News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008 News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008

Religion Religion

New Orleans seminary partially reopens - Added 1 day ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Many residents of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's main campus received news they have been waiting for -- at least a partial reopening of the campus after the evacuation cause by Hurricane...

Gender and the vice presidency - Added 1 day ago

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)--Arizona senator and Republican presidential nominee John McCain recently made history with the announcement that his vice presidential running mate is a woman. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is the...

Speakers encourage 'Fireproof' marriages - Added 1 day ago

TIFTON, Ga. (BP)--"This movie," Gary Rosberg said of "Fireproof," coming to theaters Sept. 26, "is going to reach people and have a positive effect on marriages around the world."Rosberg and his wife Barb added their...

Marriages nurtured despite Hurricane Fay - Added 1 day ago

TIFTON, Ga. (BP)--The heavy rain of Hurricane Fay didn't keep 200 couples from a "Great Marriage Experience" in south Georgia sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention."Your marriage is...

CULTURE DIGEST: College presidents reignite debate on lowering drinking age - Added 1 day ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--More than 100 college presidents, some from top schools like Duke, Dartmouth, Syracuse and Johns Hopkins, have reignited the debate about lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, contending that...

Mexico high court upholds abortion law - Added 1 day ago

MEXICO CITY (BP)--Mexico's Supreme Court has upheld the abortion rights law of the country's capital in a ruling pro-lifers fear will encourage the spread of the practice's legalization to other regions.The high court...

McCain's pastor, a Southern Baptist, says closing prayer at Republican Convention - Added 1 day ago

ST. PAUL, Minn. (BP)--With confetti falling and balloons popping, exuberant delegates at the Republican National Convention Sept. 4 settled down long enough for nominee John McCain's pastor, a Southern Baptist, to...

After Gustav, Baptists bring reassurance - Added 1 day ago

BATON ROUGE, La. (BP)--Michael Desmond begins to cry when he tells the story."At 9:30 I heard the first tree crack and fall. By 12 o'clock, trees -- large trees -- were falling left and right" as Hurricane Gustav...

Fla. disaster relief teams bracing for Ike - Added 1 day ago

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP)--Now that Tropical Storm Hanna is no longer a threat to Florida, Fritz Wilson, state disaster relief director for the Florida Baptist Convention, and his team are turning their full attention to...

Storms kill 150 in Haiti - Added 1 day ago

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP)--Mudslides, washed-out roads and massive flooding hampered Florida Baptists' efforts to feed the hungry in Haiti where three tropical storms in as many weeks have killed at least 150 people...

FIRST-PERSON: Evacuation brings blessing - Added 2 days ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--As I prepared to evacuate from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary campus ahead of Hurricane Gustav, I would not have guessed that I would later describe the experience as an unexpected...

Hawkins urges: Reclaim fear of God - Added 2 days ago

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)--Losing the fear of the Lord is hindering the multiplication of believers and churches, O.S. Hawkins, president of Guidestone Financial Resources, said in a chapel message at Southeastern Baptist...

EDUCATION BRIEFS: Louisiana College begins master's degree program - Added 2 days ago

PINEVILLE, La. (BP)—-Louisiana College, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has launched its first master's degree program. The initial course for a master's in teaching, "Teaching with Significance," was...

Convocations set forth challenges - Added 2 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Following tradition, Southern Baptist seminary convocations marked the start of another academic semester, with a challenge to advance the Gospel set forth in each convocation.The convocation at...

400 goats visit Golden Gate Seminary - Added 2 days ago

MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP)--Four hundred goats descended on the verdant hillsides of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in July, cutting the grass as well as the seminary's costs for landscaping staff."We save...

Utility problems delay NOBTS reopening - Added 2 days ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary students, faculty and staff will have to wait a few days longer for their return to campus. The tentative return date now is set for Monday, Sept. 8.Classes...

