Baptist Briefs_82503

Posted: 8/22/03

Baptist Briefs

"Purpose Driven" still on top. "The Purpose Driven Life," written by California pastor Rick Warren, continues to top the religion best-seller list, with 4.5 million copies of the hardback book already sold. The retail price of the book is $19.99.

Northeast university students sought. The Baptist Convention of New England seeks information on Baptist students entering any of the universities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. John Ramirez, director of collegiate ministry for New England Baptists, would like to connect these students with Baptist campus ministries. Contact Ramirez at (508) 393-6013 or John.Ramirez@bcne.net.

IMB leaders call for more missionaries. Despite current economic challenges that have slowed missionary appointments, Southern Baptists need to increase their overseas missionary force by at least one-half, International Mission Board regional leaders said in an Aug. 4-8 strategy session. "This is not a time when Southern Baptists should be sending fewer missionaries," President Jerry Rankin said. "The lostness of our world is undiminished. Christ's mandate is still for us to make disciples of all peoples. And our mission of making Jesus Christ known among all peoples will not change." In addition to proclaiming the need for at least 8,500 IMB missionaries, the regional leaders agreed how the limited number of positions for new workers available in 2004 will be divided among the board's 15 regions.

Paige Patterson

Patterson projects higher enrollment. In his second week on the job as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Paige Patterson invited faculty and staff to celebrate a hoped-for turnaround in student enrollment numbers. "From now on, we are on our way to 6,000 students," Patterson said. At its height, the Fort Worth seminary enrolled 5,120 students. That was in the 1983-1984 academic year. Enrollment began a slight drop in 1987, took a greater dive in 1994 after trustees fired President Russell Dilday, regained some in the late 1990s and then dropped to 3,577 in the 2001-2002 academic year.

CBF benefits board grows. The Church Benefits Board of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship surpassed $10 million in total assets in the fiscal year just ended, increasing membership from 300 to 440 and growing from 80 participating employers to 134. The board now has assets of $11.6 million, with monthly billings of more than $2 million.

CBF appoints partner study committee. Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Moderator Cynthia Holmes has appointed a seven-member group to study the organization's partnership relationships. The Partner Funding Study Committee will be chaired by Charles Cantrell of Mountain View, Mo., and includes Matt Cook of Rosebud; Elizabeth Denham Thompson of Littleton, Colo.; Jerry Mantooth of Maryville, Tenn.; Michael Duncan of Eminence, Ky.; Carolyn Busby of Ada, Okla.; and Candace McKibben of Tallahassee, Fla.

Bush will reappoint Land. President Bush has announced he will reappoint Richard Land to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, is the only Bush appointee returned to the commission. Two new Bush appointees are Khaled Abou El Fadl, a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles and a leading authority on Islamic law, and Charles Caput, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Denver.