‘Billy: The Early Years’ falls flat in box office

(ABP) — A biopic about evangelist Billy Graham hit theaters with a thud its opening weekend Oct. 10-12, earning far less than other religion-themed movies like Fireproof and Bill Maher's agnostic comedy documentary Religulous.

Billy: The Early Years, directed by former teen-heartthrob actor Robby Benson, grossed an estimated $199,938 from 282 locations, an average of $709 per screen, according to Variety.

Armie Hammer portrays evangelist Billy Graham in the new movie Billy: The Early Years. (Photo courtesty of Solex Productions)

Another specialty film geared toward Christian audiences, meanwhile, enjoyed a third successful weekend at the box office. Fireproof, produced by a movie-making ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., grossed an estimated $3.2 million, bringing its total earnings to about $17 million. That's double the earnings of the last movie by Sherwood Pictures, Facing the Giants, in 2006.

Maher's Religulous, which takes a skeptical look at religion in general but is particularly hard on Christianity, fell 35 percent in its second weekend, but still managed to gross an estimated $2.2 million from 568 theaters. That brought the cumulative box office gross to $6.7 million.

Released by the Christian distributor Rocky Mountain Pictures, Billy: The Early Years focuses on Billy Graham's life as a teenager growing up on a farm in North Carolina. It continues through his young adulthood, when he burst onto the national scene as an evangelist who could draw thousands of people to his meetings, called “crusades.”

It stars Armie Hammer, the 22-year-old great-grandson of industrialist and philanthropist Armand Hammer, in his first major acting role.




CBF field personnel minister among Middle Eastern group

ATLANTA (ABP) — Frank Morrow was in the Middle East doing relief work after a natural disaster when a local official asked, “Why do you do what you do? Why did you come?”
 
Morrow opened a paperback Bible and shared the story of Jesus. “Those moments are the open doors,” Morrow said. “That’s why we’re there.”
 
As Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel, Morrow and wife Karen have had many opportunities to share Christ among one of the most unreached people groups in the Middle East. Commissioned as strategy coordinators in 1996, the Morrows began ministering in Germany, where large numbers of Middle Eastern refugees had sought asylum.
 
The Morrows helped the refugees in whatever way they could, while learning their language and more about this people group, once strong but now repressed, persecuted and nearly forgotten. Their land had been stolen and their culture outlawed.
 
After 10 years in Germany, the Morrows returned to the United States, with their work based in Fort Worth, Texas. They concentrate on building partnerships with other ministry organizations and helping provide translated media, books and Bibles for distribution in the Middle East.
 
They also connect with CBF partner churches about ways in which congregations can connect with ministry in the Middle East. Churches can partner with the Morrows through prayer, financial support, or by going to a Middle Eastern country to serve among a largely unreached people group, where the gospel is slow to spread.
 
“We don’t see mass conversions or quick change. It’s a long process,” Karen said. “For them to come to faith is a cutting off who they are. It’s a disgrace to their family. They risk their life to [come to Christ].”
 
One husband and wife became Christians in Germany and have returned to the Middle East to start a church among their own people. Even though they’re thousands of miles apart, Karen keeps in contact with the wife, a dear friend.
 
“I encourage her to keep the faith and to testify that God is at work and that God is alive. [She told me] ‘I don’t have another person like you who can share my deepest feelings and hurts with.’ We’re there to be that with people and to be that [presence] in their life,” Karen said. “I feel the biggest part of our work is enabling others to do the work.”

Editor’s note: Specific names and locations of people groups are not included for security reasons.

 




GuideStone addresses market volatility

DALLAS (BP)—GuideStone Financial Resources launched a new Internet resource for its participants Oct. 14 to answer commonly asked questions about recent market volatility.

The resource page includes a video featuring GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins and Chief Operating Officer John R. Jones answering commonly asked questions; articles by GuideStone Capital Management's investment team; and other help via workbooks and presentations. It can be accessed by clicking on the banner at the top of GuideStone's website, www.GuideStone.org.

The resources are in response to the volatile market conditions brought on by a worsening credit crunch.

"The recent world crisis in the financial markets has raised many questions that need to be answered," Hawkins said. "Some of our participants have called or written us expressing concern for the security and future of their retirement accounts.

