More children these days are performing at grade level in school, eating breakfast with at least one parent and abiding by imposed television rules, according to a Census Bureau report titled "A Child’s Day." NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – More children these days are performing at grade level in school, eating breakfast with at least one parent and abiding by imposed television rules, according to a Census Bureau report titled "A Child’s Day."   The report surveyed parents to analyze benchmarks of well-being for 73 million children from a 2003 review of income, The New York Times said Jan. 11, and the results were compared with similar surveys in 1994 and 2000. "We hadn’t noted anything where children were doing worse," Tallese Johnson, a co-author of the report, toldThe Times.   Among the findings, the number of children considered "on track" academically increased to 75 percent from 69 percent in 1994.   With the escalation of inappropriate material on television, parents more often are making certain programs off-limits for their children and are regulating viewing time, the report found. In 1994, 54 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds were given such rules, but the number grew to 67 percent in 2003. Among 6- to … [Read more...]

An accident on a construction site blinded Shane. For three years he remained mad at God, wondering if blindness was his punishment for a self-described wild lifestyle.     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (BP) – An accident on a construction site blinded Shane. For three years he remained mad at God, wondering if blindness was his punishment for a self-described wild lifestyle. Mark Larson knew none of that as he and two others approached Shane’s apartment door to which they were "drawn by God," Larson says.   Larson, a member of First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., where the Sunday School-based FAITH evangelism strategy originated, told the rest of the story to hundreds attending a FAITH training clinic on Jan. 24.   Shane explained that just two nights prior to the visit he’d had a dream in which he saw people from a church come to his door and tell him about Jesus. Two nights later they did, and Shane prayed a prayer of repentance and faith, committing his life to Jesus Christ.   "‘I no longer feel as if God is against me,’" said Larson, recounting Shane’s comments. "‘But I feel like He is with me now.’"   Shane’s story and Larson’s testimony are among the many thousands of similar ones that highlight 25 years and 50 … [Read more...]

People of faith are at least somewhat complicit in the massacre of millions of unborn babies by abortion, Richard Land said Jan. 21 at a pro-life rally, noting an estimated one out of three babies conceived since 1973 have been aborted.     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – People of faith are at least somewhat complicit in the massacre of millions of unborn babies by abortion, Richard Land said Jan. 21 at a pro-life rally, noting an estimated one out of three babies conceived since 1973 have been aborted.   "That could never have happened without at least the acquiescence of people in our churches – Protestant and Catholic alike," said Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.   "We bear some responsibility for allowing this to continue and not insisting it should stop. It is time that we demand it stop and stop now."   Land urged those at the pro-life march in Nashville to call on God to "deliver us from our abortion captivity." He addressed the Rally for Life, an annual event held by Tennessee Right to Life to mark the infamous Roe v. Wade case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973.   "We are here today to mark one of the darkest days in the history of our nation, when … [Read more...]

a woman who had held a tenure-track position was denied tenure at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2004, according to a Jan. 19 Dallas Morning News story. FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – A woman who had held a tenure-track position was denied tenure at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2004, according to a Jan. 19 Dallas Morning News story. The professor, Sheri Klouda, was given a tenure-track position to teach Hebrew in Southwestern’s school of theology when she received her Ph.D. at the Fort Worth, Texas, campus in 2002, according to the newspaper report. Klouda, who also is a Criswell College graduate, now teaches at Taylor University in Indiana. Van McClain, chairman of Southwestern’s board of trustees, told the Dallas Morning News that the seminary has returned to its "traditional, confessional and biblical position" that a woman should not instruct men in theology courses or in biblical languages. McClain said the seminary was gracious to Klouda as she looked for a teaching position at another school. "The administration ... allowed her to teach a full two years after she was told that she would not have tenure," McClain told the newspaper, "... and the seminary even agreed to continue her support … [Read more...]

Louisiana College has received a "clean bill of health" from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges.     PINEVILLE – Louisiana College has received a "clean bill of health" from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges. The SACS commission met in December of 2006 to review Louisiana College’s Third Monitoring Report on governance and first monitoring report following the fifth year follow-up report. On both items the commission recommended that no additional report was needed.   After Louisiana College was placed on probation from SACS in December 2004, Louisiana College was given three recommendations to work on, which included necessary input from faculty, staff and the LC Board of Trustees. Louisiana College was removed from probation in December of 2005. The original recommendations were:   n Demonstrate that the governing Board is free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies, and that it protects the institution from such influence. An institution cannot operate responsibly when other entities control its operations or activities. n Provide evidence that there is a clear and appropriate distinction in … [Read more...]

