2007 Archives
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Bexar County youthful offenders find a second chance with KAPS
Posted: 10/26/07
Bexar County youthful offenders
find a second chance with KAPSBy Haley Smith
Baptist Child & Family Services
AN ANTONIO—A growing number of South Texas juvenile offenders are hearing good news—jail is not their only option—thanks to an expanding relationship between the Juvenile Probation Department and Kids Adverted from Placement Services.
KAPS, a program of Baptist Child & Family Services that has provided intensive family preservation services for youthful offenders for nine years, recently received an additional $325,000 from Juvenile Probation. This has allowed the program to increase from four to six the number of three-person teams—which translates into helping an additional 56 families a year.
“We think programs such as KAPS are ultimately going to take the place of (incarceration in Texas Youth Commission facilities) and other traditional methods.”
–Jeannine Von Stultz10/26/2007 - By John Rutledge
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BOOKS: Faith in the Halls of Power
Posted: 10/26/07
BOOKS: Faith in the Halls of Power
Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite By Michael Lindsay (Oxford University Press)
A common-but-wrong as-sumption—the evangelical population has burgeoned in the United States since the 1970s—piqued Michael Lind-say’s curiosity and prompted this insightful new book.
“Most people assume that the number of evangelicals had grown dramatically since Jimmy Carter ran for president,” writes Lindsay, a former consultant at the Gallup Institute. He checked the statistics and found that’s not true. The percentage of U.S. adults who claim to be “born again” inched up only six points in 30 years, from 35 percent in 1976 to 41 percent last year.
So, why does it seem like the number of evangelicals has increased rapidly during the past three decades? Lindsay, a sociology professor at Rice University, spent three years criss-crossing the continent 28 times seeking an answer. He interviewed 360 prominent evangelical leaders—not only pastors and heads of denominational and parachurch groups, but also laypeople in the secular marketplace and two former presidents.
What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com. 10/26/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Baptist Briefs
Posted: 10/26/07
Baptist Briefs
Brister to retire at OBU. Oklahoma Baptist University trustees accepted the retirement of President Mark Brister during a mid-October special meeting on the university’s campus in Shawnee. Brister, who will retire effective Nov. 10 at the conclusion of OBU’s annual homecoming, has led the Christian liberal arts institution since Sept. 1, 1998.
Mark Brister His nine-year tenure as OBU’s 14th president is the third-longest in the university’s 97-year history. During the trustee meeting, John Parrish, executive vice president emeritus, was elected interim president, effective Nov. 11. Parrish retired from the university’s administration in November 2002 after more than 38 years at OBU. He was executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1995 until his retirement.
CBF falls short of budget. The Coopera-tive Baptist Fellowship reached only 86 percent of the amount budgeted for its recently completed fiscal year and ended the year with a shortfall, the CBF Coordinating Council learned at its mid-October meeting. CBF leaders reported the Fellowship received $19.1 million in total revenue, including $14.8 million in undesignated receipts (a category including the CBF Global Missions Offering), for the 2006-07 fiscal year. Expenses for the year totaled more than $21.6 million. The $8.2 million in undesignated contributions for 2006-07 was about $700,000 less than the previous year, continuing a three-year downturn, according to financial data. The Fellowship’s financial report indicated the organization finished the fiscal year 2006-2007 with a shortfall of $649,974 in unrestricted funds and $2.5 million total.
10/26/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Buckner’s Lufkin program celebrates 10 years of ministry to single parents
Posted: 10/26/07
Buckner’s Lufkin program celebrates
10 years of ministry to single parentsBy Jenny Pope
Buckner International
LUFKIN—Buckner Family Place, a self-sufficiency program for single parents, celebrated its 10th anniversary Oct. 23 with a dedication ceremony of a newly constructed community room named after local philanthropist and advocate Murphy George.
George, who has chaired the Family Place advisory committee since its inception 10 years ago, has been instrumental in leading the cause to support single parents seeking higher education and breaking the cycle of abuse and dependency, Executive Director Judy Morgan said.
Judy Morgan, executive director of Buckner Family Place, presents philanthropist Murphy George with a plaque in recognition of his service at the program’s 10th anniversary celebration. (Photo/Scott Collins/Buckner) 10/26/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Buckner opens Child Development Center in Romania
Posted: 10/26/07
Buckner opens Child
Development Center in RomaniaBy Jenny Pope
Buckner International
TARNEVENI, Romania—At least 60 Roma—also known as “gypsy”—children will be given a head start in life through the opening of the Buckner Child Development Center in Tarneveni, Romania, a struggling community of 30,000 people with an estimated 85 percent unemployment rate.
Randy Daniels, Buckner’s director of global initiatives, recently joined Phil Brinkmeyer, director of Eastern European ministry, and the mayor of Tarneveni for the dedication ceremony of the new center. Twenty children are enrolled, with enrollment expected to grow to 60 by the end of the year.
Buckner's new facility in Romania will help Roma children like these. 10/26/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Howard Payne students join Cancer Walk-a-thon
Posted: 10/26/07
Howard Payne students
join Cancer Walk-a-thonMembers of the Delta Chi Rho sorority were among more than 120 Howard Payne University students, faculty and staff who participated in the second annual HPU Breast Cancer Awareness Walk-a-thon recently. University Nurse Sandy Smith coordinated the event, which raised more than $2,600 to benefit the Alliance for Women & Children, which serves a 23-county area in west central Texas. Funds help provide education, detection services and treatment. (Photo/Howard Payne University)
10/26/2007 - By John Rutledge
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New collaboration shows ‘reconstruction’ of Baptist family, CBF leader maintains
Posted: 10/26/07
New collaboration shows ‘reconstruction’
of Baptist family, CBF leader maintainsBy Greg Warner
Associated Baptist Press
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP)—The Baptist family is undergoing “something of a reconstruction” these days, said Daniel Vestal, executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
After decades of infighting within and isolation between various Baptist groups, an unprecedented opportunity has emerged for Baptists to work together and learn from each other, said Vestal, a leader among moderate Baptists nationwide.
CBF Coordinating Council members participate in a brainstorming activity as part of a process to discern priorities for the Fellowship’s work. (CBF/Lance Wallace photo) 10/26/2007 - By John Rutledge
