
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/13/2005

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CULTURE DIGEST: Tenn. lawmakers seek tougher divorce laws; study highlights teens' views of God; conservative's free speech faces double standard at Univ. of Colorado
by Erin Curry
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In an effort to strengthen the institution of marriage, two lawmakers in Tennessee have proposed a bill to allow spouses who have been cheated on, abused or abandoned to receive more than half of the marital assets rather than the typical 50 percent.

Two Republicans, part of a new majority in the state Senate, introduced the bill, which is quickly gaining bipartisan support, according to The Tennessean newspaper.

"The hope is that we will be able to reintroduce some teeth into the divorce law and discourage some of the more egregious behaviors that lead to the breakup of marriages and the destruction of children that they leave in their wake," Sen. David Fowler, a sponsor of the bill, said.

Some say it's ironic that someone who fails to keep a business contract can be required to pay damages but a spouse who violates a marriage contract is not held accountable, The Tennessean reported.

Under the law, a spouse would have to present clear and convincing evidence that the other partner committed adultery, abuse or abandonment in the year before the divorce was filed, and the person claiming to be the victim cannot be guilty of the same behavior.

"The institution of marriage has been diminished and it is not taken as seriously as it ought to be taken," Fowler said. "There are no longer any repercussions for entering into a marriage lightly and not working to maintain the marriage."

Tennessee's divorce rate ranked third in the nation in 1999 and 2000, and in 2001 it moved to ninth place -- still far too high for some lawmakers.

But the proposed law is receiving some negative attention as well; mainly from attorneys who say the divorce process already is complicated enough.

"Our viewpoint is that these are already difficult enough situations and already lots of emotions involved and lots of feelings involved, and the more of these kinds of opportunities for disputes, then the more messy it's going to be," Allan Ramsaur, executive director of the Tennessee Bar Association, told The Tennessean.

The Nashville newspaper editorialized against the proposal April 10.

"Fowler spoke of changing attitudes by forcing adulterers to pay for their sins. That's work for a power higher than the Tennessee General Assembly," the paper said.

MANY TEENS VIEW GOD AS 'PRIVATE BUTLER' -- American teenagers have combined the concept of Christianity with principles of postmodernism and the ideology of individualism to create what a recent study terms "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism," where God is there to solve their problems but stays at a safe distance when they don't want Him around.

Researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have released a book titled, "Soul Searching," after interviewing more than 3,000 American adolescents about their religious beliefs.

R. Albert Mohler Jr. addressed the study in his April 11 commentary on Crosswalk.com, saying teenagers' proclivity to dismiss religious absolutes with a casual "whatever" is a substitute for serious and responsible thinking and a verbal cover for an embrace of relativism.

The study found that teenagers widely practice and accept religion -- particularly Christianity -- but their version of it is far from its roots. Mohler said Moralistic Therapeutic Deism reflects the culture as a whole, which through subtle shifts has "produced a context in which belief in such an undemanding deity makes sense."

Such a transformation replaces the sovereignty of God with the sovereignty of the self, Mohler said, making self-improvement the one great moral imperative to which all are accountable.

"This research project demands the attention of every thinking Christian. Those who are prone to dismiss sociological analysis as irrelevant will miss the point," Mohler said. "We must now look at the United States of America as missiologists once viewed nations that had never heard the Gospel. Indeed, our missiological challenge may be even greater than the confrontation with paganism, for we face a succession of generations who have transformed Christianity into something that bears no resemblance to the faith revealed in the Bible."

FREE SPEECH DOUBLE STANDARD RISES AT COLORADO -- Ward Churchill has been in the news as the left-wing professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado who said the victims of 9/11 got what they deserved. Now the school is investigating him for falsely claiming to be an American Indian, plagiarizing, grading down students who disagree with him and publicly advocating violence and law breaking, but his colleagues are standing solidly in support of him and his right to free speech.

At the same school, an evangelical Christian professor of history, Phil Mitchell, was informed his contract would not be renewed because he quoted black critics of affirmative action in class. In the past, Mitchell was criticized for using a book on liberal Protestantism in an American history class that mentioned "God" and offended some.

In the April 2 issue of World magazine, Gene Edward Veith examined the disparity between the cases of Churchill and Mitchell, noting the former is tenured and the latter is not. Another major difference, he said, is that Churchill is being investigated for issues other than his speech while Mitchell appears to have been penalized only for what he has said.

