SBC Life Articles by Bryan Cribb

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The first thing people notice about Patrick Whyte is the obvious. He's tall. And with a 6-foot-10-inch frame, wide wingspan and huge hands, most would envision Whyte blocking shots and grabbing rebounds rather than roaming the halls at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The Apostle John in his Apocalypse envisioned a scene with people from every tribe and nation waving palm branches before the slain, but victorious, Lamb. Robed in pure white, the multi-ethic redeemed -- black, white, tan -- all sing praises with a unified voice.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--A father, mother and three small children. They add up to a family of five, but in the world's eyes the Richas aren't large enough or rich enough or famous enough to make a difference. Yet, faced with the greatest tragedy of this generation -- Sept. 11 -- this family felt it needed to do something, anything, to help, no matter how little.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Evangelists call them "divine appointments." God sovereignly works through a chance meeting of a Christian and a non-Christian so that the latter receives what the former presents -- the gospel.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--For most of Jim Martin's life, being "saved" involved fire hoses, CPR and 9-1-1 calls. The career firefighter had rescued many from death and flames in the Washington, D.C., area, but no one had ever told him how God saves from eternal fire.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Eric Graf worked feverishly to unearth his mission team's jeep, mired in the mud of the Kenyan bush. The knowledge of abundant lions and approaching dusk and rainstorms were generating more frustration than evangelistic fervor.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Ask Aunt Josephine's relatives, and they'll say she was once saved, always saved. The reason: she walked the aisle at age 8. She may not have darkened the church doors in recent years. She may not have read her Bible in 50 years. But at least she was baptized.

      LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Douglas and Jonelle Yates' backyard at their Welsh residence had become a wall of wool.
      A bevy of bleating sheep had broken out of their pen and had taken refuge behind the Yateses' house.
      While Douglas attempted his best impression of a Welsh shepherd, he prayed the owners would show up soon. Yes, the couple had learned a lot of the skills at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary needed to serve as missionaries to Wales. Herding was not one of them.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--I don't have time. I'm too busy. I'm scared of rejection. I don't know what to say. The excuses not to evangelize are abundant.

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--The Conference of Southern Baptists of Evangelists elected a fellow lifelong soul-winner to its office of pastor adviser. Jerry Falwell was voted to the post by acclamation during COSBE's June 12 annual business meeting in New Orleans.