2007 Archives
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Church greeter has firm grip on thousands of names
Posted: 11/30/07
Church greeter has firm
grip on thousands of namesBy Dee Anne Finken
Religion News Service
ANCOUVER, Wash. (RNS)—Some people preach. Others bear witness to their faith with a song of praise.
Rich Liedtke ministers with his hands. That is, he offers a firm, two-handed grip that lasts long enough for him to look straight into a churchgoer’s eyes, memorize the face, and announce cheerfully: “Hi, I’m Rich. And you are?”
Rich Liedtke greets Kelli Wright at the Church of God in Vancouver, Wash. Liedtke has memorized the names of more than 3,000 people who come through the church doors; Wright was the 3,000th. (RNS photo/Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian) 11/30/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Lewisville volunteers share pure water and Living Water in Guatemala
Posted: 11/30/07
Truett King of First Baptist Church in Lewisville reads a Bible story during Vacation Bible School, part of the church’s recent mission trip to Guatemala.
(See Marv Knox's Down Home column for a personal glimpse into the Guatemala trip)Lewisville volunteers share pure
water and Living Water in GuatemalaBy Marv Knox
Editor
ZACAPA, Guatemala—Members of First Baptist Church in Lewisville delivered both Living Water and pure water during a late-fall mission trip to an orphanage in Guatemala.
They told the children about Jesus, the Living Water, who can quench their spiritual thirst. But they also completed a filtration system that now purifies the orphanage’s parasite-laced water supply.
Brittainy Holmes of First Baptist Church in Lewisville shows Christ’s love to a girl in an orphanage in Zacapa, Guatemala, during a mission trip coordinated by Buckner Interna-tional. The church is sending three teams a year to the state-run orphanage. 11/30/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Persecution’s blessing: church growth in India
Posted: 11/30/07
Persecution’s blessing:
church growth in IndiaBy Lance Wallace
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
HYDERABAD, India (ABP)—Sam Bandela has worked five years in the mountainous central region of India. Even as tsunami relief and personal challenges intervened, he continued to find local partners, train indigenous church planters and fund development projects in the largely Hindu region.
Finally, he is seeing results.
Sam Bandela (right) works with local pastors in India such as Narayan Paul (left). (Randy Durham photo/CBF) 11/30/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Texas Baptist Forum
Posted: 11/30/07
Texas Baptist Forum
Ominous trend
What a commentary on American Christians! We gave more during the Great Depression to win the world to Jesus than we are giving now.
• Jump to online-only letters below Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum. 
“This election, the candidates are talking so much about faith that one would think they wanted to be in the College of Cardinals rather than the Hall of Presidents.”
Jonathan Turley
George Washington University professor (USA Today/RNS)“We are not preaching any type of civil disobedience. We’re just simply saying if someone comes to us and they’re in need of food, they’re in need of going to the doctor, we’re not going to take the time to look for a green card. We’re going to minister and show them Christ’s love.”
Robert Wilson
Ardmore, Okla., pastor, explaining an Oklahoma Baptist resolution that vowed to continue working with immigrants despite a state law that makes it illegal to aid or assist undocumented immigrants (Daily Oklahoman/RNS)“Everything she does and says reflects on her husband’s ministry, and I don't think the men understand the stress that places on a woman. Their whole identity can be wrapped up in being the pastor’s wife, and they begin to lose themselves.”
Ginger Kolbaba
Co-author of a novel about four pastors’ wives (Leadership/RNS)We have been warned repeatedly that God will move on and find others more obedient to his command to take the gospel. But we continue to turn inward and become more and more self-absorbed with meeting our own needs and those of our churches than with sacrificing to take the good news to those who have yet to hear.
No wonder, according to world-watchers, the center of the Christian faith has now moved to the Southern Hemisphere.
11/30/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Baylor and Texas Baptist Men bring clean water to Mongolian town
Posted: 11/30/07
A Baylor University team partnered with Texas Baptist Men to bring water filtration systems and water testing to a rural village in northern Mongolia. Pictured are (left to right) Dick Talley, Ron Mathis, and Leo Smith, all from Texas Baptist Men; Governor Khayankhirvaa of Darkhan, Mongolia; and Rene Massengale, Michelle Nemec, and Stacy Pfluger from Baylor University. Baylor and Texas Baptist Men bring
clean water to Mongolian townBy Matt Pene
Baylor University
KHONGOR, Mongolia—A village in central Mongolia that suffers from extensive water and environmental contamination soon may see better days ahead, thanks to the work of Baylor University researchers and Texas Baptist Men.
Researchers have completed one phase of the Baylor in Mongolia project. They identified about 1,000 people in Khongor who have been become sick due to environmental contamination from industrial mining. About 70 percent of the households in that town have at least one sick person—a crisis that has drawn attention from the World Health Organization.
11/30/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Diverse group of Christians seeks better relationship with Muslims
Posted: 11/30/07
Diverse group of Christians seeks
better relationship with MuslimsBy Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS)—A wide range of Christian theologians and leaders have endorsed a document calling for increased efforts to work with Muslims for peace and justice. The move responds to an earlier call from Muslim leaders seeking common ground.
The new document, “Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to ‘A Common Word Between Us and You,’” was signed by about 300 Christians and published in a Nov. 18 advertisement in the New York Times.
11/30/2007 - By John Rutledge
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Preaching: Stand and Deliver
Posted: 11/30/07
Preaching: Stand and Deliver
By Ken Camp
Managing Editor
God chose “the foolishness of preaching” as the preferred instrument for communicating the message of salvation, the Apostle Paul wrote.
But when the time arrives to stand and deliver that message, how does a preacher measure whether it’s an exercise in effectiveness or just plain foolishness?
11/30/2007 - By John Rutledge
