Wednesday, March 07, 2007

• ‘Triumphant spirit’ prevails at funeral for teens killed by tornado at Ala. high school

  by Erin Roach, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  ENTERPRISE, Ala. (BP)--Though the pain runs deep over losing eight teenagers to a natural disaster, a triumphant spirit is emerging in Enterprise, Ala., as family and friends bury their loved ones, the head of the Alabama State Board of Missions told Baptist Press.

        “The preacher in me will tell you that there is a lot of turmoil down there in the city trying to get things organized,” Executive Director Rick Lance said. “There were a lot of tears -- you could just see the tears all the way through, the young people especially -- there was a lot of good testimony of how the grace of God is at work in the lives of people in a time of adversity. And yet there was a triumphant spirit.” Read More

• CULTURE DIGEST: College of W&M cross returns (sort of); fame & fortune corrupt again; leaders' immorality a plague...

  by Erin Roach, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The 2-foot-high brass cross at the center of a months-old controversy at the College of William and Mary will be permanently on display in a glass case in historic Wren Chapel as a compromise between the school’s president and his critics.

        “The case shall be located in a prominent, readily visible place, accompanied by a plaque explaining the college’s Anglican roots and its historic connection to Bruton Parish Church [a local Episcopal congregation],” a committee appointed to study the matter recommended March 6. “The Wren sacristy shall be available to house sacred objects of any religious tradition for use in worship and devotion by members of the college community.”

  "I have told him about trying to be in the right place at the right time so much instead of always being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it kind of goes on deaf ears."

  Pacman Jones' uncle, Robert Jones

        Meanwhile, Pacman Jones, star cornerback for the Tennessee Titans, is under review by the NFL’s personal conduct policy after at least 10 incidents involving police since he became the team’s top draft pick in 2005. His latest two episodes include a triple shooting at a Las Vegas strip club and felony charges of obstructing police during a drug bust in Georgia.

        For additional details of these and other cultural news stories ...

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• In Seattle, don’t presume people have seen or read the Bible

  by Mickey Noah, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  Based in Seattle, Wash., Gary and Joyce Irby have served as church planting missionaries for the North American Mission Board and the Puget Sound Baptist Association for nine years. Photo by Adam Buchanan

  SEATTLE, Wash. (BP)--Seattle can seem like one big paradox.

        On one hand, it is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, with nearly 574,000 people in Seattle proper and about 4 million in the metro area.

  Also known as the “Emerald City” because of the region’s lush evergreen trees, Seattle has been called the most literate city in the United States. The most recent census found that Seattle has the highest percentage of college graduates of any major U.S. city. And according to Men’s Fitness magazine, it is the fittest city in the country. The area is home to Microsoft, Boeing and Starbucks.

  Seattle also is a multiethnic city where some 190 different languages can be heard and many world religions are represented. More than 80 percent of the residents say they believe in something beyond the physical realm. Read More

• Ridgecrest marks 100 years, touching 3 million lives

  by Don Beehler, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  Thom S. Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, addresses a luncheon March 6 celebrating 100 years of ministry of LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, N.C., in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Photo by Russ Rankin

  ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP)--About 180 ministry and community leaders attended LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center’s centennial luncheon March 6 to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

  Speakers recalled the many ways God had worked in people’s lives at Ridgecrest during the past century while voicing anticipation of things yet to come at the conference center located just outside Black Mountain, N.C., near Asheville in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

  Black Mountain Mayor Carl Bartlett, who attended Vacation Bible School at Ridgecrest in 1948, brought greetings on behalf of the city and read a proclamation recognizing Ridgecrest for 100 years of service. The governor of North Carolina, mayor of Asheville and Buncombe County commissioners also issued proclamations. Read More

• Jim Henry reflects on a lifetime of experiences at Ridgecrest

  by Don Beehler, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)--Jim Henry first set foot on the grounds of LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center at age 13. Today, the retired pastor of First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., looks back on a lifetime of rich memories not only for himself, but also for his wife, children, grandchildren and members of his congregation. Read More

• Theologian & atheist debate at ‘Point-Counterpoint’ forum

  by Gary D. Myers, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Alister McGrath and Daniel Dennett both advocate freedom of conscience. However, the two take very different paths with their freedom -– McGrath embraces Christianity and Dennett embraces atheistic Darwinian naturalism. Read More

• Atheism debate stretches from pop culture to history

  by Michael McCormack, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Honest dialogue rather than heated debate characterized day two of the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Feb. 23-24. Read More

• Creationist Kurt Wise critiques secular science on program

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Secular scientists who fear allowing the conclusions of creationism into secular universities have good reason to be afraid because they are accountable to the creator, Kurt Wise, professor of theology and science at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said on the Albert Mohler Radio Program in February. Read More

• Roberts, in SEBTS chapel, warns against false prophets

  by Joy Rancatore, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)--When sin entered man in the Garden of Eden, it brought a distorted view of God that would manifest itself in false prophets until the second coming of Christ, R. Philip Roberts, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said at a sister seminary. Read More

• Workshop on Christianity & Dead Sea Scrolls draws crowd

  by Rachel Waligorski, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)--A workshop on Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls drew more than 330 people to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, filling the chapel auditorium and overflowing into the library for the opening session of the two-day event. Read More

• Seminary team celebrates salvations from Cameroon trip

  by Melanie Lloyd, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  CAMEROON, Africa (BP)--Jesus taught His followers to store up treasures in heaven, and modern-day missionaries reap heavenly rewards for their work among indigenous people groups around the world. But professors and students from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary got some unusual earthly rewards on a recent, short-term, seminary mission trip to Cameroon, Africa: Their first Sunday in the West African country garnered not only 26 professions of faith, but also several live chickens and even a goat. Read More

• Women’s leadership network convenes at Golden Gate

  by Taryn R. Hutchison, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP)--The rain could not keep 190 women from an event that only comes to Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary once every six years -- a women’s leadership consultation sponsored by the Seminary Women’s Network. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Writer knows who gave Ultimate Gift

  by Phil Boatwright, posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 (17 years ago)

  KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--The highly anticipated "The Ultimate Gift" opens Friday, March 9. The Fox Faith release featuring James Garner, Brian Dennehy, and this year’s youngest Oscar contender, Abigail Breslin (for "Little Miss Sunshine"), concerns a rebellious rich kid who learns he has to accomplish several tasks before receiving his inheritance. Through these arduous missions and the grounded people he meets along the way, the young man comes to a spiritual enlightening. Read More