If physician Thomas Diflo hears his patients talk of going abroad to buy a kidney, heart or lung, he advises against it. If they do purchase such an organ, he refuses to provide follow-up treatment. If physician Thomas Diflo hears his patients talk of going abroad to buy a kidney, heart or lung, he advises against it. If they do purchase such an organ, he refuses to provide follow-up treatment.   Diflo and others in the medical community warn that Americans traveling overseas for body parts are fueling a human organ trade that exploits the world’s poorest people.   But in the United States, where more than 85,000 people are on waiting lists for organ donations, desperate patients are taking dramatic, risky action, even though the exchange of money for human organs has been illegal since 1984.   Some Americans go so far as to seek destitute people overseas who may believe they have no other choice than to sell their bodies in order to support their families, said Eric Cohen, a resident scholar at the Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Center.   "There are practices that happen in other parts of the world we shouldn’t promote by going over there to buy (organs)," … [Read more...]

Christians must work to uphold God’s standards, not withdraw from the civic arena, Southern Baptist theologian Russell Moore emphasized. Christians must work to uphold God’s standards, not withdraw from the civic arena, Southern Baptist theologian Russell Moore emphasized.   "Salvation does not mean a flight from creation, ..." said Moore, senior president for academic administration and dean of the school of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.   "Instead, salvation means restoring sinners to the task for which we were made, a task that includes caring for the created order and for one another," Moore said.   That includes a responsibility to impact culture by participating in government, Moore noted. However, reports indicate more than 4 million evangelicals failed to vote in the 2000 presidential election.   Such disengagement undercuts the cause of justice in the nation and invites divine judgment, warned Ken Connor, a Washington, D.C., attorney and coauthor of "Sinful Silence: When Christians Neglect Civic Duty," a new book by Ginosko Publishing.   "The Scripture is very clear," he noted. "The Lord may shut up his ears to our … [Read more...]

For the week of August 26, 2004 Louisiana amendment A vote in Louisiana on a state constitutional marriage amendment is in doubt after a state judge ruled earlier this month that it cannot appear on the September ballot. Judge Christopher Bruno ruled that the amendment cannot go before voters Sept. 18 as scheduled because the date is not a statewide election, as he said the state constitution requires. However, Bruno temporarily suspended his ruling, allowing an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Supreme Court then ruled that the case should be transferred to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Amendment opponents have filed three other lawsuits seeking to keep the amendment off the ballot and have lost in two of them. Those also are being appealed. Meanwhile, pro-family advocates say they are confident citizens will be able to vote on the amendment. If passed, the amendment would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. That definition needs to be placed in the state constitution in order to prevent same-sex marriages from being recognized in Louisiana, amendment supporters say. Hurricane relief Just days after Hurricane Charley ripped through Florida, Southern Baptist disaster relief … [Read more...]

A senior on the Louisiana College women’s basketball team has been a regular on the court since she was age 5. A senior on the Louisiana College women’s basketball team has been a regular on the court since she was age 5.   But it is only in the past year that she developed an appreciation for the sport’s eternal significance.   After accepting Jesus as Lord and savior in September 2003, Kim Reed is on her first mission trip, spending the summer in Athens as a volunteer with the Atlanta-based International Sports Federation.   "Basketball has always been in my vision," says Reed, a 5-foot-3-inch guard from Bossier City, who attends Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria.   "But I didn’t see the potential for (using it for) the gospel before (International Sports Federation)," she adds.   "Basketball is a tool.   "People are just drawn to it."   Reed is among the 1,500-plus volunteers dispatched on more than 200 projects since the federation’s founding in 1993. The projects usually involve sports-related clinics and other ventures in tandem with Southern Baptist missionaries in more than 40 countries on six continents.   Reed got her … [Read more...]

At 6-foot-1, she has a beautiful face and long blonde hair and is instantly recognizable to lots of sports fans. At 6-foot-1, she has a beautiful face and long blonde hair and is instantly recognizable to lots of sports fans.   If one does not know Jennie Finch yet, the Olympics should change all of that.   Finch is the standout pitcher for the U.S. Olympic softball team. She throws the ball 70 miles per hour and, in college, set an NCAA record by winning 60 straight games.   Her popularity is growing quickly. In a poll on ESPN’s Web site for 2003’s "hottest female athlete," Finch trounced Anna Kournikova from the world of tennis.   But while Finch may be a sex symbol to some, that is not an image she promotes. Indeed, she rejected a lucrative offer to pose nude for Playboy magazine.   "I don’t feel that there are any pros to posing nude," Finch writes on her Web site. "No amount of money could influence me. My morals and standards come first. I am here to be a role model for young girls and show them what really counts, ... and that is what is on the inside."   Convictions like that spring from Finch’s Christian faith. "Yes, I have a personal … [Read more...]

