 February 17, 1999
Baptist Briefs
___ Church-state conference coming. The Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs and Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University will co-sponsor a conference on church-state issues in Waco March 22-23. The conference will help church leaders answer such questions as "What do you do when you are invited to pray before the local high school's football game?" and "What if the local zoning board tries to shut down your church's feeding program for the homeless?" Program leaders include Charles Adams of Detroit; Rosalie Beck, Brad Creed and Derek Davis of Baylor; Michael Bourland of Fort Worth; David Currie of San Angelo; Phil Strickland of the Texas Christian Life Commission; and James Dunn and Brent Walker of the BJC. For registration information, contact Karen McGuire at (202) 544-4226.
___ Alliance endorses first chaplain. A New Orleans pastoral counselor has become the first chaplain to be endorsed by the Alliance of Baptists. Ann Madden, who works at the Pastoral Counseling Center in New Orleans, sought endorsement so she can apply to the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, according to the Washington-based Alliance's January newsletter.
___ Baptist lesson gets criticism. A Southern Baptist adult Sunday school lesson that espouses helping people "escape" from homosexuality has drawn criticism from a group that opposes the "ex-gay" movement. The lesson was published in the winter 1998-99 edition of the adult "Life & Work" quarterly publication of the Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Christian Resources. Equal Partners in Faith, a Washington-based network of religious leaders who emphasize equality and diversity, issued a statement saying the lesson discriminated against gays. "This is one more tragic example of justifying social inequality in the name of religion," said Steven Baines, a Southern Baptist minister and projects coordinator for Equal Partners in Faith.
___ North Carolina church leaves SBC. College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., has become the latest in a string of North Carolina congregations to break ties with the Southern Baptist Convention over disagreement with the national convention's conservative leaders. The Greensboro congregation voted 105-12 during a Jan. 10 business meeting to end the church's relationship with the 16-million-member national organization. In October, Watts Street Baptist Church in Durham took similar action. In September, Raleigh's 186-year-old First Baptist Church passed a resolution stating it would no longer identify itself as a Southern Baptist congregation.
___ Seminaries report gains. The Southern Baptist Convention's six seminaries reported cumulative enrollment gains of 4.8 percent in the fall 1998 semester. The figures are based on a uniform reporting system agreed to by the seminaries, although a system that differs somewhat from more strictly regulated figures required by accrediting agencies. The SBC report says 10,599 students were enrolled in seminary programs this fall. Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth reported a fall total of 3,314, a 4.4 percent increase over last fall.
___ Hendricks retiring. William Hendricks will retire in August as director of the Baptist studies program at Texas Christian University's Brite Divinity School. Hendricks came to Brite from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., where he taught 10 years. He previously taught 20 years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and five years at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif.
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