Re: Rick Henson’s letter to the editor of 8/17/00.   He asks, "Can you imagine the Southern Baptist Convention supporting such a group (Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America)?" The group criticized for sharing some intersecting points of concern with the BPFNA is the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Re: Rick Henson’s letter to the editor of 8/17/00.   He asks, "Can you imagine the Southern Baptist Convention supporting such a group (Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America)?" The group criticized for sharing some intersecting points of concern with the BPFNA is the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Henson challenges, "I call on the CBF and its past moderator to take a biblical stand against the Baptist Peace Fellowship and anyone who distorts Scripture concerning homosexuality." Daniel Vestal, CBF executive director, has spoken clearly to the concern Henson raises, 8/10 Baptist Message, Page Two.   If Henson’s letter is the way we promote understanding, cooperation and the extension of Christian objectives around the world, then allow me to follow his lead.   The largest single contributor to the Baptist World Alliance is none other than the Southern Baptist Convention. … [Read more...]

Re: L.B. Miller’s letter in the August 3rd issue   I am very concerned about recent changes made by the SBC. Who voted for and approved these changes? How much did it cost the SBC Sunday School Board to change the name to LifeWay? How much did it cost to change all the signs on the Baptist Book Stores? Is our Sunday School Board ashamed of being Baptist? How much did it cost and what was the purpose of changing the name of the Home Mission Board and Foreign Mission Board? Wouldn’t this money have been better spent on spreading the gospel? Re: L.B. Miller’s letter in the August 3rd issue   I am very concerned about recent changes made by the SBC. Who voted for and approved these changes? How much did it cost the SBC Sunday School Board to change the name to LifeWay? How much did it cost to change all the signs on the Baptist Book Stores? Is our Sunday School Board ashamed of being Baptist? How much did it cost and what was the purpose of changing the name of the Home Mission Board and Foreign Mission Board? Wouldn’t this money have been better spent on spreading the gospel?   Why is the series of SS book we have used for decades no longer available? How much did it cost to send all … [Read more...]

It is an issue sure to engender debate - should values be taught in schools? If so, what values? Whose values? Apparently, however, the only ones really debating those questions are the adults. The kids are clear on what they wish to learn.   Indeed, a recent Gallup Poll found strong agreement on young people on what values they wish to be taught in school - respect for others, fairness, racial acceptance, honesty, moral courage. It is an issue sure to engender debate - should values be taught in schools? If so, what values? Whose values? Apparently, however, the only ones really debating those questions are the adults. The kids are clear on what they wish to learn.   Indeed, a recent Gallup Poll found strong agreement on young people on what values they wish to be taught in school - respect for others, fairness, racial acceptance, honesty, moral courage.   Some may find the results surprising in a time when so much focus falls on the question of what is wrong with modern young people. They also offer a challenge.   In the Gallup poll, young people were offered a list of personal traits and values that might be taught in public schools and asked whether they thought the … [Read more...]

They are the street-corner entrepreneurs of boring summer days. These staples of American commerce sprout up in the late summer like tents on a campground. Little League baseball has run its course. Summer camps are over. Swimming pools have turned dry with overuse. Daytime television is - well, daytime television. They are the street-corner entrepreneurs of boring summer days. These staples of American commerce sprout up in the late summer like tents on a campground. Little League baseball has run its course. Summer camps are over. Swimming pools have turned dry with overuse. Daytime television is - well, daytime television. The children and their parents have used up every diversion from summertime boredom. Except this one. One suspects that the tradition travels generation to generation more through desperate parents than industrious children. One can imagine a longsuffering parent being pushed across the line of toleration by summer’s end. "If you kids don’t get outside, I’m going to . . . " The kids respond, "There is nothing to do outside." And they are probably right in these concrete-bound, fence-divided holding pens called modern neighborhoods. "Go over to Billy’s to play." "His mother sent us over … [Read more...]

Was "worship" ever intended to accomplish what many churches are demanding of it today? Was "worship" ever intended to accomplish what many churches are demanding of it today? Trying to determine a correct, precise definition and purpose of worship cannot easily be accomplished. Of the multitudes of books written about worship in the last century, almost none of them give the same definition of worship, much less the exact same guidelines for worshiping. The Bible says clearly we are to worship God "in spirit and in truth," but worship is not defined in that passage, nor are we told exactly the process of worship. There seems to be an intentional openness to expand the meaning of worship and to provide significant latitude in the process and style of worship. Baptists are in what many call the "free style of worship." Basically, this means each congregation interprets the meaning of worship, arranges the order of worship and decides the style of worship best suited for its people, while hopefully striving to reflect the teachings of the Bible about these matters. This is in contrast to liturgical churches that have carefully-designed orders of worship meant to include certain components of worship as approved by … [Read more...]

