Tuesday, April 22, 2003

• True Love (also) Waits for deaf & blind youth

  by Chris Turner, posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 (21 years ago)

  SPARTANBURG, S.C. (BP)--The tightly twisted blonde curls topping Lee Kirby's head jiggle in rhythm to his stride as he walks back to his pew. His smile reflects the affirmation he feels after receiving the biggest ovation he's ever seen. He's not real sure what hundreds of people clapping sounds like. Kirby, 16, is deaf. Meningitis took his hearing at age 3. He does, however, understand the smiles and the sea of nodded approvals.

        Latrelle Pitts, 17, has her wavy golden locks pulled back into a short ponytail that bounces as she takes her seat. She can't hear the applause either but feels the same pride as Kirby.

  The all-American-looking boyfriend and girlfriend have been in the same class at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind (SCSDB) since kindergarten. On this particular night they've pledged to abstain from sexual relations until they marry. It's the second most important decision of their lives.

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• 2002 SBC membership reaches all-time high of 16.2 million

  by Polly House, posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 (21 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Membership in Southern Baptist churches reached a record 16,137,736 in 2002, a .53 percent increase over the previous year, or 84,816 additional members. Read More

• Gunman who killed 3 IMB workers tells court of planning his attack

  by Staff, posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 (21 years ago)

  JIBLA, Yemen (BP)--The Yemeni man accused of gunning down three International Mission Board workers in a hospital testified in court he killed the Americans to defend Islam because he believed they were sterilizing Muslim women and trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. Read More

• ERLC to focus additional resources on D.C. front toward public policy

  by Staff, posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 (21 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP)--The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is reallocating more of its resources to its Washington, D.C., office, and the ERLC's president says the move reflects a continued unfolding of a strategic plan by the SBC entity to impact the culture by seeking to influence public policy decisions. Read More

• NAMB military video surpasses 218,000 Internet downloads

  by James Dotson, posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 (21 years ago)

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--A video segment calling churches to prayer for U.S. troops has achieved unprecedented popularity -- with more than 218,000 Internet downloads as of April 21. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: A Marine's prayer journal

  by Lt. Col. John M. Young, USMCR, posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 (21 years ago)

  KUWAIT (BP)--I'd like to think I'm not a foxhole Christian, but I'll have to admit that I pray a lot more during war than peace. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Preaching to reach postmoderns

  by Todd E. Brady, posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 (21 years ago)

  JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Postmodernism is a pervasive philosophy that has significantly skewed the thinking of many -- especially today's generation of students. Across our land, skepticism prevails as relativism runs rampant across university campuses, causing students to wander aimlessly throughout the pluralistic halls of doubt, chaos and uncertainty. The postmodern generation is characterized as one who distrusts authority, questions and tolerates anything, and dismisses absolute truth. Read More