Week of January 16, 2006 Piper bout with cancer The man who has long proclaimed that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” is now facing a major test of his faith with every intention of proving God worthy. John Piper, author of “Desiring God” and pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late December and will undergo surgery to remove the organ in February, according to a letter he wrote to his congregation and posted on his Web site, desiringgod.org. Doctors told Piper the cancer does not appear to be aggressive and it is unlikely that it has spread beyond the prostate, thus it is possible to be cancer-free with successful treatment. Piper, in his letter, asked that people pray that God would “grant that this light and momentary trial would work to spread a passion for (God’s) supremacy for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.” Harmful viewing Too much television-watching can harm children’s ability to learn, a trio of new studies suggest. Findings from the studies recently were published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. One of the studies involved 400 California children. It found … [Read more...]
Willoughby named Baptist Message managing editor
Karen Willoughby was named managing editor of the Baptist Message newspaper during a called meeting of the agency’s trustees last week. By Brian Blackwell LBM Newswriter Karen Willoughby was named managing editor of the Baptist Message newspaper during a called meeting of the agency’s trustees last week. “Karen was not only the choice of our new editor Kelly Boggs whom I trust explicitly,” said Larry Thompson, chair of the newspaper board. “But she also came highly recommended from many of the individuals with whom we had talked during this long process of seeking an editor and an associate (editor).” The St. Paul, Minn., native holds a Master’s of Arts degree in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to that, she earned an undergraduate degree from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla. Willoughby comes to the Baptist Message from Salem, Ore., where she has served as an adjunct instructor, advisor of four student publications and part-time communications staff writer at Corban College in the city. Since 1980, Willoughby has written more than 2,000 freelance articles for Southern Baptist and other Christian publications such as … [Read more...]
18,000 at Passion 06 seek their part in Great Commission
A capacity crowd of 18,000 college students from all 50 states and more than 20 countries filled Nashville’s Gaylord Entertainment Center Jan. 2-5 for Passion 06. A capacity crowd of 18,000 college students from all 50 states and more than 20 countries filled Nashville’s Gaylord Entertainment Center Jan. 2-5 for Passion 06. “Our heartbeat is to see the campuses of this nation awaken to God,” Louie Giglio, who founded the Passion movement in 1995, told the students in attendance. At Passion 06, students were discipled by Giglio, Beth Moore and John Piper, worshiped with the David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall and Matt Redman, met in small community groups. They also were encouraged to visit the “Go Center,” where more than 50 exhibitors from educational institutions and missions agencies shared with them how they can be involved in sharing the gospel throughout the world. When they entered the mobilization area of the Go Center, the students were met by tour guides who listened to their particular interests and then directed them to booths for more information. Many of the collegians met with representatives from Boston, New York and Toronto – Passion’s three focus cities. Passion has … [Read more...]
Giglio contemplates vastness of God in look at the universe
They came back, and they brought 7,000 more with them. Organizers reported a capacity crowd of 18,000 college students for Passion 06 in Nashville, Tenn., a substantial increase over last year’s attendance of 11,000 for the four-day worship event. They came back, and they brought 7,000 more with them. Organizers reported a capacity crowd of 18,000 college students for Passion 06 in Nashville, Tenn., a substantial increase over last year’s attendance of 11,000 for the four-day worship event. “We told you at the end of Passion 05 to bring your friends, and apparently you took us up on that challenge because we cannot fit one more person in this building,” Louie Giglio, founder and director of the Passion conference, said at the gathering’s opening session Jan. 2 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. “Passion is a tiny speck in what God is doing among college students in this nation and the world,” Giglio said. “But we have been praying for months that God would change you and that generations from now, people would be talking about what God has done in this town, in these days, in your life.” The conference included messages from John Piper, Beth Moore and Giglio -- three perennial Passion favorites. During … [Read more...]
Documentary explores ’56 slayings of missionaries
The Waodani Indians of Ecuador were killing six of every 10 of their tribesmen when American missionaries entered their isolated community in January 1956. Anthropologists say the tribe, identified then as the Aucas, had one of the most violent cultures ever documented and was headed toward extinction. (Editor’s note: The film “End of the Sphere” is set to open in select theatres nationwide Jan. 20. The movie tells the story of a tribe who killed five missionaries in their village but later befriended their victims’ family members. In addition to the upcoming movie, a documentary about the incident has been released and made available to persons free of charge.) The Waodani Indians of Ecuador were killing six of every 10 of their tribesmen when American missionaries entered their isolated community in January 1956. Anthropologists say the tribe, identified then as the Aucas, had one of the most violent cultures ever documented and was headed toward extinction. Missionary pilot Nate Saint had located the tribe in circling the Amazon Basin jungle. Wishing to establish contact, Saint hoped that a slow, circular flying pattern would allow him to stabilize a long rope and basket dropped from the airplane down to … [Read more...]
