Tuesday, April 16, 2002

• Mosaic: a church with God's passion for the whole world

  by Mary Jane Welch, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  LOS ANGELES (BP)--Lights dance across the walls of the downtown Los Angeles nightclub as hundreds of young people -- Asian, Anglo and Latino -- sway and clap to the music. The room pulses with youth and energy as the excitement builds. But a hush settles over the room when a man perches casually on a stool and begins to talk about three symbols of death -- the cross, baptism and the Lord's Supper -- key symbols of the Christian faith. Read More

• Young adults & meaningful faith; pastors tell of strategy & passion

  by James Dotson, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  Ministry, not comfort Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic, a church in Los Angeles and opening speaker for the April 10-13 Connection 2002 conference in Ontario, Calif., said his church has grown by asking more of its members, not less. Photo by James Dotson

        ONTARIO, Calif. (BP)--It's not the message of Christ that is keeping young adults out of churches, but the church context in which that message is presented. That was the message of two California pastors who have been successful in reaching thousands of young adults and mobilizing them to reach others.

        Ervin McManus, pastor of Mosaic, a Southern Baptist church in Los Angeles, and Matthew Brown, pastor of Sandals Church in nearby Riverside, were among the featured speakers at the April 10-13 Connection 2002 in Ontario, Calif. The conference -- geared primarily toward small-group breakout sessions on a variety of church planting and evangelism topics -- was the first of three regional meetings sponsored by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board this spring for pastors, missionaries and other denominational partners. Read More

• New Mo. convention requires voters to sign 'agreement' form

  by Todd Starnes, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Organizers of a breakaway Baptist convention in Missouri will require all voting participants to sign a form affirming allegiance to the new convention. Read More

• Entities dispute partnership with breakaway Mo. convention

  by Todd Starnes, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Several entities and institutions owned by the Missouri Baptist Convention are disputing claims that they are partners with the new Baptist General Convention of Missouri, a breakaway convention of moderate Baptists. Read More

• Lawyer demands escrowed funds; Mo. leaders reiterate stance

  by Don Hinkle, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP)--"Ludicrous" is how one Missouri Baptist Convention leader described demands by an attorney representing trustees of a Baptist retirement community that the convention release $400,000 in escrowed funds previously earmarked for the entity. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Creeds, confessions, beliefs & integrity

  by Jim Richards, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  DALLAS (BP)--For the past several months I have refrained from entering the distressing dialogue in Baptist circles about "creeds." I am no etymologist, but those who are tell me that "creed" comes from the Latin word "credo" which means, "I believe." To say we have no creed is to say we have no beliefs.

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• Pro-Israel rally draws 100,000-plus to Capitol

  by Jeff Johnson, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP)--The violence may be thousands of miles away, but the tensions related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were on display in Washington April 15 as more than 100,000 people jammed the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol to attend what organizers called the "largest rally ever in support of Israel," CNSNews.com reported.

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• Israelis mark their independence amid tensions with Palestinians

  by Julie Stahl, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  JERUSALEM (BP)--Traffic and all other activity came to a standstill for two minutes on April 16 as Israelis paused to honor the memory of their dead, CNSNews.com's Jerusalem bureau reported. Read More

• Reccord warns of dangers of infidelity among leaders

  by James Dotson, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  ONTARIO, Calif. (BP)--Just as a hidden iceberg destroyed the Titanic after the crew had ignored multiple warnings, lives and ministries of pastors and other church staff are being destroyed at a remarkable rate by sexual infidelity, the president of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board warned a group of pastors, missionaries and other denominational leaders. Read More

• Student 'rassles' with God's call

  by Bryan Cribb, posted Tuesday, April 16, 2002 (22 years ago)

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Many seminarians wrestle with their call to ministry. You could say Keith McCray "rassled" with his. Read More