Maciel inaugurated as BUA president; pledges commitment to servant leadership

Posted: 10/05/07

Maciel inaugurated as BUA president;
pledges commitment to servant leadership

By Marv Knox

Editor

Wayland students demonstrate degree of difference

Posted: 10/05/07

Wayland students
demonstrate degree of difference

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

Expatriate Baptist minister runs for Kenyan Parliament

Posted: 10/05/07

Expatriate Baptist minister
runs for Kenyan Parliament

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

DALLAS—A Kenyan Baptist minister who has lived in Texas more than 25 years appears likely to be elected to Parliament in his homeland.

Solomon Kimuyu has been nominated by the Kenya African National Union to represent Machakos township, about 35 miles east of Nairobi, in Kenya’s Parliament and serve as leader of the Akamba tribe.

Solomon Kimuyu, a Baptist minister who attended Hardin-Simmons University and earned degrees from Howard Payne University and Dallas Baptist University, will run for a seat in Kenya’s Parliament as the candidate of the Kenya African National Union.

10/05/2007 - By John Rutledge

Howard Payne students serve community—with right motive

Posted: 10/05/07

Howard Payne students serve
community—with right motive

Retired ministers from 22 states gather at Glorieta

Posted: 10/05/07

Retired ministers from
22 states gather at Glorieta

By David Clanton

Special to the Baptist Standard

Cybercolumn by Brett Younger: When Jesus comes to Sunday school

Posted: 10/05/07

CYBER COLUMN:
When Jesus comes to Sunday school

By Brett Younger

Leon Lyles has been teaching Sunday school since Lyndon Johnson was president. He teaches a bit like Johnson would, but without the colorful language and Democratic politics. He knows the Bible like Johnson knew the Constitution. He knows Genesis to Revelation and the footnotes at the bottom of the page. In fact, more than anything else, he teaches the footnotes.

Leon begins: “The lesson today is from the ninth chapter of Luke. This passage requires scholars such as ourselves to dig deep into the first century world. Verses 57-58, and I am reading, as I always will, from the King James Version, ‘A certain man said unto him, “Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” And Jesus said unto him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”’

10/05/2007 - By John Rutledge

One verse memorized for the last 79 years—and counting

Posted: 10/05/07

One verse memorized for the
last 79 years—and counting

By Toby Druin

Editor Emeritus

WAXAHACHIE—Lucile Manning considers Romans 12:1 her life verse: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (KJV).

The verse has guided her life since August 1929, when at age 18 she responded to her pastor’s plea to “give everything to Jesus.”

10/05/2007 - By John Rutledge

Cybercolumn by Berry D. Simpson: To the very edges

Posted: 10/02/07

CYBER COLUMN:
To the very edges

A few months ago, I read a passage from Leviticus, and ever since that morning, I’ve been wondering about my life—wondering where the edges are; wondering when I should be generous; wondering what I should be giving away.

The verse I read was Leviticus 23:22, which says: “When you reap the harvest of your land do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your harvest a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and alien. I am the Lord your God.” This verse is located among a collection of rules about how to present offerings to God, so I’m assuming the command to leave some of the crop behind was more about worshiping God than about sharing with the poor. I wrote in the margin of my Daily Bible: “I wonder what the equivalent is for me? What are my crops, and where are my edges?”

God wasn’t encouraging the people to be sloppy farmers when he told them not to harvest to the very edges; he wanted them to live a generous lifestyle. He expected them to not be greedy, even with the fruit of their own labor, but rather to be generous and free. He also meant that they shouldn’t make needy people beg for help—don’t make them stand in line to ask for the leftovers, but leave them respect and honor along with the crops.

So my questions: What is the harvest of my land? What do I produce? What is it that I should leave behind, around the edges, for others to glean?

10/02/2007 - By John Rutledge

RIGHT or WRONG? Prayer in schools

Posted: 9/29/07

RIGHT or WRONG?
Prayer in schools

In the spring, a mass e-mailing circulated at the school where I teach. It reports a teacher’s presentation to a school board. She says all the things expected from the teacher on a relatively small salary, and closes with “… and why can’t I pray in school?” I believe material like this actually demeans prayer rather than uplifts it. Am I right?

First, let’s examine what the law actually says in this area. A helpful booklet titled A Teacher’s Guide to Religion in the Public Schools, published by the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, says: “As employees of the government, public school teachers are subject to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and thus required to be neutral concerning religion while carrying out their duties as teachers. That means, for example, that teachers do not have the right to pray with or in the presence of students during the school day.

09/29/2007 - By John Rutledge

Move over She-Hulk. Make room for Samson.

Posted: 9/29/07

Move over She-Hulk. Make room for Samson.

By Mary Warner

Religion News Service

HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS)—Jesus and Moses were sold out, but consumers still could line up at the checkout counter to pay for Mary, Noah, David and a ferocious-looking Samson, packaged with Delilah in hot pink.

The world of posable action figures has traditionally belonged to hulking heroes such as Spider-Man and He-Man. But this latest crop—heroes and heroines from the Bible, on local Wal-Mart shelves since mid-August—are a testament to central Pennsylvania’s proclivity for religion and Wal-Mart’s marketing savvy.

09/29/2007 - By John Rutledge

Around the State

Posted: 9/29/07

Around the State

• Fielder Road Church in Arlington and Dallas Baptist University are partnering to bring the “Lead Like Jesus” conference to North Texas via satellite. The Oct. 19 conference will feature Ken Blanchard, Erwin McManus, John and Nancy Ortberg, and other Christian leaders from around the country. The simulcast will begin at the Arlington church at 10:15 a.m., but the doors will open at 9 a.m. Tickets are $25, or $10 for students with a current student identification card. Lunch is included in the ticket price. For more information, call (817) 460-2234 or (214) 333-5103.

• JoAnne Ivy has been appointed an apprentice missionary by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. She will serve in West Africa. Southcliff Church in Fort Worth is her home church, where she served as a preschool associate.

• Eleven new board members have been appointed by the Baylor Health Care System Foundation. They are Glenn Callison, Tom Dunning, Stan-ford Finney, Gini Florer, Bill Miller, James Miller, Beverly Nichols, Wallace Reed, John Tolleson, Michelle Valdez and Terry Worrell.

• Catherine Crawford has been named vice president for institutional advancement at East Texas Baptist University.

09/29/2007 - By John Rutledge

BSM director arrested, accused of wife’s death

Posted: 9/29/07

BSM director arrested, accused of wife’s death

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

KERRVILLE—The part-time Baptist Student Ministries director at Schreiner University was arrested Sept. 21 for allegedly killing his wife in 2006.

According to The Daily Times in Kerrville, McLennan County authorities obtained a warrant for Matt Baker, 36, that claims he drugged and smothered Kari Baker in their Hewitt home. Her April 7, 2006 death was initially ruled a suicide.

09/29/2007 - By John Rutledge