Church's shelter: 'hands & feet of Christ' - Added 2 days ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. (BP)--Evacuee Jamie Ferrier sat in the gym of East Brent Baptist Church with time on her hands, desperate for news amid rumors about the damage Hurricane Gustav had inflicted on her New Orleans-area...

Hurricane Gustav evacuees find Baptists waiting to help - Added 2 days ago

SHREVEPORT, La. (BP)--The families arrived with three days of clothes and little else. In the car seats you see what is valuable to them: a painting of a dog, a hand-stitched doll. Quite a few spent most of their money...

Documents held in Los Angeles priest abuse cases - Added 2 days ago

The departure of a key figure in a record $660 million clergy sexual abuse settlement has endangered part of the deal that some plaintiffs consider more important than the money: the promise by the Roman Catholic...

Religion today - Added 2 days ago

The motto of Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin comes from a Bible verse reminding believers that God has given them "no cowardly spirit." And he has not been timid during three years as the most prominent religious...

Religion news in brief - Added 2 days ago

It's hard to find much brotherly love on the campaign trail, particularly in a hard-fought, high-profile race for an open seat in the U.S. House. But that's exactly what the pastor of Montgomery's First Baptist Church,...

Preventive care begins with you - Added 3 days ago

DALLAS (BP)--We hear a lot these days about rising health care costs. I know when I see a bill from my doctor, I'm sure glad I have health insurance. But insurance isn't enough. I firmly believe that if health care...

New York judge says governor can order out-of-state 'gay marriages' recognized - Added 3 days ago

NEW YORK (BP)--A New York State judge dismissed a lawsuit Sept. 2 against Gov. David A. Paterson, ruling that he acted within his power when he ordered state agencies to recognize "gay marriages" from outside the...

Connecting young adults to their faith - Added 3 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Ministry as usual will not cut it, Jason Hayes said, for the new demographic of young adults seeking depth, authenticity and answers to the hard matters of faithHayes, young adult specialist for...

Texting keeps New Orleans seminary alert - Added 3 days ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Since Hurricane Gustav, good news has been arriving to cell phones of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary families through NOBTS' new priority text messaging system. The system has been an...

Gustav spawns ministry by Baptists - Added 3 days ago

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--The most extensive damage from Hurricane Gustav's winds in Louisiana is in a triangle formed by Baton Rouge, Alexandria and Lafayette, according to Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptists' disaster...

SBC disaster relief teams roll into La. - Added 3 days ago

CLINTON, Miss. (BP)--The night's warm breeze gave way to a drizzle as Kentucky Baptist disaster relief units rolled out of Camp Garaywa, a Woman's Missionary Union camp located in this small town west of Jackson.The...

2,000 refugees in Georgia fed by Texas relief workers - Added 3 days ago

GORI, Georgia (BP)--Families displaced by fighting in the Black Sea country of Georgia are expressing profound gratitude for a feeding ministry Southern Baptist relief workers are conducting in Gori, a member of the...

Relief teams battle lingering winds, rain - Added 4 days ago

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--Although Hurricane Gustav has deteriorated now to only a tropical depression, Southern Baptist disaster relief teams are still battling high winds and heavy rainfall as they respond to critical...

Don't use the 'R' word - Added 4 days ago

RALEIGH, N.C. (BP)--Ben Stiller used to be one of my favorite comedians. He's lost my respect with his derogatory abuse of the word "retard" in his newest film, "Tropic Thunder," which might better be named "Topic...

CP: 0.88% ahead of 2007 pace - Added 4 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Year-to-date contributions through the Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program are 0.88 percent ahead of the same time frame in August 2007, according to a news release from SBC...

Alaska's grandeur is church's setting - Added 4 days ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (BP)--During the six weeks of "Grace Works" this summer, more than 80 Alaskans made professions of faith.Grace Works, a new multi-week initiative of Grandview Baptist Church, had a dual purpose of...

Native American churches start fellowship - Added 4 days ago

OKLAHOMA CITY (BP)--Native American churches virtually have been a silent segment of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Emerson Falls believes it's time they start beating their own drum.Falls, pastor of Glorieta...

