Churches urged to develop crisis response plans_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

Churches urged to develop crisis response plans

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Convention

It may not be a bus wreck. It could be a tornado, flood or fire. But chances are, every church will face a crisis some time.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

Database provides missions insights_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

Database provides missions insights

SOUTH HAMILTON, Mass.–A new online database has been launched to provide support for Christian mission workers worldwide.

North Carolina candidate proposes dismantling all political groups_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

North Carolina candidate proposes
dismantling all political groups

By Steve DeVane

N.C. Biblical Recorder

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP)–The moderate candidate for president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has released a campaign platform that calls for dismantling political groups and decreasing the amount of money the state group sends to the Southern Baptist Convention.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

DOWN HOME: We know the real hunter-gatherers_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

DOWN HOME:
We know the real hunter-gatherers

Our marriage has endured another test, and I look confidently to the future. Yet again.

Marriages periodically go through tests like this. And while they can be brutal, if you survive them, you figure the two of you possess enough love to last another lifetime.

Joanna and I endured our first test early in our marriage. We lived in Atlanta, one of the prettiest cities you'll ever find, but hilly, hilly, hilly. We just knew gas was going to $2 per gallon, and we conned ourselves into buying a small, fuel-efficient car. With a stick shift.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

EDITORIAL: Unlike Elvis, O’Hair & Bigfoot, RM 2493 just lives on and on_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

EDITORIAL:
Unlike Elvis, O'Hair & Bigfoot, RM 2493 just lives on and on

Do you suppose Elvis and Madalyn Murray O'Hair are married and raising Bigfoot in a castle beside a lake in Scotland, where they go swimming with the Loch Ness Monster every afternoon?

This is just as likely to happen as Federal Communications Commission Petition No. 2493 is to become law and “stop the reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior on the airwaves of America.”

The petition, often called RM 2493 in e-mails, faxes and photocopied missives, died Aug. 1, 1975, a couple of years before Elvis expired and 20 years before O'Hair suddenly discovered she was wrong about atheism.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

EDITORIAL: Sky won’t fall, however court rules_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

EDITORIAL:
Sky won't fall, however court rules

Sometime next year, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether public schools can lead children to say the words “under God” when they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. While this case will further define the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion …”), it will herald neither the dawn of a new era nor the end of the world as we know it.

The case has been brought by Michael Newdow, a California atheist and father of a child who attends public school. Newdow claims his daughter's constitutional rights are violated when a teacher leads her class in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance because it includes “under God.” The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined the words themselves are not unconstitutional but recitation of the pledge in public schools violates the Constitution. Following torrents of protest, the Supreme Court voted to hear the case.

A couple of approaches cast light on how this case might turn out.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

After 300 years, Jonathan Edwards’ influence still muddled_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

After 300 years, Jonathan Edwards'
influence still muddled

By Jeffrey MacDonald

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–America's most notorious Puritan is back in the public eye. This time, however, it's not just hellfire-and-brimstone preachers who are walking in his footprints.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

EEOC files against Missouri convention_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

EEOC files against Missouri convention

By Vicki Brown

Missouri Word & Way

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)–Officials of the Missouri Baptist Convention have received a formal complaint from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former employee.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

ETBU nursing students plan Caddo Lake project_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

ETBU nursing students plan Caddo Lake project

MARSHALL–Senior nursing students at East Texas Baptist University have joined forces with the Caddo Lake Institute to promote better health in the region.

Beginning this week, the students will survey residents of Uncertain, Karnack, Leigh and Smithland to determine their knowledge of a health advisory issued in 1995 by the Texas Department of Health. That advisory warned people not to eat more than two 8-ounce servings per month of certain fish from Caddo Lake because elevated levels of mercury were found in largemouth bass and freshwater drum.

On Oct. 21 and 22, ETBU students will go door to door in the four communities to assess a baseline knowledge of health and community concerns, explained Carolyn Harvey, dean of the School of Nursing at ETBU.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

HOME AT LAST: Texans return to Ethiopia_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

HOME AT LAST:
Texans return to Ethiopia

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

More than 20 years after they were pressured out of Ethiopia by a communist government, a pair of former Southern Baptist Convention missionaries returned to the nation that has held their hearts for so long.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

Evangelists say they’ll keep on, despite changes_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

Evangelists say they'll keep on, despite changes

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

As fewer churches schedule traditional revival meetings, evangelists must faithfully believe God will provide, veteran evangelists said.

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Oct. 26: Paul stays close to the cross in Colossians_102003

Posted: 10/17/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Oct. 26

Paul stays close to the cross in Colossians

Colossians 1:1-14

By John Duncan

10/17/2003 - By John Rutledge