2008 Archives
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Faith Digest
Posted: 1/18/08
Faith Digest
Evolution and religion compatible, scientists insist. A top panel of scientists has published a new book asserting that belief in the theory of evolution and religious faith “can be fully compatible,” and creationism has no place in science classes. The 88-page Science, Evolution, and Creationism, produced by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, is an updated version of two previous books supporting evolution scholarship. The 2008 version is different, according to the 15-person committee that designed it, because it is aimed at clergy and school board members and discusses the role of faith in human knowledge. “Science and religion address separate aspects of human experience,” the book says.
‘In God We Trust’ will move from edge to surface of coins. By popular demand, the national motto “In God We Trust” will move from the edge of new dollar coins honoring U.S. presidents to the front or back of the currency. A provision in the $555 billion domestic spending bill for 2008 calls for the change to take place “as soon as is practicable.” The U.S. Mint began producing presidential one-dollar coins in 2007. The words “In God We Trust” were placed along the edge of the coins, as instructed by Congress. But critics complained about the placement and thought the words belonged on the front or back of the coins instead. The dies already have been produced for the 2008 coins, so those will still have the motto along the edge. But the motto will be moved on 2009 coins.
01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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Trial date set for suit by dismissed female prof
Posted: 1/18/08
Trial date set for suit by dismissed female prof
By Hannah Elliott
Associated Baptist Press
UPLAND, Ind. (ABP)—Sheri Klouda sparked denominational—and national—debate when she cried foul last year over her dismissal from teaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, allegedly because of her gender.
Ten months later and anticipating a year of legal proceedings, media interviews and medical procedures for her ailing husband, the professor says she hopes to come out of it with “resolution and closure—having a final decision made on the matter and a righteous and just decision being rendered.”
01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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Texas Baptist Forum
Posted: 1/18/08
Texas Baptist Forum
Happy-clappy or ‘Amen’?
What a marvelous letter from Richard Berry concerning banning “applause-attracting” parts of the worship service (Jan. 7).
• Jump to online-only letters below Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.
“I’m an optimist—by choice. It’s because of Christ in me, the hope of glory, that I can chose to be an optimist rather than a cynic, which is much easier. It is because of that hope that I still run, that I still love, that I still play.”
Berry Simpson
Sunday school teacher, petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the Midland city council (http://berry.voxtropolis.com)“The success I’ve had has given me a platform to try to let people know what’s really important in life. If you’re not feeding the poor, not looking out for the troubled kid on the block, not giving yourself away, you’ve totally missed it.”
Michael W. Smith
Contemporary Christian singer (Associated Press/RNS)“There is a self-righteousness, a glibness in their writing. They are too sure of themselves. They've backed themselves into a fundamentalist mode.”
Bill Hamilton
A leader of the “death of God” theological movement of the 1960s, describing recent books by militant atheists (RNS)It will never happen, because our folks are so entrenched in the “entertain me” philosophy they will never be able to admit the truth that we gather to worship God, not to please and entertain ourselves.
For years, I have been dismayed by the “Christian artists,” the happy-clappy services and the hand-clapping, finger-snapping presentations that draw attention to themselves rather than to an omnipotent God. I recently saw a clip on TV where a young boy did a “cannonball” into the baptistry to the surprise of the preacher. Everyone thought it was hilarious.
01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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Oklahoma Baptist feels called to minister in global hot spots
Posted: 1/18/08
Oklahoma Baptist feels called
to minister in global hot spotsBy Ken Camp
Managing Editor
BARTLESVILLE, Okla.—Day 27 of a planned 40-day fast, in a cabin on Michigan’s upper peninsula, Kevin Turner believes God called him to ministry—specifically in war zones, disaster areas and places where Christians are persecuted.
“I believe we’re sent into the hot spots of the world,” said Turner, president of Strategic World Impact, based in Bartlesville, Okla. “Our approach is to get in, be part of the solution, make an impact and get out safely. We’re not doing long-term development. It’s a stopgap ministry to touch the lives of people who are standing on the brink of eternity.”
