Week of April 10, 2006
Louisiana native named Ouachita’s new president
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP) – Bastrop native Rex Horne,
pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock the past 16 years, has
accepted the presidency of Ouachita Baptist University. He will begin
his duties May 1.
As the 15th president in OBU’s 120-year history,
Horne follows Andy Westmoreland, who begins June 1 as president of
Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Becky, my wife,
and me as we think about this next stage of service to the Lord and to
Arkansas Baptists and to all of those who love and call Ouachita home,”
said Horne, who once served as pastor of Western Hills Baptist Church
in Shreveport. “… What I’m experiencing at this time is a call. It is
not a choice I am making but a calling I am following.”
Horne earned a master of divinity degree from
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and a doctor of
ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Horne
and his wife, Becky, have four grown children.
Former LifeWay rep voted off ‘American Idol’
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (BP) – Despite ‘American Idol’
contestant Mandisa Hundley’s departure from the popular television
program last week, Christian radio personality Stacey Whitmore thinks
the former LifeWay employee‘s exit from the show will boost her career.
Because Hundley was among the 12 finalists, she will
be part of this year’s American Idol concert tour, which will give her
continued national exposure, Whitmore said.
But, by not winning the contest, Mandisa, as she is
known, will be free from the “pop star” obligations that the winner
would need to embrace, Whitmire said, and she will be free to make a
recording of her own choosing.
Prior to her appearances on American Idol, thousands
of women throughout the country were introduced to the 29-year-old’s
powerful voice when, several years ago, she joined the worship team for
Bible teacher Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live events.
Mandisa became involved in the Living Proof Live
events through contacts she developed while working at LifeWay
Christian Resources in Nashville, Tenn. She came to LifeWay in the fall
of 2000 as a telephone sales representative and later worked for a
short time in LifeWay’s women’s enrichment events area.