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  nae_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  New NAE president Ted Haggard
  hopes to enhance evangelicals' image

  By Steve Rabey

  Religion News Service

  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (RNS)–Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, says most evangelical Christians are humble, kind and godly folks, but that's not how they're always perceived.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• namb_budgetcuts_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  NAMB cuts $11 million from 2004 budget as income wanes

  ALPHARETTA, GA (ABP)–The North American Mission Board plans to cut $11 million from its budget next year, which will eliminate 31 full- and part-time positions–some of which are vacant–and leave seven current employees without jobs.

  The proposed $118 million budget–6 percent less than this year–awaits approval by trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention agency during their meeting Oct. 8.

  The 2004 budget cuts $3 million from travel expenses, $1.6 million in communication projects, more than $4 million from support of various programs and $1.7 million from personnel expenses.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• northcarolina_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03

  North Carolina convention cuts
  24 positions, 20 percent of staff

  By Tony Cartledge

  North Carolina Biblical Recorder

  CARY, N.C. (ABP)–The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina cut 24 staff positions Aug. 26 in the wake of shrinking contributions from churches.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

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  okhotin_convicted_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  Russian court convicts
  Baptist worker of smuggling

  By Frank Brown

  Religion News Service

  MOSCOW–In a case being watched closely by evangelical Protestants worldwide, a judge convicted an American Baptist youth pastor of currency smuggling Aug. 22, in the process confiscating $48,000 in charitable donations collected from believers in the United States.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• people_groups_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  Website explains all about
  unreached people groups

  By Ashley Haygood

  International Mission Board

  RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–Ever wondered how far the gospel has advanced among a particular people group? Ever wondered which people groups are the least evangelized? Ever wondered what a “people group” is?

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• prop3_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  Texas voters to consider church taxation measure

  By Ken Camp

  Texas Baptist Communications

  The tax exemption for church-owned property that is leased to a private school or held for future relocation could be extended if voters approve Proposition 3 on Sept. 13.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• quanah_prayer_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  Quanah women find prayer really changes things

  By John Hall

  Texas Baptist Communications

  QUANAH–Prayer changes the way Christians view their communities, according to members at First Baptist Church of Quanah. It helped folks at this North Texas farming community see a multitude of people who need Jesus.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• refugees_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  World harbors 35 million refugees

  WASHINGTON (RNS)–Almost 35 million displaced people were living in refugee camps or other temporary shelters last year, including a growing number who were unable to leave their countries, according to the 2003 World Refugee Survey.

  The number of those uprooted from their homes but still living in their countries rose from 17 million in 1998 to 21.8 million in 2002, while the number of those seeking protection outside their countries has steadily dropped from 16.3 million in 1994 to 13 million last year.

  The increase in the internally displaced stems from a growing inhospitality to refugees and a large number of internal conflicts, such as civil wars, said Roberta Cohen, co-director of the Brookings Institution and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Project on Internal Displacement.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

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  revolve_teens_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  New Testament as fashion magazine a hit with teen girls

  By Alexandra Alter

  Religion News Service

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)–Where are teenage girls turning for advice about fashion, dating and getting along with their parents? Would you believe, the New Testament?

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• student_club_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  Student FISH club allowable

  PHILADELPHIA (ABP)–A student Bible club was wrongly barred from meeting at a Pennsylvania high school, according to a federal appellate court.

  The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made the decision after Melissa Donovan, a senior at Punxsutawney Area High School, claimed the school district would not let her Bible study group, FISH, meet during an activity period after school began.

  “FISH is a group that discusses current issues from a biblical perspective, and school officials denied the club equal access to meet on school premises during the activity period solely because of the club's religious nature,” Judge Ruggero Aldisert wrote.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• teen_abuse_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  One-fourth of sexually active teens report abuse, study finds

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Among teenagers who have had sex, one-quarter of those relationships included some form of abuse, with nearly one in 10 teens reporting physical abuse within their relationships, according to a study by Child Trends.

  The study also found that one-fourth of teens who have had sex reported having sex with their first partner only once.

  Richard Ross, founder of the abstinence program True Love Waits and professor of youth and student ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, drew a link to the entertainment business' inaccurate portrayal of sexual encounters.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge

• temple_mount_90803

  Posted: 9/5/03
  

  Temple Mount open for visits by non-Muslims

  JERUSALEM (RNS)–For only the second time in three years, the Temple Mount, revered by Jews, Muslims and Christians, is open to visits by non-Muslims.

  Since Aug. 20, hundreds of Jews and Christians have visited and prayed on the Mount, which Muslims call Haram al-Sharif. Currently, non-Muslims may visit between 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, but not on Friday, the Muslim sabbath.

  Once the home of the first and second biblical temples, the Temple Mount stands above the Western Wall and contains the Holy of Holies, Judaism's most sacred site. It also is the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place in Islam.

  09/05/2003 - By John Rutledge