2007 Archives
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Urban population crunch prompts crowds in church
Posted: 7/20/07
Urban population crunch
prompts crowds in churchBy Jennifer Koons
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Predictions that increased urbanization around the world would lead to a more secularized society are un-founded, and in fact the opposite may be true, according to a new report from the United Nations Population Fund.
“Rapid urbanization was expected to mean the triumph of rationality, secular values and the demystification of the world, as well as the relegation of religion to a secondary role,” the report said. “Instead, there has been a renewal in religious interest in many countries.”
The global population influx into urban centers has produced an increased interest in religion—just the opposite of expectations. (United Nations / RNS) 07/20/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Cybercolumn by John Duncan: Above, where Christ is
Posted: 7/20/07
CYBER COLUMN:
Above, where Christ is
By John Duncan
I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, wondering where the summer has gone. Here in Texas, August beckons. Gerard Manley Hopkins, the poet, once quipped, “Mine, O thou lord of life, send my roots rain.” I have been away from the church for a sabbatical of sorts, rest, finding pleasure in reading and writing and resting and longing to return to my post as pastor to be with the people of God. The Lord is sending my dry roots rain. I feel refreshed.
John Duncan I find myself thinking of the future, climbing Jacob’s ladder to peer in to what God has in store; gazing at Jeremiah’s future and a hope; scoping Paul’s letter to the Colossians (3:1) from prison where from the deep and dark he declares, “Keep seeking those things above, where Christ is… .” I think of the future, one with no land phones and digital, of green cars in an eco-friendly society and HD TV where at least we yearn to see the Dallas Cowboys or Dallas Mavericks in multi-color championships on crystal-clear screens. I think of the future, cancer walks and cancer research and cancer cures on the horizon. I think of the future, political speeches winding down and electronic election polls minus the chads; of hyped cars with powerhouse engines advertised with mega “horsepower”; of outsourcing in business and televised conference calls in HD TV with clear sound like talking to the neighbor next door; and of churches with digitized sound and big screens and bands like the Beatles echoing praise choruses and rhythmically blasting hymns high to the heavens. The future is wide screen and wide open. Yes, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is.
07/20/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Pope’s assertion finds parallels in Baptist successionism
Posted: 7/20/07
Pope’s assertion finds
parallels in Baptist successionismBy Robert Dilday
Virginia Religious Herald
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP)—Pope Benedict XVI’s recent reaffirmation that the “true church” lies in an unbroken line of succession from Christ and his apostles might resonate in an unlikely place—conservative Baptists who trace the roots of their denomination back to Jesus—and sometimes beyond, to John the Baptist.
Baptist successionism—a theory which emerged on the 19th-century American frontier—claims to find a line of historical continuity in doctrine and practice from Jesus himself to today’s Baptist churches. True Christian churches, goes the theory, are marked by distinctive baptistic characteristics, such as autonomous government, closed communion and baptism by immersion. Such churches have existed since New Testament times and can be traced through history in dissenting groups such as the Donatists, Albigenses, Cathari, Waldenses and Anabaptists.
07/20/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Baptists, other Christians push for reform in farm bill
Posted: 7/20/07
Baptists, other Christians
push for reform in farm billBy Robert Marus
Associated Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (ABP) —Baptists and other Christian groups are asking Congress to seize an opportunity to reform the way the government relates to farmers—for the sake of the poor in the United States and around the globe, they say.
A group of Christian leaders have urged House members dealing with the 2007 Farm Bill to consider re-prioritizing how the government doles out support for farm subsidies, food stamps, rural development and foreign aid.
07/20/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Special teachers minister to special friends at West Texas church
Updated: 7/20/07
Benny Thompson (center), along with his wife, Martha, leads a Sunday school class for the mentally challenged at Corinth Baptist Church near Cisco. Special teachers minister to special
friends at West Texas churchBy George Henson
Staff Writer
CISCO—Corinth Baptist Church sits almost exactly halfway between Cisco and Eastland on an unpaved road. While it’s quite a way from any town, distance has not stopped the church from reaching arms of love to developmentally challenged adults throughout the region.
Martha Thompson and her husband, Benny, had taught a class of young couples for several years before they started a special friends class for developmentally challenged people five years ago.
07/19/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Jamaican pastor elected BWA general secretary in historic vote
Updated: 7/20/07
Jamaican pastor elected BWA
general secretary in historic voteBy Trennis Henderson
Kentucky Western Recorder
ACCRA, Ghana (ABP)—Neville Callam, a Jamaican pastor, theologian and author, was unanimously elected July 6 as the first non-white general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. He is also the 102-year-old alliance’s first leader not from the United States or Europe.
Callam, senior pastor of two congregations in Jamaica, is a former BWA vice president and former president of the Jamaica Baptist Union. Active in BWA for more than 20 years, he currently serves on its implementation task force, which restructures the organization’s work for the future.
New Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam speaks at the BWA’s service of memory and reconciliation at Ghana’s Cape Coast Slave Castle. 07/19/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Floods pour in; Baptist love pours out
Updated: 7/20/07
Floods pour in; Baptist love pours out
By Barbara Bedrick
Texas Baptist Communications
WICHITA FALLS—As Texas Baptist Men volunteers cut out soaked sheetrock and carried out a ruined piano, organ and other debris from inside Primera Iglesia Bautista, members continued to worship—at a nearby funeral home.
The temporary church sanctuary has not stopped God from saving lives. Pastor Simon Flores believes holding worship services at the funeral home actually led two mothers to Christ.
First Baptist Church of Eastland member Carol Brittain holds two of the precious memories she saved from recent floods. Water rose 10 feet in her home, but Texas Baptist Men volunteers and the BGCT Disaster Response Team have moved quickly to help. 07/19/2007 - By John Rutledge