School officials, Veith said, seem to be OK with a liberal professor speaking out against victims of a terrorist attack but are uncomfortable with a conservative teacher expressing his views. Veith also mentioned the backlash against Harvard University President Laurence Summers after he said innate differences between the sexes could be a reason for why women as a group do not exceed as much as men in mathematics.

"Even the president of Harvard has no academic freedom or freedom of speech," Veith said.

'DAY OF TRUTH' IS APRIL 14 -- Christian students nationwide are encouraged to observe the "Day of Truth" April 14 by wearing T-shirts that read, "The Truth Cannot Be Silenced" and by distributing cards to their classmates expressing their beliefs.

The pro-family legal group Alliance Defense Fund is sponsoring the day as a counterpart to the pro-homosexual "Day of Silence" April 13. The Day of Silence began in 1996 with students vowing to keep quiet as a way to protest what homosexual activists describe as discrimination against homosexuals, lesbians and "transsexuals."

The Alliance Defense Fund has pledged free legal representation to any student who is discriminated against because of their Day of Truth participation.
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Dembski: Intelligent design offers alternative to Darwinism
by David Roach
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Intelligent design has generated controversy because it deals with issues at the core of the current debate between secularists and people with a Christian worldview, said William Dembski, one of the ID movement's leading thinkers.

"These issues of intelligent design and creation really cut to the heart of worldviews, what we are about, how we're putting life together and what's ultimately meaningful, what morality is based on," Dembski said in speaking on "Darwinism and the Church: a Conversation on Design and Cultural Engagement" at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dembski currently is associate research professor in the conceptual foundations of science at Baylor University in Texas but will join Southern Seminary's faculty in June as the Carl F.H. Henry Professor of Science and Theology. Dembski and other proponents of intelligent design theory contend that some features of the natural world are best explained as the products of an intelligent cause rather than naturalistic evolution.

Addressing a forum sponsored by the seminary's Carl F.H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement, Dembski said he looks forward to serving at the Louisville, Ky., campus because of Southern's willingness to sponsor intelligent design research as a legitimate scientific enterprise -- an attitude that some Christian colleges and universities do not share because they believe embracing intelligent design will compromise their status in the academic world.

"Even many Christians who have been raised and indoctrinated in a secular mindset ... will say, 'Look, we're just going to have to accept the science of the day and try to make our peace with it theologically,'" Dembski said. "And there is no peace theologically ... ultimately with this view &#91;Darwinian evolution&#93;. But they accept it. And so, this idea of intelligent design becomes very threatening."

Intelligent design's first goal is to demonstrate the inadequacy of Darwinian evolution as an explanation of the origin of the universe, Dembski said. One of the chief methods of accomplishing this, he said, is to demonstrate the weakness of the scientific evidence presented in support of Darwinian evolution in many school classrooms.

"Evolutionary theory is in such a weak position that it shouldn't be taught at all ... in this grand global sense," Dembski said. "If you want to say natural selection operates in accounting for antibiotic resistance in bacteria, you can make a case there. But if you are going to try to say that's how you get bacteria, insects, all this in the first place, that's a huge extrapolation. The &#91;Darwinian&#93; theory doesn't support that."

After offering a critique of Darwinian evolution, intelligent design proposes alternative theories about the origin of the universe, Dembski said. These theories argue that a designer must have fashioned the complex biological and physical mechanisms humans observe in the world, he said.

As the data supporting intelligent design increases, some members of the secular scientific community have changed their minds and considered the possibility of an intelligent designer for the first time, Dembski said, noting that several researchers from major universities have contacted him and expressed a desire to conduct intelligent design research.

"I think the other side is worried," Dembski said. "And they are right to be worried because I think the ideas are on our side."

Although much of the scientific community views intelligent design with disdain, Dembski said that in popular culture as many as 90 percent of Americans "are favorably disposed" to the idea.

Because naturalism has influenced a variety of fields such as science, philosophy, business and economics, Christians must be prepared to combat the naturalistic worldview in every arena of life, Dembski said. Especially effective, he said, is using intelligent design to challenge the basic assumptions of naturalism and Darwinian evolution.

"I like to get back to the axioms, to the basics. If you can get at the taproot, at the thing that's really fundamental, then I think all these superstructures, the whole house of cards will come down," Dembski said. "Intelligent design is pressing that you can't get &#91;the design of the universe&#93; without intelligence."
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Science blog to focus on intelligent design
by Staff
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

SEATTLE (BP)--Intelligent design is the subject of a new science blog to explore the growing evidence for purpose and design in the universe and in earth’s life systems.