"These past 20 years have been some of the most tumultuous times in the financial markets. We have worked through the tech bubble, the terrorist attacks on American soil, the housing bubble and now the failure and consolidation of large financial institutions."

Jones emphasized that diversification — both in good and weak economic times — is key to a successful long-term plan.

"By investing in mutual funds, like those offered by GuideStone Funds, you have the added benefit of investment diversification in a large number of companies that operate in a wide range of industries," Jones said. "While diversification will not eliminate the possibility of investment loss in times like these, it does limit our financial exposure to the performance of any individual company in which we invest.

"The market is cyclical, and no one can know tomorrow's returns," Jones continued. "GuideStone has weathered past uncertainty and continues to serve our participants with retirement, life and health plans, and investment opportunities. As we have done for 90 years, GuideStone is committed to serving its participants through these challenging times and remains keenly focused on the trust our participants have placed in us."

The resource page will be updated periodically, as warranted. GuideStone participants also can sign up on the website for free e-newsletters with educational articles and tips for their finances and life and health needs.




N.Y. Baptist group says to defrock pastor facing child-porn charge

OSWEGATCHIE, N.Y. (ABP) — A statewide fellowship of independent Baptist churches in New York is recommending defrocking one of its pastors arrested on child-pornography charges.

Leaders of First Baptist Church in the Upstate New York town of Oswegatchie demanded and received the resignation of Pastor Merton Parks after local media reported their pastor was part of a federal investigation. Parks, 60, was arraigned Oct. 9 and charged with possessing child pornography, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison.

Craig Golden, state representative for the Empire State Fellowship of Regular Baptist Churches, said his group’s polity means it would be up to the local church that ordained Parks to withdraw its ordination.

"When a guy does something like Mr. Parks did, we surely don't condone it," Golden said.

Ordination in question

Golden said he doesn't yet know where Parks was ordained — or even if he is ordained at all — but that when the ordaining church is identified, "We would suggest or recommend to them or advise them that they follow through, and if the charges are true, that they would revoke his ordination certificate."

Golden acknowledged that the Baptist focus on autonomy of the local church creates a special challenge for preventing or addressing pastoral misconduct among Baptists. But, he added, the task is easier today because of the Internet and other technological means that enable rapid communication.

"If [Parks] goes to Utah and some little church gets his name, if they even go on the Internet and check it out, they'll see the whole story," Golden said. "There's no guarantee that he will never get another church," Golden said, but the chances are slim.

The Empire State Fellowship of Regular Baptist Churches is not formally affiliated with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches , but it partners voluntarily as a regional association with the GARBC in ministry endeavors. Local churches may affiliate with either or both groups.

Group separated from American Baptists in 1930s

The GARBC separated from what is today called the American Baptist Churches USA over doctrinal differences in 1933. They strongly emphasize local-church autonomy and reject denominational structures like the Southern Baptist Convention as too connectional.

"We are more disconnected than Southern Baptists," Golden said, "but we still recognize [that] this disqualifies a man" for the ministry.

Last year the Southern Baptist Convention considered establishing a national database of clergy sex abusers, but the SBC Executive Committee rejected the idea as impractical due to local-church autonomy.

That has caused some activists against clergy sex abuse to criticize the SBC. The fact that an independent Baptist group is recommending that a local church defrock a pastor in this case may only sharpen such criticism.

"It's interesting that a Baptist group that claims to be even 'more disconnected' than Southern Baptists can nevertheless take the initiative to research an accused minister's ordination and to publicly urge the revocation of his ordination," said Christa Brown of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "This is more action than we've seen from Southern Baptist groups, state or national."

According to media reports, Parks was snared in a federal investigation that identified thousands of people in the United States who have subscribed to various child-porn websites.

Credit card purchases from church computer

The Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Cyber Crimes Unit said it tracked credit-card purchases of child pornography on Parks’ church computer since July. Parks reportedly said in a statement to investigators that he used the images as a way to self-treat his erectile dysfunction, and he claimed he didn't know they were illegal.

Parks told the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times "it was some indiscretion on my part," but "there was no malicious intent." He said he regretted involving the church in the ordeal, but he didn't believe the images on his computer were pornographic.

