Thursday, April 17, 2003

• EASTER 2003: A soldier's faith, baptism & Christ's resurrection

  by Michael Foust, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  COMFORT, Texas. (BP)--Army Spc. James Kiehl did not know death was around the corner. No one did. No one ever does.

       But on that day in the Kuwaiti desert, with his unit preparing for battle, Kiehl responded to God's call and accepted Christ into his heart. He was saved. His baptism was captured by a television crew, providing joy for friends and family members back home.

  Buried with Him Maj. Roger Criner, an Army chaplain, baptizes a member of his unit, the 69th Air Defense Artillery, in the Jordan River. Criner is a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

       Kiehl's walk as a Christian, though, lasted not years, but mere days. In late March, in the heart of Iraq, he was killed, leaving behind a wife who was expecting their first child.

       Fittingly, Kiehl was buried April 14, the day after Palm Sunday and six days before Easter, providing a reminder to the overflow crowd at Comfort (Texas) Baptist Church of the glorious simplicities of the Christian faith. God saves sinners -- not through works of their own -- but through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

  Read More

• 'Pivotal moment in history' ahead in Iraq for Christian relief efforts

  by Mike Creswell, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  Gearing up As stability returns to Iraq, Southern Baptist workers are preparing for massive relief projects inside the country. Workers have made plans to feed as many as 10,000 people a day in both northern and southern Iraq -- and meet other needs as volunteers and funds become available. Photo by Mike Creswell

  AMMAN, Jordan (BP)--As stability returns to Iraq, Southern Baptist workers are gearing up for massive relief projects inside the country that will need hundreds of volunteers to staff.

       Workers have made plans to feed hungry people in both northern and southern Iraq -- and meet other needs as well -- but only if enough volunteers and funds are available.

  The opportunity for Southern Baptists to demonstrate God's love in Iraq is a "pivotal moment in history" that must not be ignored, said John Brady, coordinator of Southern Baptist work across the Middle East and northern Africa. Read More

• Get ready for Iraq ministry, IMB volunteers leader urges

  by Mark Kelly, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Southern Baptists who want to help the people of Iraq recover from the war should start getting ready to go, an International Mission Board leader says. Read More

• Iraqi relief controversy a clash of worldviews, Mohler tells Time

  by Jeff Robinson, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Conflicting worldviews are at the heart of the controversy surrounding Christian relief efforts in Iraq, said R. Albert Mohler Jr. in an interview with Time magazine. Read More

• Soldier, killed in Iraq April 6, was active in church & missions

  by Michael Foust, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)--An Army soldier remembered for his involvement in his church youth group and his outgoing personality was killed in action April 6. Read More

• VBS Day of Prayer slated May 18; churches prep for 'Kingdom Caper'

  by Polly House, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The "Great Kingdom Caper" -- Vacation Bible School 2003 -- is just around the corner. Read More

• 40 authors tell of God's provision in 'Know Peace in Troubled Times'

  by James Dotson, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--For Carlos Ferrer, the television coverage of war in Iraq was enough to prompt nightmares of his own childhood in Cuba -- hearing the gunfire of revolution, seeing a man die in the street after being tortured by police and hiding under his bed at night in fear. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Victory over evil regimes

  by James T. Draper Jr., posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The suspense grew like an orchestra reaching its crescendo. Waiting for the soldiers to hook the chain around the large statue of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and drag it down seemed to take forever. The crowds grew, the tension mounted and then finally the image fell to the ground. Of course by the time the soldiers made it to the center of Baghdad to bring down the statue, Hussein's reign of terror had ended. Toppling the statue confirmed to the Iraqi people that his evil regime was destroyed forever. Read More

• WORLDVIEW: Shout or whisper: Whatever it takes to deliver the Good News

  by Erich Bridges, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--"In my day," wheezed the way-over-40 boomer, "the ultimate sound system was a bank of Marshall amplifiers -- cranked all the way up." Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: More than blind faith

  by Kelly Boggs, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  MCMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)--While on a visit to Japan several years ago, I was given the opportunity to visit a Buddhist temple. My guide was a young lady who appeared to be in her early 20s. She and I talked about many things during the course of the tour. Eventually, our conversation turned toward religion. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Hall of Fame, 1 Tim Robbins, 0

  by Tim Ellsworth, posted Thursday, April 17, 2003 (21 years ago)

  MULKEYTOWN, Ill. (BP)--For years, actor Tim Robbins has used his celebrity status as a platform to espouse -- at practically every opportunity -- his ultra-liberal views. Read More