“There is a great lack of understanding about intelligent design,” said Jay Richards, vice president and senior fellow with the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. “The national debate about intelligent design, as well as the criticisms of theories such as Neo-Darwinism, has gotten very heated. We hope our blog will infuse the debate with more light and less heat.

“The public deserves to hear from ID theorists directly, without the mainstream media filter, which usually distorts the nature of the debate and the evidence that’s inspiring the debate,” Richards said.

The blog, named Intelligent Design The Future, is online at www.idthefuture.com.

The blog will involve multiple contributors among the nation’s leading intelligent design scientists and theorists, including biochemist Michael Behe, mathematician William Dembski, astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, philosophers Stephen Meyer and Jay Richards, molecular biologist Jonathan Wells; science writer Jonathan Witt; and Richards at the Discovery Institute.

Items at the blog will focus primarily on the intellectual issues at stake in the debate over intelligent design rather than its implications in such arenas as education or public policy, Richards said.

“This is the first time that the public has had a chance to read all in one place the leading design scientists’ thoughts on current scientific news and issues,” he noted. “The contributors represent different academic disciplines and often have different interests, so IDthefuture.com will be eclectic and keep people coming back.”

Most posts will be brief, providing editorial comment and links to relevant articles and discussions, Richards said.

“We will alert readers to recent articles that bear on design in the universe,” he said. “And we will speak directly on current events as they relate to intelligent design, materialism, reductionism and other related intellectual issues.”
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Dead Sea Scrolls still kindle archaeological debate, Ortiz says
by Michael McCormack
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

MOBILE, Ala. (BP)--The 1948 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls proved to be the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century. But more than 50 years after their discovery, many questions remain as to who wrote them and who actually lived at the Dead Sea community of Qumran where they were discovered.

Steven Ortiz, associate professor of biblical archaeology and director of the Center for Archaeological Research at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, addressed some of these questions, as part of the Gulf Coast Exploreum’s Dead Sea Scrolls lecture series in Mobile, Ala. Included in the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit are a number of ancient artifacts from the Bible Lands Museum of the Center for Archaeological Research of the seminary.

Archaeologists have excavated about 250 caves and crevices on the western side of the Dead Sea, Ortiz noted in his March 28 lecture. After the 1948 discovery, archaeologists immediately looked to Qumran, with Father De Vaux and G.L. Harding beginning an excavation at the mysterious community in 1951.

De Vaux, who excavated Qumran from 1951-56, hypothesized that Qumran, during the time the Dead Sea Scrolls were produced, was inhabited by the Essenes, a conservative Jewish sect.

“In the 1950s, this became common lore among archaeologists,” Ortiz said. “Most people accepted his interpretation of the site.”

However, over the next 50 years, a variety of developments led to disagreement over De Vaux’s original evaluation of Qumran and the Essenes.

The widespread study of Jerusalem led to a better understanding of first-century Judaism. Archaeologists unearthed extravagant houses that pointed to a distinction between the rich and poor. They also discovered a large number of ritual baths that revealed Judaism’s emphasis on ritual cleanliness. The improved understanding of ritual cleanliness, Ortiz noted, would prove to be particularly important to the study of Qumran.

In addition to the excavation of Jerusalem, De Vaux’s excavation techniques opened the door to greater debate over Qumran.

“In the 1950s when De Vaux excavated, he did not excavate with the best techniques,” Ortiz said. “He did not separate &#91;the site&#93; based on a grid system. He had workmen excavate each room, and in each room you could have five or six different layers of floors. They were all excavated as one, so a lot of the material is mixed up.

“This allows for various interpretations, because everyone is allowed to make his or her own guess on the data,” he said. “We have anywhere from 10 theories on what Qumran is, ranging anywhere from a military fort to a library to a religious cult center. Most of these theories have only one major proponent.”

Ortiz went on to note the two main hypotheses regarding Qumran currently in the archaeological community: the Essene hypothesis and the Roman manor house theory.

Jodi Magness, professor of early Judaism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and author of “The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” is a notable proponent of the Essene hypothesis, while Yizhar Hirschfeld, professor of classical archaeology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and author of “Qumran in Context: Reassessing the Archaeological Evidence,” supports the theory that Qumran was a Roman manor house.