Weekly announcements
Week of January 16, 2006 Potpourri WINNFIELD – First church: Extravagant Grace in concert; Jan. 29, 6 p.m.; Lindsey Burns, pastor. DRY CREEK – Dry Creek camp: “Being God’s Kind of Man” men’s retreat; Jan. 27, 5 p.m. - Jan. 28, after lunch; John White and Marvin Douglass, guest speakers; Mackey Willis, music; $50 per person/$35 two-day commuter/$20 one-day commuter; to register, call (337) 328-7531; Curt Iles, camp manager. HOUMA – Grand Caillou church: Jamie Womack, guest speaking at ladies’ luncheon; Jan. 21, 10:30 a.m.; Marcell McGee, pastor. ALBANY – Blood River church: Jamie Womack, guest speaker; Jan. 22, 10 a.m.; Iran Smith, pastor. JONESBORO – First church: Don Piper, author of “90 Minutes in Heaven, guest speaker; Jan. 28, 7 p.m.; Jan. 29, 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Matthew D. Wohlfarth, pastor. PIONEER – New Prospect church: Frank Self and Benny Long in concert; Jan. 28, 7 p.m.; Walter Cloud, pastor. HAYNESVILLE – First church: Wild Game Supper; Jan. 28, 6 p.m.; The Stoney Creek Boys, bluegrass group, to perform; for reservations, call (318) 624-0214; Shelby Cowling, pastor. BATON ROUGE – Istrouma church: The Dove Brothers Quartet in concert; Jan. 22, 6 p.m.; H.I.S. By Grace, a local … [Read more...]
CP giving 1.83 percent below 2004 pace
Year-to-date contributions through the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program are 1.83 percent below the same time frame in 2004, according to SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Morris H. Chapman. Year-to-date contributions through the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program are 1.83 percent below the same time frame in 2004, according to SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Morris H. Chapman. As of Dec. 31, 2005, the year-to-date total of $45,424,989.76 for Cooperative Program missions is $846,995.90 under the $46,271,985.66 received at the same point in 2004. For the month of December 2005, receipts of $14,622,239.09 were 2.38 percent, or $340,508.45, above the $14,281,730.64 received in December 2004. Designated giving of $10,589,328.46 for the same year-to-date period is 2.05 percent, or $212,872.02, above gifts of $10,376,456.44 received at this point last year. The $3,670,570.04 in designated gifts received last month is $455,314.15 below the $4,125,884.19 received in December 2004, a decrease of 11.04 percent. For the SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget, the year-to-date total of $45,424,989.76 is 95.70 percent of … [Read more...]
Samford trustees elect Westmoreland as school’s 18th president
Samford University’s board of trustees unanimously elected Andrew Westmoreland Samford’s 18th president Jan. 10. Samford University’s board of trustees unanimously elected Andrew Westmoreland Samford’s 18th president Jan. 10. Currently president of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., which he has led since 1998, Westmoreland will replace Thomas Corts, who retires May 31. Corts has served as president of the school since 1983. Westmoreland, 48, was recommended to the board of trustees by an 18-member presidential search committee after an eight-month national search involving more than 140 applicants. William J. Stevens, chairman of the board of trustees, introduced Westmoreland at a news conference following his election at a special meeting of the board. “The board is very confident that Dr. Westmoreland is just the person to lead Samford at this point in the university’s 164-year history,” said Stevens. “He comes to us highly recommended not just by the search committee and the constituent reference panels (who met with Westmoreland in December), but by everyone who was contacted about his ability to lead a great university like Samford.” Stevens noted that Westmoreland “brings … [Read more...]
Disaster relief co-workers assume roles of organ donor and recipient
Kurtiss Ewell received one Christmas present a few days late this year, and it came from someone he met last fall while volunteering in a Franklin, Tenn., shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Kurtiss Ewell received one Christmas present a few days late this year, and it came from someone he met last fall while volunteering in a Franklin, Tenn., shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Ewell, a diabetic who suffered from kidney disease, received the gift of a kidney from Audrey Dean Jan. 3. Dean, who attends Tennessee Valley Community Church in Paris, and Ewell, a member of Northside Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., received Tennessee Baptist disaster relief training in September. They met Sept. 30 on their first ministry assignment. The two believe God called them into disaster relief ministry, and they believe their meeting at the shelter did not happen by chance – it was a divine appointment. Dean said they spent part of the day working together on inventory in the trailers. While she knew nothing of Ewell’s medical problems, she did notice that he had to stop periodically to rest. The next day Dean and others asked Northside volunteer Sarah Beth Miller about Ewell when he didn’t return to … [Read more...]
Adrian Rogers biography penned by his wife of 54 years, Joyce
There is no better expert on the late Adrian Rogers than his wife and lifelong sweetheart, Joyce. There is no better expert on the late Adrian Rogers than his wife and lifelong sweetheart, Joyce. Through grade school, high school, college and 54 years of marriage, she experienced the highs and lows of life alongside him and was the sounding board for his deepest thoughts. She has recorded her unique perspective in “Love Worth Finding: The Life of Adrian Rogers and His Philosophy of Preaching,” a biography released by Broadman & Holman Publishers prior to Rogers’ death Nov. 15 after a battle with cancer. Joyce Rogers lovingly recounts her husband’s beginning in the ranks of the ordinary, where in junior high school he was known as “unruly and belligerent.” “He had an overdose of courage and the ability to fight with his fists,” she wrote in the book. “He had gained a reputation of being one of the toughest kids in school. He would challenge others to a fight just for an expression of what must have been an inner turmoil.” The third child of working-class parents, Rogers yielded his life to Jesus at age 14 after some neighbors invited his family to a crusade at a local Baptist church in his … [Read more...]