The Louisiana Baptist Foundation’s auditors recently gave the financial records of the ministry a "clean bill of health" for 2003. The Louisiana Baptist Foundation’s auditors recently gave the financial records of the ministry a "clean bill of health" for 2003.   "The audit was positive with no problems," foundation Executive Director Wayne Taylor reported to agency trustees during their recent meeting. "This shows the outstanding job the foundation has done with impeccable record keeping."   The total assets for the foundation at the close of 2003 were $96,825,953.   During the meeting, Taylor said that:   • The foundation recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. Taylor mentioned there are some services he has discussed with the board and others "for a while" that would enhance the entity’s services as it begins a new decade of service. He said he would like to create two positions but may have to do so without additional funding from the Louisiana Baptist Convention.   "One position is (for) senior adult services to help with the individuals that we have some responsibility for," Taylor explained. "They are leaving money to Baptist work, and they don’t have any … [Read more...]

Forty-six South Korean children filled the Tioga First Baptist Church sanctuary in Pineville, eagerly awaiting the start of the morning Vacation Bible School worship service. Forty-six South Korean children filled the Tioga First Baptist Church sanctuary in Pineville, eagerly awaiting the start of the morning Vacation Bible School worship service.   The third-through-fourth-grade children were participants in the first ever Cenla/Korea VBS Mission, held last month in central Louisiana.   The effort was the result of a missions partnership between the Korean Baptist Convention Church Development Board and three central Louisiana Baptist associations - North Rapides, Central Louisiana and Big Creek.   Fifteen churches from the three associations participated in the effort. Between $5,000 and $6,000 was spent on the missions project, but a portion of that expense was offset by offerings that area churches collected during each individual VBS.   The youngsters’ visit to the area included Vacation Bible School at Tioga First Baptist, afternoon recreation and conversational English classes at Alpine First Baptist Church in Pineville and excursions to an area camp, zoo, … [Read more...]

We have been saddened by the controversies and disruptions among the trustees of Louisiana College We have been saddened by the controversies and disruptions among the trustees of Louisiana College. We have had many different relationships to the college - as a student, as parents of students, as a trustee for several terms, as financial supporters and as close friends of numerous members of the faculty and staff and of every president of Louisiana College since Dr. Claybrook Cottingham. These presidents have differed in personality and approach, but without exception, they have been men of integrity and vision, men with a genuine devotion to the college. They have been dedicated not only to maintaining a Christian atmosphere but also to the improvement of the quality of instruction and the academic reputation the college. The forced resignation of Dr. Joe Nesom as board chairman accompanied by no charges seems to be not a theological debate but rather a struggle for control. This squabble has been the source of pain for friends of the college and amusement for its critics. Louisiana College has been, for almost a century, an asset to the Alexandria-Pineville community and an immeasurable blessing to the lives … [Read more...]

Reality television shows have grown "qualitatively and quantitatively coarser" than their scripted counterparts, a new study by the Parents Television Council indicates. Reality television shows have grown "qualitatively and quantitatively coarser" than their scripted counterparts, a new study by the Parents Television Council indicates. That conclusion is cause for concern since such shows composed at least 20 percent of the prime-time schedule during the most-recent February sweeps period.   Researchers examined the first four episodes of 29 network reality series broadcast from June 2002 to August 2003 and found 1,135 instances of foul language, 492 instances of sex - visual act or verbal reference - and 30 instances of violence for an average of 14.5 instances of offensive content an hour.   The results came from the examination of 114.5 hours of programming and indicate a 52.6 percent overall increase from a similar study in October 2002.   The current study said there was an average of 3.5 more instances per hour of sex and foul language on reality series than on scripted series, something that leaders at the Parents Television Council say should concern American … [Read more...]

He was our first youth director," she said, as she introduced me to her granddaughter. He was our first youth director," she said, as she introduced me to her granddaughter.   Hard to believe, my vocational career as a minister started trying to be a youth minister, or minister to youth, minister for youth or youth director. Folks did not know what to call us in the 60s. Job descriptions for ministers to youth were almost as hard to come by as an honest study of the ministry of deacons. Churches just said, "Do something with our youth, and if you can, help them spiritually." Some folks had a lot to say about what ministers to youth should not be, but not much of what we should do.   Ministries of youth ministers have increased in stature. Church folks began to understand that solid youth ministries are important to the well-being of our teens today, and the future of the church and society.   In the early days, ministers to youths were rated on the personnel chart somewhere below the fill-in custodian and salaries were somewhat less than his. Not necessarily so today for good reason.   A May 8, 2004 Newsweek magazine, tucked away for later reading, found its way to the … [Read more...]