This debate is not as divisive as it seems, Ortiz said, noting that about 90 percent of scholars support the Essene hypothesis, and most of the other 10 percent believe Qumran to be an ancient Roman manor house. Still, the debate is significant, Ortiz said.

Looking at Qumran from the greater context of the Dead Sea region, a case can be made for it being a Roman manor house, Ortiz said. The Romans commandeered the Dead Sea region to mine it for its salts. Herod the Great also developed parts of the region.

“During the reign of Herod the Great, he built many forts throughout the desert,” Ortiz said. “These were retreats and also ways of escape. Herod knew that he was not particularly liked, so he made sure he had an escape route. We have a whole chain of forts going all the way from Jerusalem down to Masada.

“Now Hirschfeld believes that Qumran was not a sectarian community with the Essenes living there and that actually what we’re looking at is a Roman villa or a Roman fort,” Ortiz said.

A rich landowner loyal to Herod was, under Hirschfeld’s hypothesis, awarded the site at Qumran. On site were living quarters for the landowner and rooms for industry. According to Ortiz, though, interpreting the data from Qumran in this way ignores a wealth of other evidence to the contrary.

“Magness notes that, on the surface, it does look like we have a fort here, but actually Qumran is united by its water supply,” Ortiz said. “The dominant features of the site are these Jewish ritual baths.”

Water was naturally scarce at Qumran, so its inhabitants had to harvest water. The Qumranites harnessed the flash floods and occasional showers through a series of aqueducts.

“During the winter season, they would harvest the winter rains,” Ortiz continued. “We have an elaborate aqueduct system there. The Essenes would harvest this and they had several water channels.”

Elaborate water systems were common in Jewish desert settlements, Ortiz said. In most Jewish settlements of the day, 60 percent of the water was used for water storage, while the other 40 percent was reserved for ritual baths. At Qumran, this ratio is reversed. 

“We can see the stark difference,” he said. “The people living at Qumran were interested in this purification process. They were interested in being purified from their daily activities.”

Besides the water system, the overall design of Qumran points to the Essenes, Ortiz said. Qumran had a scriptorium where scrolls were produced, a dining hall, a garden, stables, a bakery and various workshops. These reveal a focus on daily life. In particular, the dining hall, with room for 120 people, provides strong evidence for the Essene community. Experts still do not know where Qumran’s inhabitants slept as no sleeping quarters have been found there.

The significance of the Qumran community, Ortiz said, does not stop with the Scrolls. Indeed, he believes the same motivations and convictions that drove the Essenes to the barren Judean wilderness have endured to today.

“I would propose that the issues the Essenes encountered were the same issues that we encounter today,” Ortiz said. “You had a group of Jews who desired to keep Torah and live a life of purity. They were attempting to live their lives within the religious framework of the temple and within the change that Hellenization was bringing to society.”

Ortiz pointed to national elections last November as proof that people still find it important to live out their religious beliefs in view of the present political currents.

“We are similar to the inhabitants of Qumran as we seek to balance the tension between faith and culture,” he said.

Ortiz was the seventh of 10 scholars scheduled to present research in Mobile as part of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. The exhibit, which continues through April 24, showcases seven 2,000-year-old biblical scrolls found at Qumran.
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For more information on the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit or the lecture series, go to www.scrollsmobile.com or call 1-877-DSS-SHOW. For more information on the Center for Archaeological Research at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, go to www.nobts.edu/ArchaeologyCenter.


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Seminary Extension awards first diplomas for Spanish studies
by Staff
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Seminary Extension, a ministry of the six Southern Baptist seminaries, has awarded four Spanish-speaking students diplomas in pastoral ministries -– the entity’s first such diplomas for coursework taught entirely in Spanish.

Robert Nyberg, pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Sarasota, Fla., since 1998, supervised the studies.

Several of the courses Nyberg has translated are among the eight Spanish-language courses now available from Seminary Extension, with work continuing by Nyberg and other volunteers to complete additional courses for Seminary Extension use. Sixteen courses are required as part of the curriculum to earn the pastoral ministries diploma.

The four diploma graduates are Santiago Acosta, a Texas native, and his wife, Daisy, a Panama native, longtime volunteer migrant ministry workers in Florida; Acela Yong, a native of Cuba, an adult Sunday School teacher at the Sarasota church; and Margarita Olga Nyberg, a native of Colombia and Nyberg’s wife, a pianist and the church’s music director. The students, who completed four years of study, received their diplomas April 3 at the Sarasota church.

