primetime_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Prime time sexual content declines

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Almost every broadcast network saw a marked decrease in sexual content during the evening “family hour” between 1998 and 2002, the Parents Television Council reports.

With the exception of the WB, every broadcast network decreased its sexual content from 8 to 9 p.m. in recent years. All the networks except the WB and UPN also showed a reduction in such content during the hour from 9 to 10 p.m.

“For years, conventional wisdom in Hollywood had it that 'sex sells,' and therefore the more of it, the better,” said Brent Bozell, president of the Los Angeles-based council.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

relton_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Texas evangelist worked behind
the scenes to comfort Smart family

A Texas evangelist played a behind-the-scenes role in encouraging the family of Elizabeth Smart through prayer and fasting.

Michael Relton, an evangelist and former pastor, currently lives in Dallas, where he is a member of Prestonwood Baptist Church. He is the author of “Dear God … Prayer Book,” a collection of prayers for specific life problems.

Smart is the Salt Lake City girl who was abducted from her bedroom last June, sparking nationwide interest in the search for her.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

richardson_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Young and old harmonize on Richardson ministry

By George Henson

Staff Writer

RICHARDSON–Youth and senior adults joined hands at First Baptist Church of Richardson on a recent weekend to work in 15 area homes.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

riverpointe_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

RiverPointe names 'em and claims 'em

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

CONROE–Forget “Cheers.” At RiverPointe Baptist Church, everybody really knows everyone's name. It's written on their nametags.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

sanmarcos_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Hand-stenciled signs on a campus telephone pole honor graduating seniors at San Marcos Baptist Academy. Arman Rupani of Flower Mound (right) conducts an experiment in a science lab.

San Marcos Academy takes students full-speed ahead

By Craig Bird

Special to the Standard

SAN MARCOS–At first glance, the signs don't seem to share anything except proximity.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

scouts_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Baptists, Scouts pitch tents together 50 years

By Bob Carey

Baptist Press

RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)–Southern Baptists and the Boy Scouts of America have worked through the Association of Baptists for Scouting for almost 50 years, so it was a reunion of sorts when more than 120 Scout leaders from 12 states and various Baptist denominations met this spring at LifeWay's Ridgecrest Conference Center.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

secularists_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Gallup explores identifiers for nation's 'secularists'

PRINCETON, N.J. (RNS)–The 10 percent of Americans who claim no religion tend to be young, liberal and live on the West Coast, according to research by the Gallup Organization.

The so-called “secularists,” while “being detached from the religious process also are apparently more likely to be detached from other American institutions such as marriage and the political process,” Gallup researchers said.

While 69 percent of secularists are registered to vote, that figure is smaller than the 83 percent registered among Americans who claim a religious preference. The percentage of secularists who are unmarried and living with a partner–12 percent–is double that for religious Americans.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

south_africa_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Song played role in South Africa

NEW YORK (RNS)–Did music help end apartheid in South Africa, a nation where long ago song, spirit and faith merged into one?

Yes, argues a new documentary that chronicles the role that song–inseparable from religious faith–played in the four-decade struggle to overthrow white minority rule in South Africa.

“Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony” communicates what New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell calls music's “subversive power.”

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

steeples_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

More steeples doing double duty

NEW YORK (RNS)–About 1 percent of all cell phone towers in the United States are housed in church steeples, according to the New York Times.

Cell phone companies that have looked to expand their coverage areas often pay churches between $1,000 and $3,000 a month to rent space in church steeples, said Jim Fryer, a cell phone analyst in Landsdown, Pa.

The steeples provide the height needed to transmit signals and often receive the blessing of urban planners who do not want transmission towers cluttering the skyline.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

tbm_iraq_60103

Posted: 5/30/03

Texas Baptist Men ship 600
boxes of food donated for Iraqi people

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS–Texas Baptist Men has shipped about 600 food boxes donated by Texas churches to Iraq to help with relief efforts.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

teens_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Religious teens have stronger family ties

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (RNS) –Teens who are members of religiously involved families are likely to have stronger family relationships than teens in families that are not religiously active, a new report shows.

The findings come from a report by the National Study of Youth and Religion, a four-year research project based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“All three dimensions of family and parental religious involvement analyzed here (family religious activity, parental religious service attendance and parental prayer) tend to be associated significantly with positive family relationship characteristics,” reads the executive summary of the report.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge

tidbits_60203

Posted: 5/30/03

Texas Tidbits

DBU wins baseball title. In its first appearance in the National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship, Dallas Baptist University claimed the title May 17 with a 4-3 win over top-seeded Spring Arbor University. DBU entered the final round in Celina, Ohio, as the only undefeated team.

Noble Hurley stands with DBU President Gary Cook in front of the sign marking the name of the new apartment building.

Hurley Hall named. Dallas Baptist University has dedicated one of its new Colonial Village apartment buildings in honor of Noble Hurley and his late wife, Jane. He is a longtime supporter of the school and currently serves as a trustee. He is a member of Gaston Oaks Baptist Church in Dallas and worked 32 years as president of Noble Hurley Brick Co. He also served 20 years as chairman of Swiss Avenue Bank.

Ball receives Baylor honor. Virginia Beall Ball of Indiana received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Baylor University May 17. The 1940 Baylor graduate endowed the Beall-Russell Lecture Series and the Beall Poetry Festival, in addition to other contributions to the university.

Baylor alumni honor Olson. The Baylor University Alumni Association presented its Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award May 17 to Lyndon Olson Jr. of Waco. He is a 1969 Baylor Law School graduate and a former member of the Texas House of Representatives. Currently, he is senior adviser to Citigroup in New York City.

05/31/2003 - By John Rutledge