News10Now, a 24-hour local news channel owned and operated by Time Warner Cable, reported that, upon learning of Parks' involvement in the case prior to his arrest, church trustees sent a clear message that they didn't approve of such behavior.

"We called a special meeting and told him we wanted his resignation and his stuff out of the church by Sunday and not to ever step back into the church," said Glenn Fuller, a First Baptist Church trustee.

Parks had reportedly been at the church about three years. He worked previously for about five years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Hermon, N.Y. He also taught about 17 years in private schools in New York and Pennsylvania before entering the ministry.

If convicted, he would have to register as a sex offender.




Oklahoma Baptist University names new president

SHAWNEE, Okla. (ABP) — David Whitlock, 46, an administrator at Southwest Baptist University, has been named Oklahoma Baptist University's 15th president, OBU trustees announced Oct. 10.

"Having been born and raised in Oklahoma, Dr. Whitlock will fit us well," Alton Fannin, OBU trustee chair, said.

An 11-member presidential search committee, which included Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma Executive Director Anthony Jordan and Abby Jeffers, 2007-2008 student body president, presented Whitlock for the position.

"I am delighted that the board of trustees has voted to call Dr. Whitlock as the 15th president of OBU," Stephen Allen, search committee chair, said. "Dr. Whitlock's experience, vision and passion will enable him to continue in the excellent tradition of OBU's past presidents."

Whitlock has been associate provost and dean of the college of business and computer science at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo., since 1999. He also has served as dean of adult and satellite-campus programs since 2007.

Before that, he taught for 14 years at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He also has been a bi-vocational pastor for churches in Oklahoma and Missouri since licensed to the ministry in 1993. He currently preaches every other week at Wellspring Baptist Fellowship in Bolivar, where he is an elder.

Born in Purcell, Okla., Whitlock earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in administrative studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State. He completed a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Oklahoma.

"I see now how God has been preparing me each step along the way to serve in this day and in this place," Whitlock said on campus, following the announcement.

Whitlock follows Mark Brister, who retired in November 2007 after serving Oklahoma Baptist since 1998. John Parrish has served the past 12 months as interim president. Whitlock will assume the post Nov. 3.

Whitlock said he is grateful to have had to opportunity to serve at Southwest Baptist University and leaves behind "many dear friends" and colleagues.

According to SBU's student newspaper, The Omnibus, SBU President Pat Taylor nominated Whitlock for the OBU leadership spot shortly after Brister announced his retirement.

"I wrote a letter of nomination back last spring and it has been very interesting to watch this process unfold," said Taylor, who previously worked at OBU from 1986 to 1996. "You just see God's handprint all over this because he [Whitlock] was one among numerous good candidates."

According to the OBU student newspaper, The Bison, more than 25 candidates were recommended as president.

Bob Allen contributed to this story.




Churches partner with PORTA to provide computer lab for immigrants

BILOXI, Miss.—By teaching computer skills that will allow them to navigate the “data super highway,” Ric Stewart and Williams Trace Baptist Church in Sugar Land believe they can help Albanian immigrants living in Athens, Greece.

“Albanians typically do not have the personal discretionary funds required to bridge the digital divide—that is, the gap between those who have access to computers and the Internet with all of their advantages and those that do not have access—that gets wider every year,” said Stewart, who lives in Biloxi, Miss.

Stewart recently set up a computer lab at PORTA, an Albanian cultural center in Athens started and operated by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Bob and Janice Newell.

Ric Stewart (left) installs a computer at PORTA. (CBF PHOTO/Courtesy of Ric Stewart)

Stewart installed computers provided with funding from Williams Trace Baptist Church in Sugar Land, where Newell served as founding interim pastor 30 years ago.

“We challenged this congregation to create the Computer Learning Center because we knew this was a great need,” Mrs. Newell said.

“We recognized that Albanians in Athens are far behind the curve in computer learning and that computer knowledge will significantly enhance their chances of competing in the Athens job market, one in which they are already disadvantaged because they are a despised minority.”

Phil Lineberger, pastor of Williams Trace Baptist, said the church provides monthly support and special needs support to the Newells, with whom they have partnered for many years. Church members plan to work with the Newells in Athens on short-term mission experiences.