The International Mission Board has joined the world of podcasting with the launch of the "podTask." This podcast takes the listener on a missions-filled adventure to exotic places around the world.     RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – The International Mission Board has joined the world of podcasting with the launch of the "podTask." This podcast takes the listener on a missions-filled adventure to exotic places around the world.   With its weekly updates on iTunes and thetask.org, the podTask is full of information for students to get involved with international missions. They can get the lowdown on what other students are doing around the world and hear adventures from those proclaiming Jesus’ name.   "We are very excited," said Ricky Gibson, producer of the podTask. "We (the Task/Student Mobilization Team) want to stay on the cutting edge – as much as a [nonprofit] can with limited budget, people and manpower – and offer our audience a way of getting international student missions stories.   The first PodTask issue, which was released Jan. 22, was a 7-minute discussion with Darla, who had been on a missionary assignment in India. She addressed the questions, ‘How do you know God is calling you to missions?’ and ‘Where is He … [Read more...]

Nestled in the Andes Mountains of Peru, most of the people in Santiago de Chocorvos hadn’t had the chance to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. SANTIAGO DE CHOCORVOS, Peru (BP) – Nestled in the Andes Mountains of Peru, most of the people in Santiago de Chocorvos hadn’t had the chance to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.   But that changed in the small village with the arrival of three Southern Baptist summer missionaries.   Kathryn Oder, Lindy Moser and Elliot Jeffries came to Santiago as part of the REAP South program (Rapid Entry Advance Plan). The International Mission Board-related program steers missionaries into rural areas in the mountains and jungles of Peru and Bolivia where they can interact with unreached people groups.   Oder, Moser and Jeffries did plenty of interacting.   Waking up at 7 in the morning and not getting home until after dark was common for the summer missionaries. Their days consisted of telling others about Christ, praying with people, holding regular church services and visiting surrounding villages -– but it was their ministry to children that had the greatest impact.   Every day around 3 p.m. they headed to the basketball court to play "futbol" (soccer) and … [Read more...]

the inaugural presentation of the Freddie Arnold Lifetime Achievement Award went to its namesake at the 2007 Disaster Relief Training and Roundtable’s Appreciation Banquet.     ALEXANDRIA – The inaugural presentation of the Freddie Arnold Lifetime Achievement Award went to its namesake at the 2007 Disaster Relief Training and Roundtable’s Appreciation Banquet.   David E. Hankins, Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, presented the award to Arnold, "giving him double honor" for his service. A church planting missionary in Southeast La., Arnold has been doing disaster relief in that area for the last 18 months, despite the fact that he and his family lost their own home to Hurricane Katrina.   "He’s given his heart and life to everyone else," said Linda Williams about Arnold. Linda is married to Joe Williams, chaplain for the North American Mission Board in New Orleans.   On hand to see Arnold receive the award were his wife Elaine; son, Kerney; daughter, Julie Johnston; and grandchildren, Katie Arnold, Jacob Arnold, and Zac Johnston, who, his family says, goes on many disaster relief trips with his grandpa.   Also recognized were Cal Jones, for his involvement in every aspect of disaster … [Read more...]

Prayer breaks down the barriers to evangelism," preached Ken Hemphill at the 2007 Louisiana Evangelism Conference.     Second in a series NEW ORLEANS – "Prayer breaks down the barriers to evangelism," preached Ken Hemphill at the 2007 Louisiana Evangelism Conference.   Hemphill, the Southern Baptist Convention’s national strategist for Empowering Kingdom Growth, spoke three times during the Jan. 22-23 conference at First Baptist New Orleans that was designed to revitalize the church.   With about 80 percent of the churches affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention either plateaued or declining, there’s a lot of revitalizing that needs to happen, said Wayne Jenkins, evangelism/church growth team leader. One after another, the conference guest speakers hammered home the importance of prayer.   Hemphill pointed out the ire of religious leaders who didn’t like hearing Jesus say the temple was to be a house of prayer for the nations (meaning gentiles), and asked how long his listeners had gone without inviting ‘gentiles’ to church. He explained the reason the fig tree withered overnight was because it – like the temple – already was diseased from the inside out.   "Both looked alive but systemically were … [Read more...]

Two days after Hurricane Katrina keelhauled Chalmette, about two miles south of the New Orleans border, people were telling John Jeffries, for 16 years pastor of First Baptist Chalmette, to look for another church.     ST. BERNARD PARISH – Two days after Hurricane Katrina keelhauled Chalmette, about two miles south of the New Orleans border, people were telling John Jeffries, for 16 years pastor of First Baptist Chalmette, to look for another church.   Almost every building in the unincorporated town – the parish seat, with a population in the 2000 census of about 32,000 people – had been under water 20 or more feet deep, for more than two weeks, because of a wall of water that roared up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico. Then a massive Murphy Oil Co. tank knocked over by the storm surge split, and sludge covered the floodwater’s muck.   First Chalmette was not spared.   Clean-up and grieving took place first. Then came an almost healing demolition of some of the seven buildings – sanctuary, educational building and five houses – that comprised the church complex.   Even as he worked with Southern Baptist volunteers across the nation in the gutting of the church’s remaining structure, its original … [Read more...]