2007 Archives
-
-
-
-
-
-
N.C. Baptists cut WMU funding, loosen ties with colleges
Posted: 11/23/07
N.C. Baptists cut WMU
funding, loosen ties with collegesGREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP)—Messengers changed the face of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, loosening ties to its five colleges and retirement home and cutting funding to Woman’s Missionary Union.
During their annual meeting in Greensboro, messengers adopted a 2008-09 budget that includes nothing for WMU, accepted the recommendations of a study committee whose chairman said “Baptist Retirement Homes will no longer be a ministry of the convention,” and approved the first of two steps required to relinquish trustee selection of its five colleges.
Only 2,784 messengers, or delegates, attended the annual meeting, even though convention officials expected 4,500 to vote on several significant measures. It was the lowest attendance since 1985.
The final session on Wednesday morning seldom draws a crowd. In fact there were just 120 people in seats when opening music started, but by the time the budget debate began there were closer to 1,200—probably double last year’s final-session attendance. Many observers concluded they were there for the two major issues—the budget and the committee report on the retirement homes.
11/23/2007 - By John Rutledge
-
Words of Hope ministry changes outlook for people with AIDS
Posted: 11/23/07
Words of Hope counselor Enock Kategaya walks from Bible study. Along the way, he counsels a man about living a healthy life with HIV. Around 1 million Ugandans live with HIV. (IMB photos by Sue Sprenkle) Words of Hope ministry changes
outlook for people with AIDSBy Sue Sprenkle
International Mission Board
MAKOPE STATION, Uganda (BP)—Saidat Makop is sick. To look at her, a casual observer would never know. She looks as healthy as the next person. Her cheeks are rosy. She works in the garden for hours. Her eyes might look a little tired at times, but all mothers suffer the same.
The truth is Makop carries HIV in her body.
Squeezed between her mother and another woman, this young Ugandan girl entertains herself during a Bible study at Saidat Makop’s home. This girl’s mother is HIV-positive. Her father left when the mother revealed her test results, leaving all the children behind and victims of HIV/AIDS. 11/23/2007 - By John Rutledge
-
Ugandan Baptist pastor counsels people with AIDS
Posted: 11/23/07
Nabath Atusasire visits with a Words of Hope client outside his home. Atusasire often must hike up steep walking paths to isolated areas to reach the homes of his clients. Once he's there, he talks about living a healthy lifestyle, offers mosquito nets and shares about God's forgiveness. (IMB photos by Sue Sprenkle) Ugandan Baptist pastor
counsels people with AIDSBy Sue Sprenkle
International Mission Board
MBARARA, Uganda (BP)—Dressed in a suit coat and tie, Nabath Atusasire looks a little out of place as he picks his way through an overgrown banana grove.
The humid heat of southern Uganda presses on him. Slick-soled dress shoes provide little traction as the Baptist pastor treks along a well-worn, rocky path to an isolated village. He yells a greeting to a young woman as she walks out of a crumbling, mud home.
11/23/2007 - By John Rutledge
-
-
Will neurotheology cause faith to wane? Not likely, experts say
Posted: 11/23/07
Will neurotheology cause faith
to wane? Not likely, experts sayBy Hannah Elliott
Associated Baptist Press
NEW YORK (ABP)—If science asserts that prayer is more neurological than metaphysical, will it cause the believers to abandon their faith? It’s highly unlikely, experts in the field of neurotheology agree.
Neurotheology is the study of the correlation between neurological and spiritual activity. Its aim is to find a neurological basis for belief-based experiences like trances, perceived oneness with the universe and altered states of consciousness. Proponents say it can also help explain the daily habits of religious life, namely prayer, meditation and senses of the presence of God.
11/23/2007 - By John Rutledge
-
Cybercolumn by Brett Younger: Impossible dreams
Posted: 11/23/07
CYBER COLUMN:
Impossible dreams
By Brett Younger
My family recently went to see Man of La Mancha at Bass Hall in Fort Worth. The critics have not been kind. In “A not-so-dreamy Man of La Mancha,” The Dallas Morning News said, “Maybe I might actually like Man of La Mancha if I could ever catch a really good production, but then, maybe not.” In “Musical not all we dreamed of,” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram didn’t hold back either: “Is it possible that a musical revival can look fantastic and sound even better, yet still be dull? Yes. It’s hard to say where the fault lies.”
Brett Younger The critics missed the point. Man of La Mancha is not about lights, sound or sets. It’s about idealism, hope and dreams.
11/23/2007 - By John Rutledge
-
No clear winners in contested Tennessee Baptist Convention
Posted: 11/22/07
No clear winners in contested
Tennessee Baptist ConventionBy Robert Marus
Associated Baptist Press
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (ABP)—Neither an organized fundamentalist group nor a coalition of moderates and unaligned conservatives were the clear-cut winners during the Tennessee Baptist Convention annual meeting, held in Kingsport, Tenn.
Messengers elected presidential and vice presidential candidates endorsed by Concerned Tennessee Baptists, which has long accused the convention’s leadership of over-representing “liberals” and congregations that partner with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Messengers also turned away two attempts to soften a Concerned Tennessee Baptist-supported policy regarding nominees to the convention’s boards and committees.
11/22/2007 - By John Rutledge
