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  Around the State_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  Around the State

  The Baylor Alumni Association honored four graduates during its annual Distinguished Alumni banquet. Honored were Joel Allison, president and CEO of Baylor Health Care System; Carroll Dawson, general manager of the Houston Rockets and the Houston Comets; Kent Gilbreath, professor of economics at Baylor; and Betty Welch, a linguist and translator for Wycliffe Bible Translators.

  Youth With a Mission, an interdenominational missions and relief organization, will host a three-day celebration of missions past, present and future Feb. 27-29. The weekend of music, teaching, celebration and thanksgiving will be held at the Twin Oaks Ranch, located six miles west of Lindale. For more information or to register, call (800) 641-1245.

  Volunteers from First Baptist Church in Georgetown not only presented two single mothers, Rene Marshall and Adela Padilla, with new Habitat for Humanity homes, but also gave them a kitchen shower to stock their new homes with all they would need to sit down to a feast. The items were donated through the church's AWANAs and their Friday Folks ministry group. The church sponsored building both homes.

  Edwin Twitty, a member of Sagemont Church in Houston, has received the bachelor of arts in Christian ministry degree in psychology and counseling at Leavell College of New Orleans Seminary. Dawn West, a member of Tallowood Church in Houston, received the master of arts in Christian education degree from the seminary.

  02/09/2004 - By John Rutledge

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  Girl’s birthday ‘wish list’ taught her friends: ‘It’s more blessed to give than to receive’_20904

  Posted: 1/27/04

  Friends of Jaclyn Robison (left) brought teddy bears to donate to the Irving Police Department to help children in crisis situations. At right, Jaclyn gets her hair cut to donate to Locks of Love.

  Girl's birthday 'wish list' taught her friends:
  'It's more blessed to give than to receive'

  By Leann Callaway

  Special to the Standard

  IRVING–Instead of handing her parents a list of things she wanted for her eighth birthday, Jaclyn Robison from Oak View Baptist Church in Irving gave them a different kind of "wish list."

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

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  SBC pull-out from BWA would harm global Baptist witness, leaders say_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  Dancers and singers with the Korean Children's Choir performed at Dallas Baptist University, the Baptist Building and First Baptist Church in Plano as part of a tour involving leaders of the Baptist World Alliance.Kristie Brooks, DBU

  SBC pull-out from BWA would harm
  global Baptist witness, leaders say

  By Ken Camp & Marv Knox

  Baptist Standard

  DALLAS–Southern Baptist Convention withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance would mean not only the loss of one-fourth of the international organization's income, but also the loss of a unified Baptist witness worldwide, BWA officials told Texas Baptists.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

• Homeless coalition names Austin one of the ‘meanest’ cities in U.S_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  Homeless coalition names Austin one of the 'meanest' cities in U.S.

  WASHINGTON (ABP)–American cities are becoming increasingly hostile to the plight of the homeless, according to a report by an advocacy group that ranked Austin among the top 10 “meanest” cities.

  Almost 70 percent of the cities studied by National Coalition for the Homeless have passed one or more laws since January 2002 specifically targeting homeless people. Las Vegas topped the group's list of cities that are “meanest” in their treatment of the homeless.

  Not only do new laws make it harder to live on the streets, the group said, but many cities make it illegal for charities and other organizations to perform life-sustaining activities while refusing to allocate sufficient funds to address the causes of homelessness.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

• Baptist Briefs_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  Baptist Briefs

  Reccord to NRB board. Bob Reccord, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, has been appointed to the National Religious Broadcasters board of directors. He will complete the unexpired term of Campus Crusade's Bill Bright, who died last year. Other Southern Baptists serving on the NRB board include former SBC presidents James Merritt and Charles Stanley, Richard Land of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and "Left Behind" co-author Tim LaHaye.