The Computer Learning Center is one example of the way PORTA is providing resources and skills required to help Albanians gain equality in Greek society. English classes, art exhibits and jewelry design workshops are other resources PORTA offers.

While Stewart helped with the computer center installation, his wife, Cindy, taught a two-day jewelry workshop to Albanian women.

“Ric and I are so impressed with the enthusiasm that Bob and Janice have generated with the Albanians for PORTA,” Mrs. Stewart said. “To be included in the work that the Newells are doing is both an honor and a blessing from God. It makes us feel like ‘mini-missionaries’ with them.”

The Newells first met the Stewarts at Clear Lake Baptist Church in Houston. They were among the first PORTA partners who went to Athens in May 2007 to help with a cross-stitch project.

“We’re convinced that our work is enhanced by innovative partnerships with local churches, both in the States and here in Greece,” Newell said.

“I know that the congregation is both headquarters and the heartbeat of missions and ministry. By partnering with laypersons in churches, we believe that we are providing an opportunity for all of us to be busy about the mission given to us by God. We are pleased that the ministry of PORTA allows us the chance to do, together with local churches, what neither of us could do alone.”

 




Baptist Briefs: Relief bound for Cuba

Baptist relief bound for Cuba. Southern Baptists are sending two containers of relief supplies to Cuba to help victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike rebuild their homes and lives. An agreement negotiated with the U.S. and Cuban governments allows a container of building supplies and food to be sent to both of Cuba’s Baptist conventions—eastern and western. Assessment teams of representatives of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, Florida Baptist Convention and Baptist Global Response toured opposite ends of Cuba, evaluating needs and discussing possible responses with Cuban government officials. Hurricane Gustav wreaked havoc on western Cuba; Hurricane Ike ravaged the eastern end of the island. Estimates of the damage range as high as $5 billion.

 

History archives reunited at Mercer. Scholars and history buffs who want to learn more about Baptist history now can do so in one place. The American Baptist Historical Society dedicated the Samuel Colgate Historical Library and Archives on Mercer University’s Atlanta campus recently, bringing its vast collections previously housed at Valley Forge, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y., under one roof. The building also is the new home for the Baptist History and Heritage Society, successor to the former Southern Baptist Historical Commission. In addition, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has announced plans to move into the building, formerly home to the Georgia Baptist Convention offices.

 

Allen rejoins ABP as senior writer. Veteran Baptist journalist Bob Allen has returned to Associated Baptist Press to fill a newly created senior writer position. It will be Allen’s second stint with the independent news agency, which he served for a decade as news editor. Since 2003, he has been managing editor of EthicsDaily.com, the news-and-opinion outlet of the Nashville-based Baptist Center for Ethics. Allen, a native of Marion, Ill., holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern Illinois and a master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He will work out of a home office in suburban Nashville, Tenn. Allen and his wife, Vicki, have two adult children—Patrick, 22; and Amy, 19. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

 

Goats graze on seminary grounds. Four hundred goats descended recently on the 120-acre campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., grazing on 50 acres of steep, grassy hillsides. The school saved about $5,000 in labor and materials by contracting with Goats-R-Us, said Robert Dvorak, the seminary’s facilities management director. That does not include the medical treatment and loss of work time staff could have incurred after using mowers and line trimmers on steep terrain where poison oak grows.

 

CBF partners observe 9/11 with community service. Twenty Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner congregations and organizations participated in this year’s 11-on-11 day of service, held on and around Sept. 11. Facilitated by Current, CBF’s young-leaders’ network, the mission projects offered a constructive way for CBF supporters to make a difference in their communities and honor the memory of lives lost as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York and on the Pentagon.

 




Book says Southern Baptist women stronger than confession suggests

CORVALLIS, Ore. (ABP) — While professing to believe the Bible teaches them to submit to their husbands, Southern Baptist women tend to function as equal partners when it comes to most decision-making in the home, according to a new book by an author familiar with Southern Baptist women.

That is due in large part, says author Susan Shaw, to the fact that Southern Baptist girls are taught from a young age to believe they have direct access to God — without any need for an intermediary like a husband or a minister.

Shaw, director of women’s studies at Oregon State University, wrote God Speaks to Us, Too: Southern Baptist Women on Church, Home & Society , from the perspective of both an insider and outsider. She grew up Southern Baptist but now attends a United Church of Christ congregation.

