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Texas, Virginia line up with BWA_32105
Posted: 3/18/05
Texas, Virginia line up with BWA
FALLS CHURCH, Va.–The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Baptist General Association of Virginia will be recommended for full membership in the Baptist World Alliance, the group's membership committee reported.
British Baptist Alistair Brown, who sits on the committee, said it is “the committee's unanimous view that both be recommended” to the BWA General Council to become full member bodies of the worldwide umbrella group for Baptists. Brown's report came during the BWA's semi-annual Executive Committee meeting at BWA's suburban Washington headquarters.
The BGCT and BGAV already are major financial contributors to the Baptist World Alliance, and both already have joined the North American Baptist Fellowship, one of BWA's six regional groups. But the recommendation, if approved by the BWA's General Council during its meeting in July, would mean the two state conventions would become members on the same level as the 200-plus national or regional Baptist groups that make up BWA's membership. They would be the first U.S. state conventions to join.
03/18/2005 - By John Rutledge
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Book Reviews_32105
Posted: 3/18/05
Book Reviews
Leadership by Rudolph W. Giuliani (Miramax Books)
As a Christian layman or minister, do you want to be an effective leader? If so, Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, states the core qualities necessary to lead, especially during crisis. Almost ready for publication in 2001, the World Trade Center was destroyed and Giuliani refined this book in the crucible of crisis. To lead, Giuliani says, you must know what you believe, be an optimist, have courage, make relentless preparation, assemble effective people around you and communicate effectively.
What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com. Christians can draw a wealth of practical applications for ministry. The “Weddings Discretionary, Funerals Mandatory” chapter is worth the price of the book. It is akin to “the ministry of presence,” practiced by any effective deacon or minister during crisis. He gives advice any Christian workman can take to heart: “Underpromise and Overdeliver.” Based on his father's boxing lessons, his childhood confrontation with a neighborhood bully and labor unions, he says, “Stand Up to Bullies.”
03/18/2005 - By John Rutledge
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Baptist Briefs_32105
Posted: 3/18/05
Baptist Briefs
BaptistWay produces Bible study materials for BWA. BaptistWay Press, the publishing arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will produce the Bible study materials for the Baptist World Alliance Centenary Congress, July 27-31 in Birmingham, England. BaptistWay Press will publish more than 12,000 copies of the BWA Bible studies, one for each registered participant, said Phil Miller, associate director of the BGCT Bible Study/Disciple-ship Center. The studies, which will be used during the congress, will focus primarily on the Gospel of John, but also have a lesson from the book of Revelation. BaptistWay Press replaces LifeWay Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, as producer of the Bible studies. The SBC withdrew from the Baptist World Alliance last year, and the BGCT hopes to become a member of the global organization this year.
Historian Shurden honored. Church historian Walter Shurden, founding executive director of Mercer University's Center for Baptist Studies, will receive the fifth annual Judson-Rice Award at an April 22 dinner in Atlanta. Mercer University President Kirby Godsey will present the award on behalf of the board of directors of Baptists Today, an independent national news journal. Shurden, a Mississippi native, served 18 years as chair of the department of Christianity at Mercer and was dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Kay, are members of First Baptist Church of Macon, Ga. The Judson-Rice Award was created in 2001 to commemorate the contributions of early Baptist mission leaders Adoniram and Ann Judson and Luther Rice, and to recognize a current Baptist leader who has demonstrated important leadership while maintaining the highest integrity.
Souper Bowl of Caring raises $3.75 million. One month after the Super Bowl, about 10,500 churches and schools reported raising more than $3.75 million for charity through the Souper Bowl of Caring. That included 637 Baptist churches reporting $221,906 nationwide and 57 Texas congregations raising $38,060. Youth across the country collected $1 donations in large soup pots on or near Feb. 6. Each group donated money directly to the charity of its choice–no money was sent to Souper Bowl of Caring headquarters. Organizers simply asked that groups report their collection amount so a national total could be determined. Groups that have not reported are encouraged to do so at www.souperbowl.org or by calling (800)-358-SOUP. Since beginning with a prayer in a single South Carolina church, the Souper Bowl of Caring has raised more than $27 million for hungry and hurting people.
03/18/2005 - By John Rutledge
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Jazz roots’ call-and-response grew in Scottish soil_32105
Posted: 3/18/05
Soloist Thomas J. Freeman sings with the choir at Mount Zion Church in Killen, Ala. (Photo by Robin Conn) Jazz roots' call-and-response grew in Scottish soil
By Chuck McCutcheon
Religion News Service
KILLEN, Ala. (RNS)–When 10 members of the all-black choir at Mount Zion Church in Killen, Ala., flew to Scotland recently on their first overseas trip, they were treated like long-lost family members.
03/18/2005 - By John Rutledge
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2nd Opinion: Rural churches face unique options_32105
Posted: 3/18/05
Rural churches face unique options
By Gary Farley
In 1950, most rural Southern Baptist churches were very different from what they are today. Most shared a preacher with one or more other congregations. Most did not have worship services every Sunday. Most met in a one-room church building. Most drew their congregation from their immediate neighborhood.
A few members in that day recalled how much the church had changed since 1900. All-weather roads, electricity, nice materials for Sunday school and screens on the windows would have been on most lists. In parts of Texas, the emergence of the oil industry, the expansion of railroads and highways, and the growth of towns had changed the distribution of people during the first half of the 20th century. This impacted rural churches both positively and negatively. Members of a rural church that dates from the 1850s can find in the old church minutes a very different picture of how the church operated then. It may have been biracial. It practiced church discipline for those who violated the church covenant. It probably met only once per month. It may not have had a Sunday school until the 1870s.
And if one reviews records of Baptist associations across this same period, one will learn churches have waxed and waned. Some have died. Many have been born. The Baptist movement has continued through many changes, both internally and externally. Again and again, churches and associations of churches have responded to change. Today, many rural and village congregations are confronted by declining population bases or racially changing populations.
03/18/2005 - By John Rutledge