  Seminary Extension leader dead at 84. Ray Rigdon, who led the SBC's Seminary Extension ministry from 1969 to1988, died Jan. 16 in Nashville, Tenn., after a lengthy illness. He was 84. Prior to his Seminary Extension work, Rigdon worked for the Georgia Baptist Convention and served with the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board for two decades.

  CBF studies partnerships. A seven-member committee of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's Coordinating Council is studying how the fellowship funds and evaluates its partner entities, such as Truett Seminary and Logsdon School of Theology. Charles Cantrell, an attorney from Mountain View, Mo., is chairman of the committee, which includes Matt Cook of Rosebud.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

• Coalition draws fire for Muslim connections_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  Coalition draws fire for Muslim connections

  By Robert Marus

  ABP Washington Bureau

  WASHINGTON (ABP)– Conservative evangelicals involved in an anti-gay-marriage coalition are drawing fire from some of their ideological and spiritual comrades over associations with a Muslim group.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

• Another View: Now is time to do unto the SBC as it’s doing unto the BWA_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  ANOTHER VIEW:
  Now is time to do unto the SBC as it's doing unto the BWA

  By Charles Foster Johnson

  The Southern Baptist Convention's recent decision to quit the Baptist World Alliance all but completes its 25-year rewrite of what it means to be Baptist.

  George W. Truett, legendary Texas Baptist pastor and founding light of the BWA, wouldn't recognize the revision.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

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  Cornerstone helps other ministries along Rio Grande meet human needs_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  Cornerstone Children's Ranch, near Quemado, helps various Christian ministries meet the needs of hurting people along the Rio Grande.

  Cornerstone helps other ministries
  along Rio Grande meet human needs

  By George Henson

  Staff Writer

  QUEMADO–In the barren, sun-baked terrain between Eagle Pass and Del Rio, a mustard seed of faith grew into a ministry much larger than Steve and Lori Mercer ever imagined.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

• Waller prescribes dose of humility for preachers with dubious doctorates_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  Waller prescribes dose of humility
  for preachers with dubious doctorates

  By George Henson

  Staff Writer

  GORDONVILLE–Some pastors touting the title “Dr.” before their names need a refresher course in ethics, according to a paper awaiting publication in the journal Christian Higher Education.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

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  Down Home: Valentine’s plans cross in the mail_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  DOWN HOME:
  Valentine's plans cross in the mail

  The best-laid Valentine's Day plan of this man and his mouse almost got tripped up by our friendly neighborhood mail carrier.

  Joanna, my Valentine, called the other day and asked about a certain charge on our credit card bill from one of her favorite stores. Man, I hoped that piece of mail wouldn't come through until after Feb. 14.

  Give me credit for trying hard. I began thinking about what to give Jo for Valentine's Day weeks ago. I looked in catalogs and shopped online. I considered a range of possibilities and narrowed my choices. Finally, I settled on The Gift.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

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  Editorial: Let’s talk about sex some more_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  EDITORIAL:
  Let's talk about sex some more

  America needs to talk about sex.

  “Yeah, right,” you say. “That's all we've been talking about for days, ever since halftime at the Super Bowl, when millions of folks got an eyeful of Janet Jackson's breast. The last thing we need is more talk about sex.”

  Well, not exactly.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge

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  Editorial: Seminary’s homosexuality stand consistent with BGCT precedent_20904

  Posted: 2/06/04

  EDITORIAL:
  Seminary's homosexuality stand
  consistent with BGCT precedent

  Commentators expressed surprise that a student at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary lost his scholarship because he is gay.

  They shouldn't be shocked. The Baptist General Convention of Texas–which counts Baylor among its nine affiliated universities–has not changed its understanding of homosexual activity.

  Matt Bass, a Truett student since 2001, lost his scholarship in December, several months after he told friends he is gay. Seminary students typically receive financial support from Baylor and the BGCT to offset the high cost of tuition. While Bass was not expelled, he left because he could not afford to continue his studies there.

  02/06/2004 - By John Rutledge