It happened several years back, but he still remembers the day. And why not? It was a really bad day.   But that is not the part he remembers most. The part he remembers is walking the downtown streets of his adopted city, trying to think, trying to understand, trying to figure out what he needed to do. It happened several years back, but he still remembers the day. And why not? It was a really bad day.   But that is not the part he remembers most. The part he remembers is walking the downtown streets of his adopted city, trying to think, trying to understand, trying to figure out what he needed to do.   His walk brought him by the First Baptist Church of the city, an impressive, inviting structure located on the "main drag."   He thought to go in, to find a place where he could sit and think - and pray.   He tried the front door, then the side door, then whatever door he could find.   Nothing.   All were locked.   Much is made these days about making a church accessible, visible. A lot of attention is paid to - and for - advertising.   Do people know where your church is?   Can they find it … [Read more...]

Melissa Murrell of Pollock spent some of her summer vacation at the ends of the earth.   Through a Southern Baptist International Mission Board initiative, Murrell spent June working among the Tai Lue, an unreached people group. Murrell is a student at Louisiana College in Pineville and just one of many Louisiana collegians who participated in missions efforts this summer. Melissa Murrell of Pollock spent some of her summer vacation at the ends of the earth.   Through a Southern Baptist International Mission Board initiative, Murrell spent June working among the Tai Lue, an unreached people group. Murrell is a student at Louisiana College in Pineville and just one of many Louisiana collegians who participated in missions efforts this summer.   The Tai Lue are Buddhists who inhabit closely-clustered villages along the Mekong River Basin of upper-Southeast Asia in the subtropical "Golden Triangle," area - infamous for producing drugs and opium.   Most of the one million souls of this colorful ethno-linguistic race have yet to hear the Good News in a culturally-relevant and understandable way.   That is slowly changing with efforts by Southern Baptists. Focused on … [Read more...]

Sports has become like a world religion - people "live and die" for it, a missions leader noted recently.   So, why not use sports to help people know how to live - and know what will happen to them after they die? Sports has become like a world religion - people "live and die" for it, a missions leader noted recently.   So, why not use sports to help people know how to live - and know what will happen to them after they die?   "People live and die for their sports," said Courtney Cash, vice president of International Sports Federation, a network of Christian athletes, coaches and project coordinators who work with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board to share the gospel around the world.   "When you combine national pride and the religion of sports with 2 million people, you have to be innovative in the way that you share the gospel with them.   "That is where sports comes in."   Cash discussed the value of sports in missions during a recent workshop at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The workshop was designed to help teach students how to conduct sports clinics in preparation for an upcoming missions trip to Australia for the … [Read more...]

In 1998, two teams of privately-funded researchers were able to isolate and culture stem cells from human embryos.   The action was groundbreaking because of the nature of stem cells. From them, a wide variety of human body tissue develops - and scientists suggest such cells can be used to treat and cure a number of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and strokes. In 1998, two teams of privately-funded researchers were able to isolate and culture stem cells from human embryos.   The action was groundbreaking because of the nature of stem cells. From them, a wide variety of human body tissue develops - and scientists suggest such cells can be used to treat and cure a number of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and strokes.   So far, so good, right?   The problem is that the harvesting of the stem cells kills the human embryo.   That is unacceptable to many.   "For many Christians and others, that’s simply too high a price to pay for scientific progress," says Ben Mitchell, a biomedical consultant with the … [Read more...]

Gridlock struck Asheville, N.C., when thousands gathered for a "We Still Pray" rally - and thousands more were stuck in traffic trying to reach the high school football stadium. One newspaper estimated as many as 35,000 people either attended the August 17 rally or were stuck on local highways on their way to join the protest of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on school prayer. Gridlock struck Asheville, N.C., when thousands gathered for a "We Still Pray" rally - and thousands more were stuck in traffic trying to reach the high school football stadium. One newspaper estimated as many as 35,000 people either attended the August 17 rally or were stuck on local highways on their way to join the protest of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on school prayer. In June, the nation’s highest court voted 6-3 that a Texas school district policy permitting public prayer before football games was unconstitutional. While some church-state observers praised the ruling for maintaining a healthy separation of church and state, others have criticized it as an erosion of religious liberties in the nation. Meanwhile, leaders of the fledgling "We Still Pray" movement have sought to encourage "spontaneous prayer" at … [Read more...]