Baptist Briefs

Posted: 6/23/06

Baptist Briefs

Baptist college association changes name. Members of the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools voted recently to change the name of the 51-member organization to the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities. Executive Director Bob Agee said the change reflects the association’s desire to expand its outreach to all colleges and universities that lay claim to their Baptist history and heritage. New board members elected during the meeting included Baylor University Provost Randall O’Brien and Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade.

Graham statue unveiled. Evangelist Billy Graham is larger than life for many Southern Baptists, and messengers present at the closing session of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting learned that firsthand when they witnessed the unveiling of a 7-foot-tall statue of Graham. Mounted in front of a 17-foot-tall cross, the statue of Graham will stand in downtown Nashville, Tenn., near the SBC executive offices and LifeWay Christian Resources’ corporate headquarters. At the foot of the cross are three nails and a stone inscribed with John 3:16. Pastor and sculptor Terrell O’Brien of Wyoming designed the statue, and Chris Fryer and Matt Samuelson— owners of CCL, a Christian construction management team in Atlanta—financed the project. Cliff Barrows, music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and William Franklin Graham IV, grandson of Billy Graham and son of Franklin, represented Graham at the unveiling.

BWA president speaks at seminary graduation. Baptist World Alliance President David Coffey delivered the commencement address at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague. Five students graduated with master of theology degrees, and 13 students graduated with a certificate in applied theology. Eight other students were recognized as they moved to the dissertation stage of their advanced degrees. The seminary is a partner school of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Convention sermon calls ‘fat-cats’ into action. The Southern Baptist Convention cannot afford to rest at ease as a “cushy denomination” of lazy church members, Donald Wilton told the group’s annual meeting. “We are fat-cats. Just look at us,” said Wilton, pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, S.C., who preached the annual convention sermon. “Southern Baptists, I mean to submit to you today that it’s time for us to wake up as a denomination. It’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and go to work and become the soul-winners that we claim to be. God has given us our marching orders.”

Evangelism prof named NAMB interim president. Trustees of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board have enlisted seminary evangelism professor Roy Fish to serve as the agency’s interim president. Fish serves as distinguished professor of evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where he has taught evangelism more than 41 years. Fish and his wife, Jean, have four adult children and 11 grandchildren.

President calls on SBC to do more. Outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch guaranteed Southern Baptists will meet his goal of baptizing a million people in a year. He’s just not saying what year. In his final address as convention president, Welch of Daytona Beach, Fla., urged the SBC to do “more” in evangelism , missions and stewardship—particularly in giving to the Cooperative Program unified budget. “All have agreed we ought to do more. And we should do more. And we can do more. And we will do more. For the sake of souls and the glory of God, more, more, more,” Welch said.

Crossover yields results. Southern Baptists threw muscles and prayers into Crossover—a weekend evangelistic emphasis prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting—using a biker rally, rodeo, block parties, puppet shows and even sweet potato giveaways to gain a hearing for the gospel. Early reports indicated more than 750 recorded commitments to Christ as a result, and Mark Gray, church planting director for North Carolina Baptists, predicted the goal of starting 19 churches would be met or exceeded.