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Baptist Briefs_80904
Posted: 8/06/04
Baptist Briefs
GuideStone offers online help. Investors with GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention–formerly the SBC Annuity Board–can use the Internet to view online presentations or participate in interactive seminars for retirement planning. Presentations cover key topics for ministers and church employees such as enrollment in the church retirement plan, advantages of consolidating investments and how to know if you are invested appropriately for retirement. For more information on this new service, visit the website at www.guidestone.org or call toll-free at (800) 262-0511.
Retired seminary professor Blevins dies. James Blevins, former professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died July 24 in Louisville, Ky., after a long-term illness. He was 67. Blevins was on Southern Seminary's faculty from 1976 until 1999, when a severe case of diabetes forced him to take early medical retirement. Blevins was widely published on the Book of Revelation, including his 1984 book "Revelation as Drama," and was known for his dramatic presentation of Bible characters.
Veteran missionary Bryant dead at 74. Thurmon Bryant, longtime missionary to Brazil and former senior administrator of the International Mission Board, died July 27 in Fort Worth at age 74. A native of Claud, Okla., Bryant and his wife, the former Doris Morris of Sudan, were appointed by the Foreign Mission Board in 1958. Bryant served 17 years as a field missionary in Brazil and almost 20 years on the mission board staff. He was a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to missionary appointment, he was pastor of three Texas congregations–Prairie Point Baptist Church in Groesbeck, Friendship Baptist Church in Cleburne and First Baptist Church in Grandview.
08/06/2004 - By John Rutledge
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EDITORIAL: ‘How can you call yourself a Christian & vote like that?’_80904
Posted: 8/06/04
EDITORIAL:
'How can you call yourself a Christian & vote like that?'A young Texas Baptist minister recently encountered congregational conflict when a member of his church insisted affiliation with the minister's political party comes complete with a ticket to hell. Meanwhile, an older minister in another state created a furor when he apparently endorsed a presidential candidate from the pulpit.
This is only going to get worse.
Both major political parties have hired staff and launched initiatives to recruit conservative, church-going Christians to their cause. The presidential election is too close to call, and control of Congress is up for grabs. Both parties see Christians as the fulcrum upon which important outcomes will tilt. So, they're launching all-out efforts to win these voters to their side. The effort is so intense the IRS already has warned both parties not to influence churches to engage in political activity that would jeopardize their tax-exempt status.
Hard as it is for the most partisan among us to comprehend, many voters affiliated with both parties have picked their political position precisely because of their Christian beliefs. 08/06/2004 - By John Rutledge
