March 3, 2003
___ IMB trustees won't change requirement. At their winter meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board responded to two motions referred from the SBC annual meeting. Both motions asked the IMB to rescind policies requiring current missionaries to sign an affirmation of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message. The board responded through a resolution that the requirement was not board policy but rather an "administrative action" by President Jerry Rankin, and therefore there is no policy to rescind. However, the resolution affirmed Rankin's request "in recognition of our doctrinal accountability to the Southern Baptist Convention."
___ Resignation count still 32. The Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board reports 32 missionaries have cited refusal to sign an affirmation of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message as a reason for their resignations within the past year. Private reports from missionaries indicate others have resigned, retired or been terminated at least in part because of the new doctrinal requirement, but those numbers cannot be determined. At the latest meeting of IMB trustees, the board accepted the resignations of 36 missionaries and terminated four missionaries. According to IMB officials, none of those resigning cited the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message issue as a reason. No details were released on the terminations.
___ Prevost to lead CBF Rural Poverty Initiative. Tom Prevost, associate coordinator in the missions unit of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, will assume leadership for the second stage of the CBF's Rural Poverty Initiative this summer. The project targets relief and ministry efforts in the nation's 20 poorest counties, which includes the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Ultimately, the CBF plans to name a full-time coordinator for the project when it enters its third and final stage. CBF staff member Tom Ogburn, who helped birth the initiative, will return his focus to missions in World A, the least evangelized areas of the world.
___ Medical fellowship to highlight "Jesus" film. Paul Eshleman, director of the Jesus Film Project, will be keynote speaker for the annual meeting of the Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship March 27-30 in Birmingham, Ala. The meeting is open to anyone with an interest in health-care missions. Registration information may be found at www.bmdf.org. Other highlights of the meeting include celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Baptist Nursing Fellowship; addresses by Jerry Rankin, Wanda Lee and Calvin Miller; and a memorial service for Martha Myers, martyred career medical missionary to Yemen.
___ Poole to Samford. Sherman native Philip Poole has been named executive director of communications at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., where he will work with fellow Texas native Michael Morgan, vice president for university relations. Poole, a graduate of Baylor University and the University of North Texas, has served the last four years as executive director of Associated Baptist Press in Jacksonville, Fla. He previously was executive assistant to the president of Southwest Baptist University; director of public relations for the Missouri Baptist Convention; public relations specialist with the Baptist Sunday School Board; and director of communications for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
___ Churches sought to handle inquiries. The North American Mission Board's Evangelism Response Center reports an "emergency need" for churches to take referrals for follow-up with callers who make spiritual decisions after watching programs on NAMB's FamilyNet television network. Participating churches are asked to register and conduct a simple training program. For more information, call (770) 410-6383, or e-mail erc@namb.net.
___ E.V. Hill dies. E.V. Hill, longtime pastor of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles and an influential pastor in Baptist and wider circles, died Feb. 24 at age 69. Hill had been hospitalized, battling an aggressive form of pneumonia and "several other conditions," according to Letha Logan, Hill's administrative assistant for 36 years. Hill co-chaired the Baptist World Alliance's congress when it was held in Los Angeles in 1985. He distinguished himself as a leader in the National Baptist Convention USA.
___ NBC puts spotlight on Vines. The Feb. 25 broadcast of "NBC Nightly News" featured a segment on former Southern Baptist Convention President Jerry Vines titled "Preaching Hate." The segment grew out of comments Vines made at the SBC Pastors' Conference in June about Islam's prophet, Mohammed. Baptist Press responded with a lengthy article about the segment, quoting numerous SBC officials defending Vines. According to BP, no one supportive of Vines appeared on the NBC segment, while seven critics of Vines were quoted.
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
|