She weaves her own experience with more than 150 interviews of current and former Southern Baptist women from various traditions and backgrounds.

"For years I had been intrigued by the contradictions in Southern Baptist women's lives," Shaw said in an e-mail interview. "They professed to be submissive, but they ran their families and churches. They were Southern women with all of that cultural baggage, and yet they were strong leaders, some even challenging cultural and denominational norms by being ordained and becoming pastors. So I wanted to explore those contradictions and complexities."

SBC women "a rebellious bunch" 

She concluded that while the Southern Baptist Convention’s official positions might seem to make women subordinate, Southern Baptist women are, in fact, a rebellious bunch. The level of rebellion varies from ordained women — who defy the decades-old Southern Baptist tradition that girls can aspire to be missionaries but only boys can be called to preach — to stay-at-home moms who view their husbands as head of the home, yet exert significant influence on the direction of their families and churches.

Shaw said Southern Baptist women are a diverse lot, but one thing they share across the spectrum is belief in the Baptist distinctive often termed "soul competency" or "priesthood of the believer." Because of that belief, Shaw says in the book, whether or not a woman views herself as a complete equal to her husband or is assigned to a helper role, she answers only to God in matters of faith.

"The doctrine of the priesthood of the believer has significantly and essentially shaped the identity of Southern Baptist women," Shaw said. "Each woman I interviewed, without reservation, claims that God speaks to her, and, for many women, that belief has empowered them to challenge gender norms in Southern Baptist life. For all of them, that belief has allowed them to negotiate a very strong sense of [moral] agency, even among women who espouse submission" to their husbands or other male leaders.

Shaw said a lot of people would be surprised to learn that Southern Baptist women are stronger and more independent that their popular image might suggest. They know they have power, but they exercise it in different ways — some through traditional ways and some in more feminist fashion.

"God speaks to us too" 

"The bottom line, though, is if they feel like God is telling them something, then that's the way they're going to go," she said. "'God speaks to us, too' — that's what they kept telling me."

In the book, Shaw profiles her mother as a typical Southern Baptist woman of her generation. She would say her husband is head of the house, but he would never make a family decision without discussing it with her first.

Shaw turns to her mother's Bible study group, nicknamed "the Clique," as an important focus group representing the older generation of Baptist women.

While they accept the language of male headship, they do not view themselves as powerless in the home. "Man is the head," one member of the Clique comments, "but woman is the neck that turns him."

They aren't afraid to disagree with their pastor and to tell him so. They may believe that only males should be pastors and deacons, but it is common knowledge that without women, the average Baptist church could not function.

Shaw said women who espouse submission still view themselves as equal to men in God's eyes. They see submission based on role, not value, and as a choice they make, not a requirement imposed on them. And they don't see male authority as all-encompassing.

"It's a recognition that at some point in a marriage relationship wives and husbands are going to disagree, and at that point, they believe, the wife's role is to give in to the husband's authority," she said. "But on the whole, what they really practice is a partnership, with give-and-take."

Shaw grew up attending a Southern Baptist church in Rome, Ga. She earned master's and doctoral degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was ordained as a minister and taught eight years at California Baptist University. She left the Southern Baptist Convention about 13 years ago, following significant controversy between moderates and fundamentalists over issues such as women’s ordination and the proper role of pastors.

Conservatives ultimately won, and by 2000 they had changed the confessional document of the nation’s largest Protestant faith group to discourage women pastors and teach that each wife should "submit herself graciously" to her husband's “servant leadership.”

Shaw said Southern Baptist women's views are shaped as much by generation as anything else.

"Older women are much more progressive than most people might think," she said. "Women who came of age during the women's movement are more likely to identify as feminist, or at least see feminism as an important development of the '60s and '70s. Some younger women are more conservative than their mothers and grandmothers, but other younger women are on the forefront of progressive social and theological change."

 




Gay-rights group targets Baptist colleges, including DBU

AUSTIN (ABP)—A group that promotes equal rights for homosexuals in religious organizations appears to be targeting Baptist schools in its third annual tour of faith-based educational institutions.

