2008 Archives
-
Faith films still not flooding big screen
Posted: 3/14/08
Faith films still not flooding big screen
By Kim Lawton
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
LOS ANGELES (RNS)—This year’s batch of Academy Awards nominees for Best Picture portrayed some complex moral dilemmas: A pregnant teen figuring out what to do; a lawyer in an ethical crisis; a Western saga overwhelmed by evil; a romance doomed by lies; a clash between an oil man and a greedy evangelist.
But except for the unsavory clergyman in There Will Be Blood and maybe the title Atonement, there’s little explicit treatment of religion.
Mel Gibson (right) directs Jim Caviezel in his portrayal of Jesus for The Passion of the Christ. Movie executives have been chasing “Passion dollars” since the 2004 motion picture became a megahit worldwide, taking in more than half a billion dollars. (RNS photo/Philippe Antonello/Courtesy Icon Distribution Inc.) 03/15/2008 - By John Rutledge
-
What has Hobbiton to do with Jerusalem?
Posted: 3/14/08
What has Hobbiton to do with Jerusalem?
By Jay Smith
Howard Payne University
Bible Belt Christians have struggled long with literature and film espousing a view of reality that confronts the values of our Christian life.
03/15/2008 - By John Rutledge
-
-
IN BETWEEN: Mentoring: Is someone coaching you?
Posted: 3/14/08
IN BETWEEN:
Mentoring: Is someone coaching you?I retired from working with our Baptist General Convention of Texas churches in March 2006. I determined more work was needed to help pastors and other church leaders because too many ministers were being terminated, and little preventive (pro-active) help was coming forth from our offices. I felt it was time for me to focus on developing leaders as a “free agent” and not as a staff person.
Soon I found myself working with a colleague, Kerry Webb, in training ministers and laypersons as leaders, not just followers. One of the extremely interesting discoveries for the two of us was the need to build a mentoring dimension into our training. Of course, how could we mentor others unless we were committed to going through that process ourselves?
We found a wonderful lady who became our coach. Actually, she was an executive coach, formally trained in a nationally recognized coaching certification process. Later, we determined each of our participants needed to experience that same coaching.
The Bible is loaded with examples of mentoring relationships. Some were with older-to-younger models (Paul/Timothy), others were with models in which age was not a big difference (Paul/Barnabas). It appears to me that younger ministers/laypersons today seem to be more open to the Paul/Timothy model. Regardless, this kind of relationship is vital to leaders today.
03/15/2008 - By John Rutledge
-
-
Texas Baptist Forum
Posted: 3/14/08
Texas Baptist Forum
Positive 1st impression
Randel Everett made a positive impression the day he was elected executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
• Jump to online-only letters below Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.
“What we evangelicals should have known before and have now demonstrated again … is that we aren’t quite as popular in the public square as we like to think. We may carry a pretty strong Word, but we also carry a fairly limp stick.”
Joel Belz
World magazine founder, writing about the need to “end the illusion” about the political force of evangelicals (World/RNS)“There is a tendency on the part of some religious folk to see God with human characteristics, and then they assign to God some of the most damaging and destructive of human characteristics. I think there is a danger of having God conform to our image, rather than trying to conform to his.”
Ted Strickland
Governor of Ohio (RNS)“The separation of church and state is like oxygen to the fire of religious liberty.”
Jon Meacham
Newsweek editor (CBS News Sunday Morning)I was impressed by his strategy, which will allow us to direct our focus on our genuine passion for the lost people of Texas. I sensed we have elected an authentic leader who can guide us without hesitation.
His convictions help me define what type of leader he will be for this moment—a leader whose focus is God’s priority to save the lost ones.
03/15/2008 - By John Rutledge
-
-
Oxford researchers get $4 million to study origins of belief in God
Posted: 3/14/08
Oxford researchers get $4 million
to study origins of belief in GodBy Brittani Hamm
Religion News Service
LONDON (RNS)—Oxford University researchers have been given nearly $4 million to investigate the origins of belief in God.
The three-year project titled “Empirical Expansion in Cognitive Science of Religion and Theology” is designed to determine if belief in a deity is instinctive or learned. It will be funded by the Pennsylvania-based John Templeton Foundation.
03/15/2008 - By John Rutledge
-
-
-