The Nybergs were missionaries for 26 years with the SBC’s former Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board).

Seminary Extension’s Spanish-language courses can be taught in local Seminary Extension centers across the world and, in various instances, transferred to colleges and Bible schools for credit toward undergraduate work.

Seminary Extension also offers 17 courses in Spanish in its basic certificate-level curriculum.

“The need for good theological training in Spanish is growing rapidly,” Bill Vinson, director of Seminary Extension, said. “Robert Nyberg is not only teaching in Spanish, but he is translating the courses as he teaches them. Because of wonderful volunteer help like this, we may eventually be able to offer all our courses in Spanish.”

Seminary Extension, located in the SBC Building in Nashville, can be contacted by mail at the 901 Commerce St., Suite 500, Nashville, TN 37203; by phone, 1-800-229-4612); or e-mail, se@seminaryextension.org.
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Roy Fish called worthy choice for new school’s name at SWBTS
by Brent Thompson
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--When Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary named its new school of evangelism and missions for Roy Fish, the seminary chose to honor a man whose name is virtually synonymous with a passion for lost souls, seminary officials and leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said.

Trustee Ted Stone, citing Fish’s contributions and effect in his own life and ministry, made the motion to name the school in honor of the SWBTS faculty member during the board of trustees’ April 5 meeting.

Stone described Fish as representing “what I read about Jesus in the Bible and what I experienced about Jesus in my own personal life.”

“The fire of evangelism and missions burns forever in the heart of Roy Fish. And because we have known it, because he is such a great part of this seminary, it burns alive here at Southwestern,” Stone, of Durham, N.C., said, adding that Fish is one of the most respected names in evangelism training not just at Fort Worth, Texas, campus but across America.

Born and raised in Arkansas, Fish was saved while pursuing his undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He came to Southwestern Seminary first as a student and received a bachelor of divinity degree -- then the equivalent of a master of divinity degree -- in 1957. It was in Fort Worth that he met his wife, Jean Holley, another divinity student. They have been married since 1960.

He completed his doctoral degree in church history at Southwestern in 1963 with a thesis titled, “The Awakening of 1858 and Its Effects on Baptists in the United States.”

During his doctoral studies, Fish pastored the First Baptist Church of Fairborn, Ohio. Always active in denominational life, Fish served on the executive board and became president of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio. In later years, Fish also served on the Southern Baptist Convention’s Committee on Committees and on the Strategic Planning Task Force of the Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board) of the SBC.

Fish accepted the call to teach evangelism at Southwestern and occupy the seminary’s legendary “Chair of Fire” in 1965. B.H. Carroll, Southwestern Seminary’s founder and first president, designated the professorship of evangelism the Chair of Fire during the seminary’s earliest days. L.R. Scarborough was the first person to occupy the chair in 1908.

Shortly before Scarborough’s death in 1945, gifts were secured to endow the L.R. Scarborough Chair of Evangelism, thus ensuring that the Chair of Fire would be an integral component of the seminary’s training.

O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources (Annuity Board) in Dallas, and Jack Graham, immediate past president of the SBC and senior pastor of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, were students in Fish’s classes.

“Thirty-five years ago this fall I sat down in my first class of my first day of seminary; within two minutes of hearing Roy Fish speak I knew the Lord was going to use him as an extraordinary mentor in my life,” Hawkins recounted.

“His passion for God and his fire for evangelism have been contagious for thousands of us who sat under his teaching.... Roy Fish will find his way into the history books and hearts of Southern Baptists right alongside his forerunner, L.R. Scarborough,” Hawkins said.

Graham echoed that sentiment.

“In the long and glorious history of Southwestern Seminary there are a few professors whose shadow of influence reaches around the world,” Graham said. “Roy Fish is one of those men whose life and ministry has advanced the Kingdom of God. He demonstrated truth on fire and the heart of an evangelist that he so passionately shared with thousands of students who are now serving Christ on mission fields and in churches around the world.”

Fish characteristically deflected praise when asked to comment on the naming of the school of evangelism and missions in his honor:

“There are many deserving people at Southwestern who have contributed a great deal to evangelism,” Fish said. “I am glad to be counted among them. To have my name on the school of evangelism and missions is more than I ever deserved or dreamed. Let me just say I am deeply grateful.”

