Resources from 1997

WASHINGTON (BP)–Growth brings not only joys but challenges, Wenzao Han, president of the China Christian Council (CCC), said in a Dec. 17 visit to the Baptist World Alliance headquarters in Washington.Wenzao addressed a group of Washington-area pastors during his visit and, in an interview, recounted his comments.Wenzao said the church in China continues to experience […]

ST. LUCIA, Windward Islands (BP)–It was the best Christmas card Lee Miller ever received.It was a surprise, actually. Miller, an International Mission Board missionary on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, knows of Christmas cards mailed to him from China two years ago that still haven’t arrived. Eva’s was mailed two weeks before it was […]

MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP)–Effective ministry must be characterized by love and framed by what God desires, William O. Crews, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, told graduates at Dec. 19 commencement ceremonies.Golden Gate, one of six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries and the only SBC agency in the western United States, awarded degrees to 48 […]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (BP)–Add South Carolina to the list of states suffering from an acute case of gambling.Through video poker, South Carolina offers “the nation’s widest-open gambling,” according to The Wall Street Journal in a front-page article Dec. 2.“… if you want to do a laboratory test of unregulated gambling, South Carolina is it,” anti-gambling attorney […]

NEWARK, N.J. (BP)–An agreement between the state of New Jersey and homosexual advocacy groups to permit adoptions by homosexual couples makes children into “pawns in a politically motivated strategy to redefine the American family,” according to Gary Bauer, president of the Family Research Council.Bauer, based in Washington with the pro-family organization, wrote in a USA […]

CLAREMONT, N.H. (BP)–When Bill Hedgpeth helped his father establish a new church two-and-a-half years ago in Greenville, S.C., he had no idea that God was preparing him to pioneer a new Southern Baptist work 1,100 miles away.“I saw some stuff firsthand that I got excited about,” Hedgpeth recalled.Meanwhile, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson […]

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–More than 40,000 coats were collected during the first wave of a Southern Baptist effort to help North Korean children survive a harsh winter. Complications in shipping the coats, however, have extended the opportunity to show God’s love for people in the reclusive socialist country.Leaders at the Southern Baptist International Mission Board in […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP)–A list of 10 “permissible activities” has been distributed to Alabama school superintendents by the state superintendent of education and attorney general.The memorandum from the two state officials notes that key portions of a recent federal injunction against various school-related religious activities applies “only in DeKalb County.” They “do not apply to other […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–To minister effectively in the “new world” of the 21st century, Christian educators must return to “a biblical model of instruction that calls believers to hear from God and obey him.”That’s one of three “inescapable conclusions” made by Southern Baptist Sunday School Board leaders following months of research into the type of biblical […]

ASHLAND, Ky. (BP)–Bob Bartram dropped a couple of “Four Spiritual Laws” tracts into his shirt pocket. “At the time, I wasn’t sure why,” said the pastor of Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Ashland, Ky.Bartram headed to church and helped set up a display of international flags for a world missions conference scheduled for the next day.During […]