Baptist Briefs

Posted: 1/19/07

N.C. editor to join Campbell Divinity faculty. Tony Cartledge, editor of the Biblical Recorder, newsjournal of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, will join the faculty of Campbell University Divinity School. Cartledge will assume his new duties as associate professor of Old Testament Aug. 15. Cartledge earned degrees from the University of Georgia, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Duke University. Prior to joining the staff of the Biblical Recorder, Cartledge served 26 years as pastor of churches in Georgia and North Carolina. Cartledge and his wife, Jan, are the parents of three children—Russ, Bethany (who died in 1994 at the age of 7) and Samuel.

Southern Seminary president released from hospital. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler was discharged Jan. 10 from Louisville’s Baptist Hospital East following a two-week hospitalization that included extensive abdominal surgery and a four-day stay in the intensive care unit due to blood clots in the lungs. He was admitted to the hospital Dec. 27 complaining of intense abdominal pain and underwent surgery the following day. While physicians reported the procedure went well and Mohler’s abdominal issues were remedied, the development of blood clots led doctors to move Mohler to intensive care.

German Baptist theologian Popkes dies. Wiard Popkes, retired professor at the Baptist Seminary of Hamburg and long-time trustee chairman of the International Baptist Theological Seminary, died of a heart attack Jan. 3. He was 70. Popkes helped lead the European Baptist seminary through the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to withdraw funding in 1991, when it was known as the Baptist Theological Seminary in Ruschlikon, Switzerland. As chairman of the seminary’s board, Popkes also oversaw the school’s purchase, renovation and move to Prague, Czech Republic. Popkes is survived by his wife, Irmgard, and a son.

International Baptist leader Merritt dies. John Merritt, general secretary emeritus of the International Baptist Convention, died of cancer Dec. 29. He was 76. Merritt served 34 years as a missionary with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign Mission Board. In 1972, he became the general secretary of the European Baptist Convention, an association of English-speaking congregations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It changed its name to the International Baptist Convention in 2003. Merritt retired from his position in 1996, when he was given the emeritus title. Doctors diagnosed him with lymphoma in 1997 and then with leukemia in late 2006. Merritt is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; two sons, Michael Merritt of Alexandria, Va., and James Merritt of Purvis, Miss.; a sister, Cora Davis of Hattiesburg; a brother, J.P. Merritt of Hattiesburg; and two grandchildren.

BWA, ethics center offer online curriculum for Lent. The Baptist World Alliance and the Baptist Center for Ethics have produced a free Bible study curriculum unit to help Baptists worldwide observe Lent—40 days of spiritual preparation for Easter. Funding for the curriculum is made possible in part by a gift from Jersey Village Baptist Church in Houston. The eight-week Bible study, designed for use in Sunday school, will guide adults through Lent with special emphasis on the witness and work of global Baptists. Beginning with the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, the weekly studies will challenge Baptists to reflect on God’s history of deliverance; repent from self-centered and self-sufficient living; reaffirm their dependence upon God; and recommit to walking the life of faith. Student and leader guides will be available online at www.ethicsdaily.com by Jan. 22. The first lesson is designed to use Feb. 18.

Warrens to teach PEACE to Virginia Baptists. Rick and Kay Warren, co-founders of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., will speak Feb. 2 at a Baptist General Association of Virginia conference. In addition to leading case studies and sharing “best practices,” the Warrens will teach participants how to implement the PEACE Plan in local churches. They developed the plan to help small groups address global spiritual and social problems by planting churches, equipping servant leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick and educating the next generation. Other leaders from Saddleback, including the church’s worship pastor and the director of its HIV/AIDS Initiative, also will lead sessions at the conference.

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