Baptist feeding units begin their work as weakened Gustav advances inland - Added 4 days ago

ALPHARETTA (BP)-As Hurricane Gustav came ashore early Monday morning and started creeping its way across Louisiana, Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers were already busy preparing meals for evacuees and standing...

Minimal Gustav damage at New Orleans Seminary - Added 4 days ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary suffered only minimal damage as Hurricane Gustav pushed through about 70 miles southwest of the city Sept. 1.Late Monday night when Hurricane Gustav finally...

Make plans to see 'Fireproof' - Added 1 week ago

EDITORS' NOTE: This story is part of a series of Baptist Press stories about Fireproof, which hits theaters Sept. 26. To read how churches can get involved click here. To read an overview about the movie click here. To...

Finding a house church leader in Beijing - Added 1 week ago

BEIJING (BP)--Sitting in Yu Jie's home in Beijing as he talked about his church and about the growth of Christianity in China, I pondered the events that had brought me to this place.To provide some background, house...

Warren: New breed evangelicals not liberal - Added 1 week ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--"New breed" evangelicals have been misunderstood by the media, Rick Warren told a Wall Street Journal reporter after the Aug. 22 forum Saddleback Church hosted with presidential candidates Barack...

Okla. Baptists heat up DNC feeding effort - Added 1 week ago

DENVER (BP)--Southern Baptist volunteers served tens of thousands of meals to law enforcement personnel at the Democratic National Convention this past week as part of a six-day "Love Denver" effort.A team of about 20...

MARRIAGE DIGEST: New poll shows California marriage amend. trailing - Added 1 week ago

!P>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--A new poll shows a proposed constitutional marriage amendment in California losing, and the results could have been influenced by a new ballot title that amendment supporters say is...

Baptist schools listed in 2 rankings - Added 1 week ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Forty-two member institutions of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities (IABCU) have been listed in the 2008 rankings of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News and World...

Baptists expand post-Gustav meal capacity - Added 1 week ago

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--The American Red Cross and Salvation Army have asked Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers to prepare for the worst. "But hope for the best," said Mickey Caison, director of NAMB's adult...

Seminary evacuation prepares for Gustav - Added 1 week ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley called for a mandatory evacuation of the main campus due to Tropical Storm Gustav. The evacuation will begin Aug. 29 and continue through...

Actor Kirk Cameron hopes people see themselves in new movie 'Fireproof' - Added 1 week ago

EDITORS' NOTE: This story is part of a series of Baptist Press stories about Fireproof, which hits theaters Sept. 26. To read how churches can get involved click here. To read an overview about the movie click here. To...

Chinese open to American witness - Added 1 week ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article is based on interviews conducted during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Audio clips of these interviews are being made available for download so Southern Baptists can be better...

China house church leader weighed Scripture & culture - Added 1 week ago

BEIJING (BP)--Yu Jie will quickly tell you that the Ark Church in Beijing is not underground.Many churches in China are indeed underground and try to operate without government detection. But the Ark Church operates...

Chinese churches should expect 'increased persecution' - Added 1 week ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The future of the persecuted church in China will be "darker before it becomes brighter," Bob Fu, president of China Aid Association, told Baptist Press as the Olympics drew to a close in...

Louisianans prepare as Gustav churns - Added 1 week ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--During this week's Democratic National Convention, national media were breaking away to report on the threat of Tropical Storm Gustav becoming a devastating hurricane. The media reports have New...

Gustav prompts relief teams' preparations - Added 1 week ago

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--As Tropical Storm Gustav churns toward the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast region, Southern Baptist disaster relief units in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Virginia have been put on...

WORLDVIEW: Back to the future - Added 1 week ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: An audio version of this column is available online athttp://media1.imbresources.org/files/57/5721/5721-30967.mp3RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Russia is on the move, reasserting its military power in the Caucasus...