Most of the stops scheduled on Soulforce Q’s Equality Ride are Baptist-affiliated schools, including Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and Dallas Baptist University.

Others include Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.; Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark.; Union University in Jackson, Tenn.; Mississippi College, Clinton, Miss.; and Central Baptist College, Conway, Ark.; along with Columbia International University, Columbia, S.C.; Morehouse College and Spelman College in Atlanta; Heritage Christian University, Florence, Ala.; Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie; and Simmons College of Kentucky, Louisville, Ky.

Louisiana College, a Baptist school in Pineville, La., also was originally included. But Soulforce Q canceled the visit because the area is still recovering from Hurricane Gustav, according to college spokesperson Amy Robertson.

Soulforce Q is the young-adult division of Soulforce , an interfaith organization that “works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people through relentless nonviolent resistance,” according to a press release.

“As young people and students ourselves, we understand that it’s very difficult to learn in an environment where you don’t feel safe,” Equality Ride co-director Jarrett Lucas said. “And students who face harassment or expulsion can’t always speak up for themselves.

Soulforce Q sends requests for meetings with administrators and students to the schools several months in advance of the ride. A negative response doesn’t mean the institution will be dropped from the tour list. “The colleges’ responses shape the itinerary,” the release noted. “The Equality Ride strives to visit a mix of schools that are open to collaboration and schools that are not yet willing to make a place at the table for affirming viewpoints.”

“A lot of schools will let students know we are coming,” ride co-director Katie Higgins said in a telephone interview. “And we tend to get a flood of e-mail from students, mostly positive.

“We get contacts from students who say they are not safe,” even at institutions with safety policies in place, Higgins said. “The fact of the matter is that every college in this country could benefit from the Equality Ride.”

Palm Beach Atlantic University, a Florida Baptist school, will not meet with ride participants. A “visit by Equality Ride would fail to meaningfully further the mission of either organization,” Palm Beach Atlantic president David Clark said in a prepared statement released to faculty, staff and students.

“As we have explained to them, our campus is already a safe place for all students. The university does not tolerate harassment of any individual. We believe we have a welcoming campus for all students,” he added.

Palm Beach Atlantic does not ban students with same-sex orientation from enrolling, but it does require students to follow its behavior policies, which prohibit homosexual behavior.

At least one Baptist school will welcome Equality Ride participants. Student affairs leaders and administrators at Dallas Baptist University will meet them for lunch when the tour stops Oct. 24. Dialogue sessions are scheduled for the afternoon.

“We had been aware of what the Equality Ride was,” DBU Dean of Student Life Jay Harley said in a telephone interview. “We anticipated receiving an invitation from them.

“After a lot of prayer and discussion among the administration,” administrators at Dallas Baptist decided to allow the ride organizers to lead a discussion, “but with the understanding that we disagree with where they stand.,” Harley said. “It is a part of higher education to have discussions, even about topics about which we disagree.”

Students had input into the decision as well. University administrators “explained why they wanted to pursue a discussion (with Soulforce Q) and asked how we would respond to that,” DBU Student Government Association president Leigha Caron said.

“Our students have a strong commitment to good character and morals. We as Christians … can show the selfless love that Christ would have us show.”

Harley emphasized that Dallas Baptist already has safety policies in place. “We regard the safety of all students—for all students to be safe, to not be discriminated against or to experience hatred from other students … that includes those who may be dealing with homosexual issues or students dealing with other issues or students who are not Christians,” he said.




American Baptist history archives reunited at Mercer University

ATLANTA (ABP) — Scholars and history buffs who want to learn more about Baptist history now can do so in one place.

The American Baptist Historical Society dedicated the Samuel Colgate Historical Library and Archives on Mercer University’s Atlanta campus Sept. 27, bringing its vast collections previously housed at Valley Forge, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y., under one roof.

