Baptist Press Archive

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

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  • Pastor visits Killeen mosque
    by Jerry Pierce, posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (14 years ago)

    KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--Jerry Jewell had visited there before, conveying a heartfelt message: "Jesus Christ loves you and He desires to save you, and that is why I am here." Most of the Muslims at the Islamic Community Center of Killeen had been friendly, even eager, for dialogue, said Jewell, pastor of Living Hope: The Church in the Field in the nearby town of Copperas Cove.

    At the Islamic Community Center of Killeen, Texas, Southern Baptist pastor Jerry Jewell dropped by the day after the deadly shooting spree at nearby Fort Hood.
     
          It had been a year since Jewell last visited the mosque, but he said he felt the Holy Spirit nudge him last Friday, "You should go visit."

          Then a phone call -- from a Christian friend who had accompanied the Southern Baptist pastor to the mosque to engage his Muslim neighbors -- confirmed it. "You might want to check in to see how they are doing," the friend told Jewell in an unsolicited call.

          News reports said alleged Fort Hood shooter Nadal Malik Hasan had visited the mosque the morning of the attack. "I figure the best way to keep someone from going out and doing other people harm is to bring them to Christ," Jewell said. "If we hate them, then we are denying Christ."

          So a day after Hasan allegedly gunned down 12 of his fellow American soldiers and a civilian, caused the death of an unborn baby and wounded 29 others, Jewell said he somewhat reluctantly drove to the Muslim mosque housed in a red one-story building in Killeen. Once there, he saw that news reporters had filled the lawn and a police officer was screening those wishing to enter the building.

          "Are you a member?" the policeman inquired as Jewell approached the mosque entrance. "No," Jewell answered. "I am a Baptist pastor. But I visit with these guys and wanted to come in and see how they are doing." Read More

  • At Fort Hood, chaplain aids grief-stricken
    by Mickey Noah, posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (14 years ago)

    KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--Nothing prepared Army Chaplain (Capt.) Jason Palmer for his initial tour of the yellow-taped crime scene at Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Center, where he saw trails of blood still on the floor, bloody handprints on the walls and the telephone pole outside where the alleged shooter collapsed to the ground after being shot four times in the abdomen. Read More

  • 2 mass murders, 18 years apart in 1 town
    by Erin Roach, posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (14 years ago)

    KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--Randy Wallace, pastor of First Baptist Church in Killeen, Texas, said a man in his church survived the Luby's cafeteria shooting in 1991, when 23 people were killed and 20 were wounded in Killeen. That event marked the deadliest shooting rampage in American history until the Virginia Tech massacre. Read More

  • Pro-lifers: No room for compromise in bill
    by Michael Foust, posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (14 years ago)

    "The only thing that will prevent the health care bill from being 'an abortion bill' is precisely the Stupak-Pitts Amendment."

    -- Douglas Johnson, National Right to Life

    WASHINGTON (BP)--President Obama said Nov. 9 he hopes to see the House health care bill's restrictions on federal funding of abortion changed so that it pleases both sides, but pro-lifers countered by saying the House language is the only proposal their side finds acceptable. Read More

  • Iowa messengers approve sale of building
    by Richard Nations, posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (14 years ago)

    DES MOINES, Iowa (BP)--Messengers approved the sale of the Baptist Convention of Iowa building and paved the way for relocation to a new facility during their Nov. 6-7 annual meeting in Des Moines.

    The convention currently owns an office unit in a condo-business park in Urbandale in the Des Moines area. Space considerations prompted the need for a move to quarters with larger conference facilities and more storage. Three former church properties, in Waterloo, Davenport and Cedar Falls, also... Read More

  • States to handle DR for Ida
    by Staff, posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (14 years ago)

    ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--As Hurricane Ida made landfall near Mobile, Ala., Nov. 10, the North American Mission Board reported that disaster relief operations will not involve a national DR deployment.

    "All of the states that are affected have active strong DR so should be able to handle any response needs. We have contacted the state directors and they are watching the events," the mission board said in a statement to Baptist Press.

    Ida peaked as a Category 2 hurricane in the gulf and wea... Read More