Archives
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Court hears arguments on partial-birth abortion ban cases
Posted: 11/21/06
Court hears arguments on
partial-birth abortion ban casesBy Robert Marus
ABP Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (ABP)—The man who may cast the deciding vote in the Supreme Court’s first major abortion cases in six years tipped his hand little during oral arguments Nov. 8.
Justice Anthony Kennedy asked a series of highly technical questions of attorneys for each side in the two related cases, Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood. Calmly and methodically, he inquired about the medical and legal specifics of a subject that has provoked heated political and social debate in recent years—a procedure opponents label “partial-birth abortion.”
11/21/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Executive director committed to ‘clean up the mess’
Posted: 11/17/06
Executive director committed to ‘clean up the mess’
By Teresa Young
Wayland Baptist University
DALLAS—Drawing inspiration from the story of Jesus’ baptism and subsequent time of temptation, Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, urged Texas Baptists to listen to God’s voice and discern his will for churches and individuals.
Wade acknowledged failures at some points—particularly addressing the scandal regarding misused church starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley.
Executive Director Charles Wade brings a report to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting. (Photo by Eric Guel) 11/17/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Texas WMU reschedules annual meeting
Posted: 11/17/06
Texas WMU reschedules annual meeting
By Barbara Bedrick
Texas Baptist Communications
DALLAS—Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas’ board of directors voted to move the organization’s 2008 annual meeting to April instead of its traditional date scheduled in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.
Board members said the move will enable WMU of Texas to better emphasize its role in missions. The organization has had a one-day meeting before the BGCT annual meeting. In 2008, a two-day meeting will enable WMU of Texas to communicate more effectively what it is doing, proponents argue.
Woman prays during the Woman's Missionary Union meeting. 11/17/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Unity emphazised at Texas Baptist Hispanic Fellowship rally
Posted: 11/17/06
Unity emphazised at Texas
Baptist Hispanic Fellowship rallyBy Craig Bird
Baptist Child & Family Services
DALLAS—There is one reason to think Christians can successfully obey Jesus’ command to “be brought to complete unity,” Robert Rodriguez reminded the annual Texas Baptist Hispanic Fellowship rally at Cockrell Hill Baptist Church in Dallas.
“Unity doesn’t begin with us, and it is not the result of external efforts,” said Rodriguez, pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Harlingen.
Those attending the Hispanic Fellowship meeting worship at Cockrell Hill Baptist Church in Dallas. 11/17/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Ministry awards presented to Texas Baptist innovators
Posted: 11/17/06
Baylor University President John Lilley (left) and Paul Powell (right), dean of Baylor’s Truett Seminary, presentsTexas Baptist Ministry Awards on behalf of the seminary and the Baptist Standard to Shirley Madden, founder of My Father’s House, Lubbock; Dick Maples, former associate executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; and Jimmy Dorrell, executive director of Mission Waco. (Photo by Robert Rogers/Baylor University) Ministry awards presented
to Texas Baptist innovatorsBy Marv Knox
Editor
DALLAS—Three innovators received the 2006 Texas Baptist Ministry Awards during the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Dallas Nov. 13.
Dick Maples accepted the W. Winfred Moore Award for lifetime ministry achievement. Jimmy Dorrell took the George W. Truett Award for ministerial excellence. And Shirley Madden received the Marie Mathis Award for lay ministry.
11/17/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Around the State
Posted: 11/17/06
Around the State
• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor campus newpaper, The Bells, won first place overall in its division and five other awards at the Baptist Press Excellence in Journalism competition in Nashville, Tenn. The UMHB yearbook, The Bluebonnet, placed second overall.
• Mark Yates has been named Baptist Student Minis-tries director at East Texas Baptist University. Yates had been named interim director in August. He has been at ETBU 10 years, working as an admissions counselor as well as assistant director of international education.
Adamsville Church in Adamsville recently held a celebration to kick off the re-organization of its Women on Mission program. Clowns Sugarfoot and Sugarpie greeted the women, including Director Wenona Conley, who celebrated her 83rd birthday at the event. The use of clowns indicates the women plan to be fresh and fun in their ideas for ministry, leaders say. • Pamela Bryant, associate professor of chemistry and chair of Howard Payne University’s department of physical sciences, is one of 150 higher education professionals featured in College Faith 3. Bryant’s testimony in the book details the financial challenges she faced as a sophomore at Augusta College in Georgia when all the money she earned during the summer was stolen from her purse—at church. Her parents could not afford to pay the tuition she had saved for, but “God’s love, poured out to me through the gifts of his people,” allowed her to receive the funds needed, she said.
• Clairene and Fred Herold have pledged a $100,000 gift for the campus building fund of Dallas Baptist University.
Anniversaries
11/17/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Book Reviews
Posted: 11/17/06
Book Reviews
Whose Bible is it? by Jaroslav Pelikan (Penguin)
In the recent century, we saw two World Wars but also a crest in exploration of the Bible. Jaroslav Pelikan, professor emeritus of history at Yale University, published this “short history of the Scriptures” last year. It is a reverent and incisive interpretation. Unfortunately, he died May 13 at 82.
Preachers and Sunday school teachers like to get background information for their presentations, and this would be an excellent source. For example, do we let the whole message of the Christian faith rise and fall on the doctrine of inerrancy? And where does the Koran fall into the procession of sacred Middle Eastern documents?
What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com. There is a whole seminar in less than 300 pages in Pelikan’s sweep through origins and relationships in the word of God.
11/17/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Baptist Briefs
Posted: 11/17/06
Baptist Briefs
CBF names disaster-response coordinator. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship named Charles Ray, a long-time Little Rock, Ark., resident, the first coordinator for the Fellowship’s U.S.-based disaster-response team. He’ll begin his new position Jan. 1. The two-year position was created through a partnership between national CBF and CBF of Arkansas, who are jointly funding the position. Other state and regional CBF organizations are funding operational expenses for the position. Based on the disaster-response assets and capabilities of CBF state and regional organizations, Ray will develop a national disaster-response plan for the Fellowship. He also will work with governmental and non-profit agencies to respond quickly to disasters, especially in the formation and dispatch of an initial response team.
N.C. Baptists reject bylaw changes. Messengers to the annual North Carolina Baptist state convention meeting struck down proposed bylaw changes that would have given convention-related institutions more influence over the appointment of trustees and directors. The proposed amendments, more than a year in the making and supported by convention officials, received just 38 percent of the 2,198 ballots cast in the Nov. 14 meeting. Some observers say the move could trigger an exodus of N.C. Baptist colleges and other convention-related entities, which have sought more control over selection of trustees. Even before the convention, one institution signaled it will exercise more autonomy over trustee elections. Wingate University in Wingate, N.C., announced a plan to use an option in convention and university bylaws that allows it to appoint up to 50 percent of its trustees.
11/17/2006 - By John Rutledge
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