Participating in the Sept. 27 ribbon cutting for the new American Baptist Historical Society archives on Mercer University’s Atlanta campus were, left to right: Dr. Deborah Bingham Van Broekhoven, ABHS executive director; Lester Garner, former member of the ABHS board of managers; Allen Abbott, representative of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board; Wesley Roberts, vice president of the ABHS Board of Managers; Ruth Clark, vice president of the American Baptist Board of International Ministries; Richard Swindle, Mercer’s senior vice president for university advancement; Roy Medley, general secretary for American Baptist Churches USA; Trinette McCray, president of the ABHS board of managers; Aidsand Wright-Riggins, executive director, American Baptist Board of National Ministries; and Mercer President Bill Underwood. (PHOTO: Mercer University)

The space also represents something of a reunion for Baptists — who divided over slavery in 1845 and have never reunited. While some questioned relocating the library and archives to Atlanta, particularly with American Baptist Churches USA headquarters in Pennsylvania, Mercer President Bill Underwood said Atlanta was the perfect location, because of the city’s civil-rights history and the personal history of university founder Jesse Mercer.

The Georgia Baptist preacher whose financial contributions helped establish the university in 1833 also made a substantial gift to the American Baptist Publication Society. That, in turn, helped lead to establishment of the American Baptist Historical Society in 1853“

This is a partnership between the leading Baptist research university and the largest Baptist historical resource in the nation,” Underwood said. “I felt from the beginning this partnership could help both institutions advance their missions.”

The building is also the new home for the Baptist History and Heritage Society, which was the successor to the former Southern Baptist Historical Commission. In addition, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship — which was where most in the moderate camp of the Southern Baptist Convention’s controversies of the 1980s migrated — has announced plans to move into the building.Albert Brinson, co-chair of a fundraising campaign for the American Baptist Historical Society, said the move is appropriate. Brinson was ordained at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta by co-pastors Martin Luther King Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr. He said both men thought Atlanta was a natural spot for bringing diverse people together.

"Our relationship with American Baptists makes this a special moment that now, in 2008, we celebrate the opening of the largest center of Baptist history,” Brinson said. “We are a part of that Baptist history. Atlanta is a great place for bringing people together, and we are asking God to bless this place.”

An American Baptist Historical Society employee leads a tour of the society\'s new archives on the Atlanta campus of Mercer University following an opening ceremony Sept. 27. (PHOTO: Mercer University)

Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, said the dedication was momentous for those who treasure the nation’s rich Baptist heritage. “This is a significant day for those who have prayed for the unity of the church,” Medley said. “By joining with this storied institution rooted in Baptist life and in the South, it’s another way in which God is healing the divisions, the scars and the wounds of Baptists in the past.”

From a research perspective, proximity to other historical collections at Emory University and Vanderbilt University make the new site convenient for researchers, said Anthea Butler, assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester and a participant in the dedication ceremony. “It’s important for the archives to be in Atlanta because it puts it in great proximity to all the great Baptist research sites in the South, all within a 500-mile radius,” said Butler, a Baptist historian.Trinette McCray, president of the historical society, echoed that proximity is important. “To have our collections together under one roof makes it easy for researchers and history buffs to see our historical documents,” she said. “Atlanta is perfect because it is one flight from almost any city in the country, and researchers and students won’t have to search for documents in two locations.”

The archives hold tens of thousands of artifacts of Baptist history, some from as early as the 1500s from Dutch and German Baptists, according to Deborah Van Broekhoven, the historical society’s executive director. She called the new library and archives an exciting place where learning is still taking place.“We’re always stumbling upon a wide variety of stories,” Van Broekhoven said. “People come from all over the world to use our collections because part of their history is in our archives. Probably the most exciting thing is they tell us more about the story, from different perspectives, because it’s a piece of their own history.”

Read more

CBF agrees to lease former Georgia Baptist Building (12/21/2007)

Former Southern Baptist history group to join American Baptists at Mercer (2/26/2007)

American Baptists will move historical collections to Atlanta (9/25/2006)

 




Pastor and seminary leader Landrum P. Leavell II dies

Landrum P. Leavell II, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls and president emeritus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, died in Sept. 26 in Wichita Falls. He was 81.

Leavell held two doctor of divinity degrees and a doctorate in theology. A graduate of New Orleans seminary, he had been a pastor of churches in Mississippi and Texas for 26 years when the struggling seminary asked him to become its seventh president in 1974. He served there until he retired in 1994.

Landrum P. Leavell II

“By any standard of measurement, Dr. Leavell is one of the greatest presidents that this seminary ever had,” said current NOBTS President Chuck Kelley.

Leavell was pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls from 1963 to 1975. He served as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas from 1971 to 1973.

