'?

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–An Iowa judge will decide if the phrase “spirit of Satan” is basis for a slander suit after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in a dispute at a rural Iowa church.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Spiritual sleuth studies violent religions to fight crime_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Spiritual sleuth studies violent religions to fight crime

By Sharon Schlegel

Religion News Service

TRENTON, N.J. (RNS)–Police were puzzled by the crime. A corpse had been disinterred in the cemetery, mutilated and left near a mausoleum covered with graffiti.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Small church grows strong leaders_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Small church grows strong leaders

By George Henson

Staff Writer

KYLE–If it is true that leaders are born, not made, then the soil around Kyle is good for something other than cotton.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

BGCT: Smaller Texas churches can grow_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

BGCT: Smaller Texas churches can grow

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Four of ten churches affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas have fewer than 100 resident members, according to convention statistics.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Southern Seminary to close day-care center_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Southern Seminary to close day-care center

By David Winfrey

Kentucky Western Recorder

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP)–Citing a need for classroom space, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary officials have announced plans to close the school's Child Development Center.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Texas Tidbits_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Texas Tidbits

Baylor names master teachers. Two Baylor University professors–one living and one dead–have been named master teachers by President Robert Sloan. The master teacher designation is the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty members. Sloan bestowed the title on Ray Wilson II, professor of biology, and the late Helen Ligon, emeritus professor of information systems. These are the first master teacher designations granted during Sloan's nine-year presidency.

TOGETHER: Advance the kingdom of heaven_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

TOGETHER:
Advance the kingdom of heaven

Clearly the theme of the kingdom of God was central to Jesus' gospel message: “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news'” (Mark 1:14-15).

Perhaps you have heard your pastor say, “We must be about kingdom business,” as you were urged on to a vision that was not centered on just what was good for your local church.

Can we be concrete about what the kingdom of God is? Note what any kingdom anywhere is. A kingdom is a territory that is under the rule of a king. The kingdom operates where the king's rule is respected, his name is honored, his laws obeyed and his taxes paid. The lines on a map may say that an area of land is in the kingdom, but if in that province no one takes the word of the king seriously, then it is part of the kingdom in name, but not in reality.

CHARLES WADE Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Prof says BF&M needed for Trinity view_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Prof says BF&M needed for Trinity view

FORT WORTH (BP)–One word can make all the difference between voicing an incorrect view of God and confessing the God of the Bible, said Malcolm Yarnell, assistant dean of theological studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

That is precisely why changes to the Baptist Faith & Message, the Southern Baptist Convention's statement of beliefs, were necessary, Yarnell said in chapel Oct. 30.

“For a time in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I wondered whether a number of evangelicals were actually trinitarian,” he said. “The Trinity was notably absent from many evangelical pulpits for much of the 20th century … even among Baptists. The 1963 Baptist Faith & Message could easily have been affirmed by modalists.”

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Court ruling on ‘under God’ will matter either way_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Court ruling on 'under God' will matter either way

By Kristen Campbell

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–The Supreme Court's decision to consider whether the 1954 addition of the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional has religious leaders weighing the possible impact of a court ruling on religious liberty.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Virginians may withhold from Averett_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Virginians may withhold from Averett

By Robert Dilday

Virginia Religious Herald

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP)–Virginia Baptists will be asked to withhold about $350,000 they planned to contribute to Averett University next year until a dispute over homosexuality and biblical interpretation can be resolved.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge

Wayland students back on the air with news show_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Wayland students back on the air with news show

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW–It's 3 p.m. on Thursday, and Paul Finley is giving the springs in an outdated office chair a workout with his nervous energy.

11/07/2003 - By John Rutledge