Baptist Briefs_50205

Posted: 4/29/05

Baptist Briefs

BWA nominates evangelism and education director. The Baptist World Alliance has invited Fausto Aguiar de Vasconcelos, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to be director of evangelism and education/study and research through 2010. If approved by the BWA general council during the Centenary Baptist World Congress, July 26-31, in Birmingham, England, he will succeed Tony Cupit of Australia, who retires in July. Vasconcelos is chairman of the BWA executive committee on evangelism and education and president of the Brazilian Baptist Convention, a position he has held eight times. He also served a four-year term as president of the Union of Baptists in Latin America, comprised of Baptist conventions and organizations in 18 countries. He is a graduate of South Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary in Rio de Janeiro and earned master of divinity and doctor of philosophy degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Correction. A story in the April 18 issue, "Former Muslim elected dean of seminary's college," incorrectly stated Ergun Caner recently was elected dean of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He was elected the dean of the university's Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

Missouri lawsuit on hold. A second lawsuit involving the Missouri Baptist Convention and five affiliated institutions has been put on hold pending the outcome of an appeal in an earlier, similar lawsuit. At a hearing last month, a circuit judge decided to defer action on a lawsuit the Missouri Baptist Convention filed against Word & Way newspaper, Windermere Baptist Conference Center, the Missouri Baptist Foundation, Missouri Baptist University and the Baptist Home last October. However, the judge agreed to proceed with the institutions' motion to consider who has standing–or the legal right–to bring legal action on behalf of the convention. The Missouri Baptist Convention and five individuals filed the second lawsuit, even though another judge ruled in March 2004 that the convention's Executive Board and six affiliated churches did not have standing to file the original suit.

Samford president to retire. Samford University President Tom Corts, who has led Alabama's largest private university 22 years, will retire in May 2006 or earlier if a presidential search committee identifies his successor. Corts announced his retirement plans to a joint meeting of the board of trustees and Samford board of overseers and immediately afterward to a gathering of students, faculty and staff. Corts became Samford's 17th president after nine years as president of Wingate College in North Carolina. He is the longest-tenured senior college president in Alabama and among member institutions of the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools. Highlights of his Samford years include growth in the endowment from $8 million in 1983 to $258 million today, construction of more than 30 buildings and increases in enrollment. Former Alabama Gov. Albert Brewer and Samford trustee Hobart Grooms will serve as co-chairs of a presidential search committee. If a new president is chosen before May 2006, Corts told the board, he is willing to step aside to allow his successor to begin service.

Texan hired as Baptist Joint Committee attorney. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has hired Stephen Reeves, a Texas native who previously worked in Austin as a legislative and legal intern for the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, as staff attorney. Reeves served last fall as a legal intern for the Washington-based agency, which advocates for religious freedom and church-state separation. Reeves is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University Law School in Lubbock. The Baptist Joint Committee also hired Emily Simmons as associate director of communications. A North Carolina native, she is a graduate of Wake Forest University and has worked in communications, event planning and website development for several non-profit organizations. Simmons interned for BJC during her undergraduate years. Both Reeves and Simmons attend First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.