Leavell authored or contributed to 14 books including Angels, Angels, Angels and Twelve Who Followed Jesus.

Survivors include his wife of 55 years, JoAnn Paris Leavell; children Landrum P. Leavell III of Denton, Ann Leavell Beauchamp of Greensboro, Ga., Roland Q. Leavell II of Jackson, Miss., and David E. Leavell of Springfield, Tenn.; sister Margaret Leavell Mann of Newnan, Ga.; and 11 grandchildren.

Leavell was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Leonard O. Leavell, and a sister, Anne Leavell Murphey of Newnan, Ga.

The funeral will be at First Baptist Church, Wichita Falls,  at 2 p.m.  Tuesday, Sept. 30 under direction of Lunns Colonial Funeral Home, with visitation to follow in the church’s parlor. Interment will be at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newnan, Ga., under the direction of Higgins-Hillcrest Chapel Funeral Home.   A memorial chapel service will be conducted Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 11 a.m. in Leavell Chapel, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Memorials gifts are requested to be given to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and First Baptist Church, Wichita Falls. 

 




Louisiana churches ponder life after Ike

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)—Hurricane-weary churches in southern Louisiana that weathered Katrina and Rita and three years later Gustav may have been done in by Ike’s onslaught.

Joe Arnold, director of missions in Bayou Baptist Association southwest of New Orleans, said 5,000 more homes in the region were flooded by Ike than Rita in 2005. This means 15,000 homes rather than 10,000 homes.

“Longtime pastors tell me they’ve never seen the water this high,” Arnold said. “I’ve got 11 churches that were strongly impacted. ‘No church; no offering; no salary.’ That’s an abbreviated version of my report.”

Live Oak Baptist Church in Montegut had three feet of water in the building when Pastor Tommy Bellon evacuated. The parsonage next door sustained similar damage.

Bethel Baptist Church in Bourg had two feet of water in the building and roof damage.

First Baptist Church in Houma was in the final stages of volunteer construction on its new day school. It was an eight-building compound with a central courtyard.

“We only have one standing now, and we may have to tear it down,” pastor’s wife Jan Folmar said. “We may just be at square one.”

Arnold spent a recent morning in a conference with other associational leaders to assess the damage inflicted by Gustav and now Ike.

“One of the problems we’re going to see is a shortfall—my conservative estimate—of $100,000 in offerings over this six-week to two-month period,” Arnold said.

“Some of these people don’t have jobs, so no money to give. … Some of them feel like, ‘I don’t know if I can go through this again.’ They still know their strength comes from the Lord, but it’s part of the grief process.”

Arnold would like partnerships to develop between churches in Bayou Baptist Association and churches elsewhere.

“I have three churches that were limping already,” Arnold said. “If they don’t get partnerships in bodies and finances, they’re not going to open again. When you’re limping and fall into the water, it’s hard to get up again.”

J.P. Miles, director of missions for Carey Baptist Association, which includes Calcasieu, Jeff Davis and Cameron parishes—from Lake Charles to points west and south—noted the region received the full impact of Ike’s powerful storm surge.

“In many areas, it’s kind of déjà vu as to what has taken place,” Miles said.

“We’re looking at a new phase of ministry, especially on the coast. In assessing this thing after Rita, we tried to get people to take a broader view. That’s what we’re going to do again.”

An additional problem in the wake of Ike: Some buildings were even more badly damaged than they were during Rita, Miles said. After Rita, church reconstruction was grandfathered in under previous zoning requirements, if half the building was left.

“Now everything has to be up to code, and entirely different codes, which might mean 18-foot stilts in some cases,” Miles said.

One significant issue is that churches must come up with a 5 percent insurance deductible, or $5,000 for every $100,000 valuation of the property, said Lonnie Wascom, director of missions in Chappapeela, LaTangi and St. Tammany Baptist Associations.

Such deductibles are “a major hit for our churches,” said Wascom, whose associations encompass Slidell and other areas hard-hit by 2005’s Katrina.

“We had a number that were hit with what I consider minor damage,” Wascom continued. “But it’s like ‘minor surgery’ when it’s the other guy and ‘major’ when it’s you, and that’s true with churches—especially smaller churches.”