Each year, hundreds of ambitious actors, singers and entertainers look for a sign - the Hollywood sign, to be more specific.   They leave their homes and familiar surroundings to venture into the murky waters of the Los Angeles film industry. Many eventually fail in their attempts to fulfill dreams of fame and fortune. Each year, hundreds of ambitious actors, singers and entertainers look for a sign - the Hollywood sign, to be more specific.   They leave their homes and familiar surroundings to venture into the murky waters of the Los Angeles film industry. Many eventually fail in their attempts to fulfill dreams of fame and fortune.   But while many Christians avoid Tinsletown altogether, there is a growing number who have moved out west not to be discovered but to answer a call bigger than any casting director could make. These include Jimmy Duke, assistant director at Inter-Mission, a Christian film organization.   A 1998 graduate of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., Duke said the entertainment industry is a mission field that has been neglected by Christians for far too long.   "Christians are always complaining about the content of television and film, … [Read more...]

Hollywood often is criticized in religious circles as lacking moral scruples - but there is a contingent in the entertainment industry that takes right and wrong seriously.   Indeed, nearly 200 people in the entertainment industry - many of them committed Christians - gathered last month in Beverly Hills, Calif., for a first-time conference titled "Content and Conscience: Toward Ethics of Screenwriting." Hollywood often is criticized in religious circles as lacking moral scruples - but there is a contingent in the entertainment industry that takes right and wrong seriously.   Indeed, nearly 200 people in the entertainment industry - many of them committed Christians - gathered last month in Beverly Hills, Calif., for a first-time conference titled "Content and Conscience: Toward Ethics of Screenwriting."   Most participants were writers, but a smattering of producers, directors and actors also came to wrestle with complexities of producing honest and compelling entertainment that affirms Judeo-Christian values in the secular media.   "The Columbine (school shooting) incident was a watershed moment for this industry," conference coordinator Jimmy Duke said. "It made … [Read more...]

A 24-member Baptist cycling crew set out from Kingsport, Tenn., on June 24 with one mission in mind - to ride their bicycles from the eastern corner of the state to the western one, sharing Christ along the way.   "When we first started, we all basically knew each other, ... but by the end of the week it became not just about us," says Mary Beth Hettinger, a recent high school graduate. "It was about everybody finishing, and it was about the team." A 24-member Baptist cycling crew set out from Kingsport, Tenn., on June 24 with one mission in mind - to ride their bicycles from the eastern corner of the state to the western one, sharing Christ along the way.   "When we first started, we all basically knew each other, ... but by the end of the week it became not just about us," says Mary Beth Hettinger, a recent high school graduate. "It was about everybody finishing, and it was about the team."   The idea of a youth team biking across Tennessee started in the heart and mind of Rick Wiggins, a member of Brentwood Baptist Church in middle Tennessee. Wiggins professes a love of racing bicycles - and this spring, he conceived the idea of a cross-state bicycle trip.   However, … [Read more...]

A team of Louisiana Baptists learned an old truth this summer - just because a country has a rich Christian heritage does not mean the nation is a Christian one or that the people even know who Christ is.   That truth was reinforced with members of a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary missions team that traveled to the nation of Wales this summer.   "So much of what I saw in Wales was completely dead to Christ," says Rebecca Pounds, daughter of team leaders Jerry and Bayne Pounds, both professors at the Southern Baptist seminary. A team of Louisiana Baptists learned an old truth this summer - just because a country has a rich Christian heritage does not mean the nation is a Christian one or that the people even know who Christ is.   That truth was reinforced with members of a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary missions team that traveled to the nation of Wales this summer.   "So much of what I saw in Wales was completely dead to Christ," says Rebecca Pounds, daughter of team leaders Jerry and Bayne Pounds, both professors at the Southern Baptist seminary.   Pounds and her teammates found that many Welsh people had never heard about God or his love … [Read more...]

By Tony Cartledge North Carolina Biblical Recorder       The Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board is enjoying record participation from volunteers engaged in short-term projects - but some volunteers are confused by a new strategy that discourages the construction of mission churches. The Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board is enjoying record participation from volunteers engaged in short-term projects - but some volunteers are confused by a new strategy that discourages the construction of mission churches.   The missions agency reports that 26,741 volunteers were involved in overseas ministry during the past church year, more than double the number of six years ago. This year, the number is expected to top 30,000.   However, the surge in volunteers comes at a time when the International Mission Board is implementing a new field strategy that will steer short-term teams away from church construction projects, a favored activity among many volunteers. The agency’s annual report for this year notes that the new focus is on the development of church-planting movements."   "The board’s main objective is presenting the … [Read more...]

