Friday, May 27, 2016

• MEMORIAL DAY: Jimmy Connelly's greatest honor

  by Jim Burton, posted Friday, May 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Submitted photo

  ST. GEORGE, S.C. (BP) -- An estimated 3.6 million Americans fought in the Pacific Theatre in World War II, overcoming brutal encounters on island after island against Japanese soldiers burrowed into the hillsides.

  The late Jimmy Connelly was one of those Americans.

  The Navy made Connelly chief of a troop-landing Higgins Craft during the massive amphibious assaults at the outset of the Allies' first major Pacific offensive against the Japanese -- Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

  Each craft could ferry up to 36 Marines, and when they stormed the beaches, Connelly operated a 7.62mm belt-fed machine gun to provide cover. On his 10th trip to transport troops into the Solomon Islands battle zone, he also was carrying several hundred five-gallon cans of gasoline. When a mortar round struck their craft, shrapnel pierced his neck and arm, and his pants were set afire, propelling him into the ocean. Read More

• Listening can spark witnessing, NW Baptists told

  by Sheila Allen/Northwest Baptist Witness, posted Friday, May 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Sheila Allen

  VANCOUVER, Wash. (BP) -- Many Christians want to share their faith but miss opportunities by not actively listening or recognizing cues, evangelical trainer Margaret Slusher said in eight workshops across the Pacific Northwest this spring.

  The isolation and loneliness people feel today leaves them wanting to talk, Slusher said. "While it is hard to listen, you must hear what they are really telling you." Read More

• 13 incarcerated women receive milestone degrees

  by Marilyn Stewart, posted Friday, May 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Marilyn Stewart/NOBTS

  NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Having overcome a crisis of faith to complete her college degree, Brenda Thornton walked the chapel stage at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women.

  Thornton was one of 13 LCIW graduates in the first-ever awarding of bachelor degrees at the prison by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's Leavell College, marking a milestone for the program that began five years ago.

  "I'll be honest, I didn't think I would make it," said Thornton, who received a bachelor of Christian ministry degree with a minor in women's ministry May 18. Read More

• Hispanic church beams Gospel to its community

  by Joe Westbury/Georgia Christian Index, posted Friday, May 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Joe Westbury/Christian Index

  SAVANNAH, Ga. (BP) -- A young mother may turn to 94.7 on her radio dial for health tips for herself and her family as well as children's programming. An auto mechanic may listen to the station to hear a two-way discussion of a previous week's sermon or a broadcast on anger management.

  Radio PESCA, the Spanish word for fish, streams into homes that may never be reached by a knock on the door. Through a variety of ad-free programming, the station seeks to glorify God and direct listeners to a church not too far away -- Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana, or First Hispanic Baptist Church. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Ideas from the past

  by Chuck Lawless, posted Friday, May 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Folks once did lots of things that still could have value today, Chuck Lawless writes. Among his suggestions: "Write thank you notes." "Sing a hymn." "Walk somewhere." "Use your phone for an actual phone call." Read More