Wednesday, March 17, 1999

• Same-sex marriage certain to remain key issue confronting U.S. culture

  by Karen L. Willoughby, posted Wednesday, March 17, 1999 (25 years ago)

  HONOLULU (BP)--Same-sex marriage is an issue that isn't going away.

  "The push for gay marriages is all about public acceptance of what God calls an abomination," said California Christian-issues lobbyist Art Croney, director of the Committee on Moral Concerns. "They don't need marriage. They crave public acceptance. They want society to tell them they're OK."

  A 1990s judicial process liberalized by the "make love not war" excesses of the 1960s is helping the homosexual agenda, said Barrett... Read More

• Defense of Marriage Act awaits action in 21 states

  by Karen L. Willoughby, posted Wednesday, March 17, 1999 (25 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP)--You may live in one of 21 states yet to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

  "If you're in a state that hasn't passed the Defense of Marriage Act, contact your legislators and find out why they haven't passed it,” said Bill Duncan, associate director of the Marriage Law Project in Washington D.C.

  “Every person makes a difference in this important issue," he said.

  The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was passed by Congress and signed ... Read More

• John Grisham’s latest novel includes plot twist toward God

  by Art Toalston, posted Wednesday, March 17, 1999 (25 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Best-selling author John Grisham has produced his best novel in years, at least in the judgment of USA Today book reviewer Deirdre Donahue.

  “The Testament,” released in February and his 10th novel, includes Grisham’s “trademark legal wrangling, zippy plot and engaging minor characters,” Donahue writes, “but there’s a fresh energy and a new element.

  “God.

  “‘The Testament’ is unabashedly spiritual wit... Read More

• Oprah's discovery propels Bret Lott into limelight with pro-life fiction

  by F.W. Baeu , posted Wednesday, March 17, 1999 (25 years ago)

  MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (BP)--Novelist Bret Lott picked up the ringing phone. It was television megastar Oprah Winfrey. Herself. She was calling to tell him she loved his novel, “Jewel,” so much that she had selected it for the February 1999 Oprah's Book Club.

  In today's literary marketplace, getting picked by Oprah is the big break every writer dreams of. It means going from the midlists to the majors. It means instant best seller.

  But just a few hours earlier, Lott had learned tha... Read More

• BWA congress to give added focus to pastors, children, Baptist concerns

  by Wendy Ryan, posted Wednesday, March 17, 1999 (25 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP)--New features for pastors and children, along fellowship breakfasts and luncheons addressing topics of particular interest to Baptists, have been added to the 18th Baptist World Congress, Jan. 5-9, 2000, in the Melbourne (Australia) Exhibition Center.

  Leon Norsworthy, chair of the Australian Baptists local arrangements committee, briefed the BWA executive committee on congress planning during the committee’s March 8-11 meeting in Washington. The theme of the congress wil... Read More

• Baptist business officers honor Alabama’s Milton Curtis

  by , posted Wednesday, March 17, 1999 (25 years ago)

  DALLAS (BP)--Milton Curtis, recently retired business manager for Alabama Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries, has received the 1999 Taylor Daniel Award of Merit from the Southern Baptist Business Officers Conference.

  Curtis was presented the award March 15 during the organization’s annual meeting sponsored by the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. His response was, “SBBOC has given more to me than I could ever give back to it.”

  Curtis Sharp... Read More

• He was a pastor, preached the Bible, spent time with his wife & family

  by Terry Mattingly, posted Wednesday, March 17, 1999 (25 years ago)

  HOUSTON (BP)--Anyone who grew up in a parsonage knows that "PK" stands for "preacher's kid."

  Early on, I rebelled against that label. But I wasn't rejecting my father, my family or the faith. When people called me a "preacher's kid," I told them that my father wasn't a preacher -- he was a pastor. There's a difference.

  My father passed away March 5 at the age of 82 and I thought this would be a good time to say, once again, what I said to him and to others many times -- I have always been ... Read More