Australian church groups are appalled that several dozen "drag queens" are expected to participate in the official closing ceremony of the upcoming Sydney Olympics, an Internet news source reports.   Church group leaders are insisting the involvement of men dressed as women, the church groups say, does little to enhance the city or the Games, reports CNSNews.com, an Internet news site. Meanwhile, Christians have been prohibited from openly displaying their faith, the site notes. Australian church groups are appalled that several dozen "drag queens" are expected to participate in the official closing ceremony of the upcoming Sydney Olympics, an Internet news source reports.   Church group leaders are insisting the involvement of men dressed as women, the church groups say, does little to enhance the city or the Games, reports CNSNews.com, an Internet news site. Meanwhile, Christians have been prohibited from openly displaying their faith, the site notes.   While the Olympics opening ceremony always is a guarded secret, the closing event usually provides the host city and country a chance to showcase their traditions and cultures.   Along with such Australian symbols as … [Read more...]

Where there is a will, there is a way - that is what Mississippi Baptist leaders are saying when it comes to getting the Ten Commandments into schools.   While legal battles rage about the posting of the Ten Commandments in public locations, the Mississippi Baptist Convention youth ministry team quietly has come up with a way for Christian teenagers to display the commandments and also share their faith with lost friends and classmates. Where there is a will, there is a way - that is what Mississippi Baptist leaders are saying when it comes to getting the Ten Commandments into schools.   While legal battles rage about the posting of the Ten Commandments in public locations, the Mississippi Baptist Convention youth ministry team quietly has come up with a way for Christian teenagers to display the commandments and also share their faith with lost friends and classmates.   It is as simple as a trendy bookcover.   The Ten Commandments - along with the messages of God’s love and the plan of salvation - are prominently displayed on the bookcovers and can be utilized in witnessing to fellow students.   The youth ministry team spent five months designing the materials. … [Read more...]

On the last day of August, the headlines in the local newspaper noted the troubling rise in sexually-transmitted diseases among young people in Louisiana.   Just a week or so earlier, the newspaper carried an article about the disturbing level of poverty in the Bayou State, especially among its children. On the last day of August, the headlines in the local newspaper noted the troubling rise in sexually-transmitted diseases among young people in Louisiana.   Just a week or so earlier, the newspaper carried an article about the disturbing level of poverty in the Bayou State, especially among its children.   And a current magazine article tells of the frustrating level of illiteracy in the state, where more than one-fourth of residents cannot read or write at a functioning level.   Welcome to the challenge that is Louisiana.   Year 2000 has arrived with fanfare - but the ensuing months have maintained a troubling pattern for Louisiana. As in the past, it seems the state still lingers at the top of every undesirable ranking - and at the bottom of each positive one.   The date changes - but the scenario stays the same.   Poverty and need and the … [Read more...]

You spoke wisely and correctly in your comments in a recent edition of the "Baptist Message" when you stated that as long as there are football games there will be prayer at football games. At Jena High School public prayer on the sound system has long been a tradition. We have not had our first home game of the year as yet and I do not know if the tradition will continue or not. PRAYER WILL! You spoke wisely and correctly in your comments in a recent edition of the "Baptist Message" when you stated that as long as there are football games there will be prayer at football games. At Jena High School public prayer on the sound system has long been a tradition. We have not had our first home game of the year as yet and I do not know if the tradition will continue or not. PRAYER WILL!   In two scrimmages and one jamboree held up to this date, August 26, I have been impressed as never before by the witness of the members of the Jena High Giants team kneeling, in mass, to pray both before and after the game. These prayers were initiated and led by young men on the team and not by any member of the staff. I am happy to say that members of local Southern Baptist Churches are among the leaders of this prayer … [Read more...]

Ministers and small church staffs are invited to use the facilities at the Gloster Arboretum in Gloster, Miss., for a place of retreat, study and relaxation. The Arboretum, operated by the John James Audubon Foundation, is located just south of the small town of Gloster in southwest, Miss. Ministers and small church staffs are invited to use the facilities at the Gloster Arboretum in Gloster, Miss., for a place of retreat, study and relaxation. The Arboretum, operated by the John James Audubon Foundation, is located just south of the small town of Gloster in southwest, Miss. The site includes a large, roomy three-bedroom, two-bath, fully-furnished house, sitting on the edge of 350 acres of beautiful woodlands that contains a nice collection of magnolias, azaleas, hollies and other introduced and native plants. The arboretum is located 65 miles from Baton Rouge and approximately 50 miles from Natchez.   Available on a first-come basis, there is no charge for the use of the house. For additional information on the arboretum and reserving the house, contact Dr. Neil G. Odenwald at (225) 343-8504.   Neil Odenwald, President John James Audubon Foundationfrom Natchez … [Read more...]