His focus on the simple Gospel message and plan of salvation through colorful illustrations and memorable turns of phrases was evident even in his earliest days of teaching. During the spring semester in 1967, he had been on the seminary faculty less than two years when he preached a message in chapel decrying the “new evangelism” that seemed to be so popular.

“In the coming years, there is going to be pressure on us to emphasize the redemption of the structures of society rather than the individual in society,” Fish predicted during the message.

“But never lose sight of the fact that soup, salve and sewing classes are not salvation.... Too many preachers are calling for a gospel that does little more than put a new suit of clothes on a man; we must preach a Gospel that puts a new man in a suit of clothes,” he said.

He went on to criticize preachers who “preached theories of men rather than the Word of God.”

“Sermons have become doses of psychological uplift, but when Christ is mentioned things get real vague,” Fish said. “The last place in the world for stammering and indefiniteness is in the pulpit.... If we show our people Calvary towering over the wrecks of time, our preaching will not be in vain.”

David Allen, dean of Southwestern’s theology school, said Fish not only practices what he preaches but always makes sure that solid theology underscores everything he teaches.

“Dr. Fish does not divorce evangelism from its theological base in Scripture,” Allen said. “It is very appropriate for his name to be put on the new school of evangelism and missions because he has a solid, theological foundation for the practical aspects of evangelism and missions. It is not just the longevity of his tenure here, but it is that combination of solid theological grounding with practical heart methodology for getting it done.”

Seminary President Paige Patterson spoke in support of Stone’s motion. Patterson noted that it is unusual to name a school after someone who is not only living but is actively teaching and ministering. In this case, Patterson said, naming the school after Fish is appropriate for at least two reasons.

“First of all, there is no one who has given themselves more unselfishly, unrelentingly, unobtrusively and humbly to the task of evangelism than has Roy Fish,” Patterson said. “Secondly, by putting his name on the new school of evangelism and missions, it forever establishes what we are going to be about at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. We are going to have foremost in what we do the reaching of the world for Christ.”

In addition to teaching evangelism at the seminary, Fish has been interim pastor in more than 50 churches throughout the United States. He is the author of many books on evangelism, including “Dare to Share” and “Every Member Evangelism Today.” His latest book, “Preaching Evangelistically,” is due out this fall.

This past spring, Fish was presented with the W.A. Criswell Lifetime Achievement Award in Evangelism by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The SBTC also announced the creation of the new Roy Fish Evangelism Award, the first recipient of which will be named in 2006. In 2003, he received the Distinguished Service Award in Evangelism from the North American Mission Board.
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Southeastern raises $16.9 million, reaching initial goal
by Jason Hall
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)--Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary's capital fundraising campaign "Scholarship on Fire!" has exceeded its first-phase goal, with more than $16.9 million in gifts and pledges received. President Daniel Akin described the news as another sign of God's blessing on the seminary.

Southeastern's board of trustees heard that positive report, among others, during their April 11-12 meeting on Southeastern's campus in Wake Forest, N.C.

A significant portion of the money of the first phase of "Scholarship on Fire!" will be used to fund the construction of the Patterson Campus Center, a 59,000-square-foot facility that will serve as the hub of campus life. The money also will be used for Southeastern's endowment and student scholarships.

Scholarship on Fire! is a 10-year, $50-million investment campaign that was approved by the trustees in 2002.

"I am thrilled that we have met and surpassed Phase I of our Scholarship on Fire! campaign and our goal of $16.5 million," Akin said. "Those who support Southeastern and believe in what we are doing have blessed us in their prayers and their giving, and they have helped us strengthen this great seminary. We are now poised to move into Phase II as we build a school that can accommodate 3,500 students and train pastors, evangelists and missionaries to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. What God has accomplished here is truly awesome, but we are ready to move ahead for His glory and the greatness of the work He has called us to do."

Trustees elected Anthony Allen, 36, as Southeastern's new vice president for institutional advancement. He will replace Bart Neal, who has served in that post for more than a decade and will retire in the fall.

Allen has served on Southeastern's staff for 13 years, including eight years as director of admissions. For the past four years, he has served as a special assistant to Neal.

"I think God has been preparing Anthony for this," Akin said. "I have great confidence that he will take us from where we are and move us forward, building on the strong foundation laid by Dr. Neal."

