Archive for August 2011
Criswell College renews SBTC affiliation
DALLASCriswell College trustees renewed a three-year affiliation agreement with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, affirmed plans for an undergraduate program in church planting and revitalization, and approved the schools adoption of an unengaged people group abroad as part of a larger Southern Baptist initiative. Meeting Aug. 26 at the Dallas [...]
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U.S. judge blocks Texas sonogram law
AUSTINA federal district judge on Aug. 30 blocked enforcement of a Texas law passed in May requiring women seeking abortions to undergo a sonogram at least 24 hours prior to the procedure and to hear the babys heartbeat and a description from the abortion provider of the babys physical features. U.S. [...]
Continue ReadingTexans partner to plant gospel in Czech city
PLZEN, Czech Republic—Larry and Melissa Lewis were three steps ahead of most International Mission Board missionaries when they set foot in Plzen, Czech Republic, embarking on a new ministry. The couple already had a deep love for the people thanks to Larry’s Czech ancestors, Texas immigrants who kept many traditions and [...]
Continue ReadingGiving to Reach Texas Offering strong
Despite economic pressures, churches have been faithful in giving through the Reach Texas State Missions Offering during the 2010-11 giving year. As the giving year closed, the SBTC looked like it would fall just shy of the $1.1 million Reach Texas goal. But SBTC Missions Director Terry Coy sees that as [...]
Continue ReadingEngage Team revivals bear fruit for Christ
Seven teams of Texas college and seminary students fanned out across the Lone Star state this summer to conduct revivals at 50 churches. Known as Engage Teams and sponsored by the SBTC, they disproved the notion that God no longer uses revivals to advance his kingdom. The revivals were “successful in helping [...]
Continue ReadingRemembering 9/11
September 11 is the 10th anniversary of the worst attack on American soil by foreign combatants. Most everyone reading this article can remember exactly what you were doing at that moment. I was about to preach in chapel at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. We prayed and [...]
Continue ReadingHow to have a riot
The search by pundits and politicians for the cause of deadly riots in London this month has produced a series of revealing statements. According to the Associated Press, over 900 people have been charged with crimes connected to the four days of rioting that left five people dead and unknown [...]
Continue ReadingCriswell Spanish track offers biblical education for pastors
DALLAS—A Spanish-language Christian education track at Criswell College is available through a partnership between the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the college. “It is time for Hispanics to have an accredited program that teaches the Bible in our language and that emphasizes the use of hermeneutical tools for proper biblical [...]
Continue ReadingTom Campbell new MCR director
Tom Campbell is the new SBTC director of minister-church relations. Campbell replaces Mike Smith, who recently began as president of Jacksonville College in Jacksonville, Texas. Campbell joined the SBTC staff in 2006 as the minister-church relations associate and most recently was director of facilitating ministries. As part of the transition, the SBTCs [...]
Continue ReadingSBTC grants $1 million to IMBs Lottie Offering
GRAPEVINEThe Executive Board of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention granted $1 million from reserve funds to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions and encouraged churches in Texas to "embrace" 1,000 of the 3,800 unengaged people groups identified by Southern Baptists International Mission Board. "We are a lean machine [...]
Continue ReadingAggie takes pro-life message to Nepal
COLLEGE STATION—Kristen Ackerman is not your typical college sophomore-to-be. In fact, her former pastor calls her unique. When most of her peers were breaking out their swimsuits or planning some R&R if only for a few days before beginning summer jobs or summer terms, Ackerman was preparing for a sobering mission [...]
Continue ReadingMore choosing virtual seminary over on-campus experience
SEAGOVILLE—James Pritchard was more than halfway through his master of divinity degree when an Oklahoma church called him to serve as their pastor. Determined to finish his education, Pritchard commuted each Monday to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth while getting started in his ministry field. His last semester, [...]
Continue ReadingViolence in Juarez faces foe in prayers of El Paso churches
EL PASO—After El Paso churches united in a 40-day prayer effort for the neighboring city of Juarez, Mexico, remarkable news broke: God answered their prayers by decreasing the murder rate in what has been dubbed one of the most dangerous cities in the world. The prayer effort, coordinated by the non-denominational [...]
Continue ReadingTelling good news
In the last 22 years, I have probably heard more often than any other the exhortation/criticism that a Christian newspaper should focus more on good news than we do. I suspect these well-intentioned critiques would just as easily apply to any city daily paper. It is a puzzling opinion. Most [...]
Continue ReadingPatterson: Preparation for ministry requires sacrifice
FORT WORTH—Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson isn’t particularly interested in making theological education more comfortable for the student. While many institutions are marketing their degrees as convenient for study in the context of the student’s home turf, Patterson would rather cause disruption in the lives of prospective ministers. “The [...]
Continue ReadingAccreditation affects distance-learning options
Why do some schools offer more distance learning programs than others? And why can’t you earn a master of divinity degree fully online at SBC seminaries? Accreditation is a large part of the answer to these and other questions related to higher education. The term “accreditation” refers to a school receiving an [...]
Continue ReadingDistance ed. options abound at Baptist schools
In the past, earning a theological degree automatically meant packing up and moving to the campus of a college or seminary. But that’s not the case anymore. Through online courses and extension centers, students can earn credit toward degrees at all six SBC seminaries and at least two Texas colleges. One Southern Baptist [...]
Continue ReadingEvolution critics, proponents laud Texas boards science vote
AUSTINThe Texas State Board of Education has unanimously approved a list of supplemental science materials that appears to please proponents and critics of evolution alike. The supplemental materials, offered by more than a dozen publishers, aim to bring science classes in Texas public schools up to date with standards the board [...]
Continue ReadingLa Iniciativa al Da
El Señor ha sido muy bueno con nosotros en este año 2011 y gracias que podemos darle a él toda la gloria por lo que él está haciendo con nuestra convención SBTC y la Iniciativa Hispana. El Salmista nos dice, “¡Oh Señor, Señor nuestro cuán glorioso es tu nombre en [...]
Continue ReadingCalif. voters may get say on gay history law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--California's first-in-the-nation public school gay history law could be reversed by voters next year if a coalition of conservative groups collects enough signatures. The coalition, known as StopSB48, must collect 500,000 valid signatures by Oct. 7 in order to place the issue on the ballot for the next statewide [...]
Continue ReadingHealth care plans must cover abortion-causing drugs, Obama administration says
WASHINGTON (BP)--The Obama administration announced Aug. 1 that insurance plans must cover without cost to women contraceptives that can cause abortions. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said last year's controversial health-care reform law –- dubbed "Obamacare" by its critics -- would provide no-cost coverage [...]
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