A child peers out of a hut not far from Nyala, a village affected by violence in southern Darfur. (RNS photo/Chris Herlinger) 01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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Hands-on missions in Africa
Posted: 1/18/08
Andrew Bentley, a member of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, examines a young resident of the Ministry of Mercy orphanage in Otutulu, Nigeria. Cathy Steenhoek from Pella, Iowa, works with a boy during a Buckner International mission trip to Kenya. Nancy Stretch, a nurse practitioner from Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, examines a child in Busia, Kenya. Wilshire has an ongoing partnership in Busia through Buckner. Hands-on missions in Africa
When needs become names and epidemics emerge as faces
By John Hall
Texas Baptist Communications
USTIN—When she made her first trip to Congo, situations Laura Seay was studying in books became real to her. And soon, it grabbed her heart as the country became part of her life.
As a University of Texas doctoral student, Seay is studying the infrastructure of Congo. Each day, Seay—a member of First Baptist Church in Austin—looks for signs of hope and places where Baptists can aid people in need. Most often, she finds them in churches that have begun shouldering the load of providing social services such as medical care.
Jon Cannon, a member of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, comforts a baby after the child receives an injection at a medical clinic at the Baptist Children’s Center in Nairobi, Kenya, a ministry of Buckner International. (Photo/Courtesy of Jeff Raines) 01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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Caring for the poor: Whose job is it–church or state?
Posted: 1/18/08
Caring for the poor:
Whose job is it–church or state?By Marv Knox
Editor
Care for people Jesus called “the least of these” requires response from both congregations and government, according to specialists who focus on ministry to the poor and on church/ state relations.
As participants in both church and state, Christians should minister directly to the poor and also advocate to the government on their behalf, specialists stressed.
Danica Simmons, a registered nurse at Mission East Dallas, treats Francisco, a patient at the ministry’s clinic. Launched by Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church, Mission East Dallas provides medical care for uninsured and underinsured people—particularly the working poor—in eastern Dallas County. (PHOTO/Angela Best) 01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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Responding to the Luke 4 mandate
Posted: 1/18/08
Responding to the Luke 4 mandate
By John Hall
Texas Baptist Communications
For some Christians, listening to the news is like hearing a prayer list. More than 2 million people displaced in Sudan. More than 1.5 million Iraqi children left homeless. Residents of Southeast Texas and Louisiana still rebuilding two years after hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
Nearly every story is a reminder of the pain and suffering that remains in the world. And God uses many of them to call people and churches to serve around the globe.
LaKedra Robertson from Washington, D.C., shares Christ’s love with a child in Kenya during a Shoes for Orphan Souls trip sponsored by Buckner International. (Buckner Photo) 01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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BUA dedicates Piper Village
Posted: 1/18/08
BUA dedicates Piper Village
Baptist University of the Américas President René Maciel marks the opening of school’s Piper Village housing community with a ribbon-cutting, along with (left to right) Teo Cisneros, chairman of the BUA board of trustees; Babs Baugh of San Antonio; Paul Piper Jr. & Shirley Piper of Wilson, Wyo.; Josué Grijalva, former president of the school; and Katy Piper of San Antonio. The 60,000 square-foot, $6.2 million apartment community initially will house more than 180 students and their families. The housing community effectively triples the amount of on-campus housing the university has to offer students. 01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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Rob Bell: Christians shouldn’t fear controversy over doctrine
Posted: 1/18/08
Rob Bell: Christians shouldn’t
fear controversy over doctrineBy Drew Nichter
Kentucky Western Recorder
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP)—Precise definitions and formulations of doctrines aren’t necessary prerequisites to evangelism or Christian unity, said author Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., who has become an increasingly controversial figure among evangelical Christians.
Bell rose to prominence rapidly after his Mars Hill congregation, founded in 1999, grew to more than 10,000 members in only a few years. He also has a popular video series and has written two best-selling books, Velvet Elvis and Sex God.
Rob Bell 01/18/2008 - By John Rutledge
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