Allen, noting the success of the first phase of the "Scholarship on Fire!" campaign, said he is excited about the future of Southeastern.

"Surpassing our Scholarship on Fire! campaign Phase I goal is such a milestone in the life of Southeastern," Allen said. "The success of our campaign is a testimony to the faithfulness of God to supply our every need and the generosity of the many friends that made this possible. We are celebrating God's goodness and the joy that comes from our partnership in the Gospel with the many friends who have given sacrificially!"

Trustees also heard a positive report from Akin about enrollment, which stands at nearly 2,500 -- already exceeding last year's record figures. He also noted that 976 new students came to Southeastern this year, and by the start of the fall semester the seminary could be looking again at a 5 to 7 percent growth in new students.

Akin noted that Southeastern is "well on its way" to his personal goal of 3,500 students enrolled by 2010.

"As we continue to work faithfully, I believe God will honor what we do for His glory," Akin said.

In other action, trustees:

-- elected Anthony Greenham as assistant professor of missions and Islamic studies.

-- voted to name Southeastern's new facilities management building, to be built this summer, in honor of John and Kay Prince, longtime supporters and friends of the seminary.
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FIRST-PERSON: Starting with me & my church
by Joe McKeever
Date: April 13, 2005 - Wednesday

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Have you ever fainted? I did once, in a cafeteria. I had taken my sons and daughter-in-law to dinner while my wife was out of town. Standing in the line, I began to feel queasy. 

By the time we started selecting dishes, all I could think of eating -- and holding down -- was Jell-O. At the table, I asked the waitress if they had a couch where I could lie down. They didn't. The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back, under the table, being attended to by two physicians who had been dining at the next table. Later, my son Marty teased, "Dad, if we had gone to Taco Bell, there wouldn't have been no doctors at the next table!"

I was doing a wedding once where the bride fainted. At first, I thought she was just swooning against her beloved father, but then she dissolved into a pile at the groom's feet. The best man carried her to the church parlor and laid her out on the carpet and someone broke a capsule of smelling salts. She opened her eyes and said, "Oh, mother, I've embarrassed you in front of all your friends." Mom said, "Hush." I asked if she wanted to cut short any of the wedding material. She said, "No, not after all the planning we've done. But talk fast."

In the church the word "revival" often refers to a series of special meetings, usually with an out-of-town singer or speaker. However, the word itself is summed up in what was done for me under the table and what was done for the bride at church -- to bring out of a state of unconsciousness and restore to full alertness.

We've all seen Christians and entire churches that had fainted, in a manner of speaking, and desperately needed reviving. They were not conscious of the Lord's presence, His power or His will. They were unconscious and unfeeling of the needs and opportunities all about them. They went through the motions of living, worshiping and ministering, but they were comatose. They felt no joy and no anguish. They were almost dead, and desperately in need of reviving.

All over the world, God's people need reviving today. Here's why:

-- The ground grows hard and resistant. Break it up. Hosea 10:12 and Jeremiah 4:3.

-- Our light grows dim. Shine it up. Matthew 5:16.

-- Our fire grows weak. Stir it up. 2 Timothy 1:6.

-- The workers grow tired. Build them up. Galatians 6:9.

-- The world grows attractive. Give it up. 1 John 2:15.

-- Our worship grows stale. Liven it up. John 4:24.

-- Our soul grows dirty. Clean it up. 1 John 1:9 and 2 Timothy 2:21.

-- Our eyes grow dim. Open them up. Ephesians 1:18.

-- Our heart goes astray. Offer it up. Romans 12:1.

-- Our prayer grows mechanical. Tune it up. Matthew 6:5f.

-- Our giving grows miserly. Give it up. Luke 6:38.

-- Our faith grows weak. Power it up. Hebrews 11:6.

The Lord Jesus once sent a love note to a church in the little Asia Minor town of Sardis. He spared no punches as He told them the truth about themselves:

"I know your works. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you."

That's Revelation 3:1-3, and it's obvious that God sees our lack of spirituality and the absence of life as a serious matter.

The inimitable Vance Havner used to remind God's people that revival is not an abnormal state for the Lord's church, but instead, the way things ought to be all the time. In fact, he said, we've been subnormal for so long, if we ever got normal again, we'd think we were abnormal.

Today, let's pray for the Lord to revive His people and His church. Starting with me and my church.
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Joe McKeever is director of missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans whose cartoons are featured on BP Lighter Side.



