DOWN HOME: Growing old is a dog-gone shame_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

DOWN HOME:
Growing old is a dog-gone shame

Nobody warned me about old age.

Let's inventory the woes: They say memory is the first to go, but I'd say hearing begins to fail before that. Then there are stiff and rickety joints, as well as fitful sleeping and voluminous snoring, when slumber finally settles in. Don't forget general grouchiness, born of a newly discovered selfishness. Finally–dare I say it in a family newspaper?–the onset of incontinence.

She's getting harder and harder to live with. More and more trouble. Less and less appreciation.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

EDITORIAL: Baptists will (no, must) share opinions_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

EDITORIAL:
Baptists will (no, must) share opinions

Baptists often paraphrase the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three come together in my name, they will have four or five opinions.”

We have to laugh, or else we would cry. We're a diverse–and assertive–group of Christians. We have one Lord, one baptism, one Bible and one church. But we're still beset by a multitude of opinions. Need proof? Sit in a discussion-oriented Sunday school class. Or attend your church's next business meeting. If opinions were nickels, we'd never have trouble balancing our budgets.

Texas Baptists' diverse opinions surfaced during the past couple of weeks, in the wake of the Standard's package of articles on immigration. We interviewed an illegal immigrant who happens to be a deacon. We heard from Texas Baptists who have pioneered ministry to immigrants. And we discussed the need for new immigration laws.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Six steps to launch small groups for seekers_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Six steps to launch small groups for seekers

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

IRVING–Garry Poole asked a room of more than 150 Christians to do an “attitude check” to determine if non-Christians “really matter” to them.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Churches challenged to recapture ‘apostolic ethos’_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Churches challenged to recapture 'apostolic ethos'

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

IRVING–Christians are not to be curators of antiquities; they are to be God's witnesses, a Princeton Theological Seminary professor told a Texas Baptist conference.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Churches neglecting to teach them to observe_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Churches neglecting to teach them to observe

By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

IRVING–The church today often is not functioning the way it did in New Testament times because too many Christians have overlooked the “teaching them to observe” phrase in Christ's Great Commission, said Pastor Jeff Harris of Grace Point Church in San Antonio.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

California pastor sees parallels between first and 21st centuries_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

California pastor sees parallels
between first and 21st centuries

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

IRVING–God has uniquely positioned Christians in the United States to have an impact around the world as he used the Roman Empire in the first century, said John Lo, pastor of Epicentre Church in Pasadena, Calif.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Incomplete gospel yields nominal Christians, Willard says_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Incomplete gospel yields nominal Christians, Willard says

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

IRVING–An incomplete gospel is leading to “nominal Christians” and weakening the church, according to author and professor Dallas Wil-lard.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Founders of Habitat for Humanity International dismissed_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Founders of Habitat for Humanity International dismissed

By John Pierce

Baptists Today

AMERICUS, Ga. (ABP)–Millard and Linda Fuller were immediately dismissed Jan. 31 from their jobs with Habitat for Humanity International, the worldwide Christian housing ministry they founded and led for 29 years.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Renewed love for hymns makes a comeback among youth_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Renewed love for hymns makes a comeback among youth

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

Melodies and instrumentation have changed, but the lyrics remain the same, as young worshippers find new meaning in traditional hymns.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Texas Baptist Forum_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:

Faith of a child

We entered the church through the old worship center doors. I had three small boys (6, 4 and 2) loosely under control. I mean loosely, because at their ages, they are likely to bolt in three different directions at any instant.

Nicholas, 6, asked if we could stop to see the prayer chapel. So, I explained that if I took them to see it, they had to realize this was a solemn place. They had to agree to use their best manners and be silent if anyone was inside praying. Naturally, they all agreed.

When we entered the chapel, it was completely empty. Candles bathed the area in a warm light, and soft music was playing. Sam, 4, bolted inside, then stopped dead in his tracks after going about six feet into the old sanctuary. He pressed both hands tightly over his eyes, and quickly blurted out: “Dear God, I love you. Amen.”

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Evangelicals urge Bush to focus on poverty issues_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Evangelicals urge Bush to focus on poverty issues

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)–A group of prominent evangelical Christian leaders–including heads of two Texas Baptist schools–have asked President Bush to pay more attention to poverty issues in his second term.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge

Critics claim SpongeBob promotes gay families_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Critics claim SpongeBob promotes gay families

By Celeste Kennel-Shank

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Conservative Christian groups are criticizing a multicultural children's video featuring SpongeBob SquarePants and other TV characters, claiming it promotes acceptance of gay and lesbian families.

02/04/2005 - By John Rutledge