New media introduce Christian music to new markets

Posted: 5/26/06

New media introduce
Christian music to new markets

By Beau Black

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Not long ago, illegal downloads flattened CD sales and sent the music industry into a panic. But that seems forgotten now, or nearly so, as Christian labels and artists and their mainstream counterparts are looking to technology to revolutionize how they reach listeners.

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

Protect religious liberty, Pinson urges grads

Posted: 5/26/06

Protect religious liberty, Pinson urges grads

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO—Young ministers bear the responsibility for protecting the precious gift of religious liberty from some in the rising generation who would trade freedom for conformity, Bill Pinson told graduates of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary.

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

Contested presidential race highlights differences in SBC

Posted: 5/26/06

Contested presidential race
highlights differences in SBC

TAYLORS, S.C. (ABP)—Ronnie Floyd, pastor of the largest Southern Baptist church in Arkansas, and Frank Page, a South Carolina pastor with a record of strong financial support of the denomination’s budget, each will be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention president at the June 13-14 annual convention.

Floyd is the favorite of the SBC’s established leadership, which has controlled the presidency 27 years. Page was recruited by a group of Southern Baptist young conservatives who say the convention’s establishment is excluding too many people.

The group also criticized Floyd for his church’s weak support of the Cooperative Program, the SBC’s central budget that supports the denomination’s ministries and agencies.

Ronnie Floyd	Frank Page

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

Protect religious liberty, Pinson urges grads

Posted: 5/26/06

Texas Tidbits

Leeper appointed Baylor chief of staff. Baylor University President John Lilley has appointed Karla Leeper chief of staff, effective June 1. Leeper, associate professor and acting chair of the department of communication studies at Baylor, will succeed interim chief Michael Morrison, who returns to teaching duties at Baylor Law School. Leeper is a graduate of the Univer-sity of Iowa. She earned a master’s degree and a doctoral degree from the University of Kansas.

Levrets receive missions award. Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology named Fred and Marylou Levrets recipients of the 2006 Jesse C. Fletcher Award for distinguished service in missions. The Levrets—both former Hardin-Simmons students—served 29 years in Africa as missionaries with the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board.

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

TOGETHER: Intercede for missions opportunities

Posted: 5/26/06

TOGETHER:
Intercede for missions opportunities

Lately, I have been reminded again of the worldwide scope of Texas Baptist work as I traveled to Vietnam with three of the strongest and most courageous leaders I know. They all are Texas Baptist pastors.

In addition to leading their congregations, Hue Nguyen is president of the Vietnamese Baptist National Fellowship, John Nguyen is president of the Vietnamese Baptist Fellowship of Texas and Daniel Tran has led in the translation of the Bible into Vietnamese and leads three theological training schools for Vietnamese pastors in Dallas, Houston and on the West Coast. At their invitation, I went with them to Hanoi, Vietnam.

Last year, these pastors asked the Baptist World Alliance to send a delegation to their homeland to intercede on behalf of the Baptists there and express their desire for full recognition and normalization of relationships with the government of their country. It was touch-and-go as to whether we would get the audience, but with the help of President Jimmy Carter, we were graciously received both by the office of religious affairs and by the leader of the Fatherland Front of Vietnam.

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

SBC annual meeting attendance expected to jump this year

Posted: 5/26/06

SBC annual meeting attendance
expected to jump this year

By Tony Cartledge, N.C. Biblical Recorder

& Greg Warner, Associated Baptist Press

GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — After a decade of steady decline, attendance at the Southern Baptist Convention is expected to jump this year, amid ripples of unrest with the current leadership and the first openly contested presidential election since 1994.

Several estimates suggest at least 10,000 Southern Baptist messengers are charting a course for Greensboro, N.C., where the SBC annual meeting will be held June 13-14. But if interest continues to grow in the final weeks, there could be several thousand more.

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

CBF aids flood victims in Serbia, Zambia

Posted: 5/26/06

CBF aids flood victims in Serbia, Zambia

By Carla Wynn

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

ATLANTA (ABP)—The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has given $10,000 in flood-relief assistance to disaster areas in Serbia and Zambia.

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

Cybercolumn By John Duncan: Sweet, sweet pie

Posted: 5/26/06

CYBER COLUMN:
Sweet, sweet pie

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, thinking of pie and crust, of sweetness and hardship, of happiness and sadness. On numerous occasions over the years in this column, I have written about Ruth Stewart. She played the organ for our church many years ago. She passed away not long ago. I dedicate this column to her daughter, Kathleen Stewart.

Ruth died two days after her 96th birthday, having been born on April 26, 1910. She was born to J.L and Cora Crane. J.L. was a Baptist preacher and carpenter.

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

On the Move

Posted: 5/26/06

On the Move

• Ken Bangs to River Christian Fellowship in Texarkana as pastor.

• Larry Barnett to First Church in Refugio as supply music director.

• Jeff Bishop to CrossTrails Church in Commerce as pastor.

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

RIGHT or WRONG?: Is the ‘Social Gospel’ secularism?

Posted: 5/26/06

RIGHT or WRONG?
Is the 'Social Gospel' secularism?

I’ve heard this statement, “The gospel is both personal and social.” I get the personal part, but doesn’t the “social” angle launch us into a secular, liberal, more humanistic direction? How should I understand this idea of both personal and social application of the gospel?

05/26/2006 - By John Rutledge

Family Bible Series for May 28: Mary’s life demonstrates unwavering focus

Posted: 5/17/06

Family Bible Series for May 28

Mary’s life demonstrates unwavering focus

• Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-8

By Greg Ammons

05/25/2006 - By John Rutledge

Explore the Bible Series for May 28: Micah describes the deliverer of Jerusalem

Posted: 5/23/06

Explore the Bible Series for May 28

Micah describes the deliverer of Jerusalem

• Micah 1:1-7:20

By James Adair

Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio

Imagine you live in a place and time where you and your neighbors struggle to make ends meet day after day, year after year. Your political leaders over the past several years have varied from bad to worse. It is certain they have been more concerned with their own well-being than with that of their subjects.

05/25/2006 - By John Rutledge