Archive for December 2011
CULTURE DIGEST: Marriages at record low
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Only 51 percent of Americans age 18 and older are married, compared to 57 percent a decade ago, according to a new study, and while young adults aspire to marry, it's not a priority. The median age when women first marry is at a new high of [...]
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Do you have a Bible-reading plan for 2012?
JACKSON, Tenn.Nelda normally came to church, sat in the back and made her exit quickly with the final "Amen." Having come to faith as a teen, this single grandma had seldom been nurtured and had yet to make a public profession of her faith in Christ. And although Nelda had been [...]
Continue ReadingThrough Scripture, Reformation began in Luthers heart
Editors note: The Jan. 23 TEXAN will include a special report on the Anabaptists and their continuing influence. Martin Luthers reforms were foundational to what later became the Baptist movement. The following first-person article is part of that special report. WITTENBERG, GermanyOn a cold, crisp, late October day in 1517, a [...]
Continue ReadingNativity scene symbolizes greatest gift, Texas rally told
ATHENSThe estimated 5,000 people who attended a rally in support of an embattled nativity scene in Henderson County heard more than just sentiment bemoaning the efforts of secularists to remove religious symbols from public spaces. They also heard the gospel. The Saturday (Dec. 17) rally in Athens took place more than two [...]
Continue ReadingCriswell accreditation status reaffirmed
DALLAS—The accrediting agency for Criswell College voted Dec. 5 to reaffirm the school’s accreditation status. “Criswell College has been providing the highest-quality education for Christian leaders available for 40 years, and we are pleased that SACS has re-affirmed us to continue providing that same quality for years to come,” college [...]
Continue ReadingAthens rally to protest atheists demands
ATHENS—The debate over religious expression in the public square will be center stage as church groups gather in Athens at noon on Dec. 17 to protest an atheist organization’s demand that the annual nativity scene be removed from the Henderson County courthouse lawn. A Facebook page for the event stated: “There [...]
Continue ReadingSouthwestern Seminary opens new 3,500-seat chapel, SBTC baptismal
FORT WORTH—Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary opened its new 3,500-seat chapel on Dec. 1 with a daylong celebration, including a ribbon cutting, dedication chapel service, baptisms and a free Christmas concert. The opening of the J.W. MacGorman Chapel and Performing Arts Center represents the largest venue of its kind in Fort [...]
Continue ReadingBible institute meets need in far West Texas
ODESSA—Growing up in East Texas, Jared Wellman was surrounded by multiple institutes for continuing education. “When I moved to West Texas, two things became evident to me,” said Wellman, who became pastor of Mission Dorado Baptist Church in Odessa earlier this year. “First, people were starving for Bible education, and second, [...]
Continue ReadingM.Div. grad helping save babies, mothers
FORT WORTH—On a flat-screen television monitor visible from an outside window, a black and white image of a tiny hand seemed to wave at everyone in the room. Then the outline of a face became visible and on a bedside monitor of the same image, a heartbeat thudded rhythmically, signaling [...]
Continue ReadingA truce for the holidays
History has many examples of military combatants setting aside their fight for special occasions. Our War Between the States produced many personal tales of cease fires to allow care for the wounded or recovery of the dead. Sentries sometimes would arrange trade of food or tobacco between the lines. Religious [...]
Continue ReadingSBTC offering January Embrace mission labs
The SBTC is offering “labs” for churches interested in the Embrace strategy to engage unengaged, unreached people groups (UUPGs). “These labs will help churches to understand what it means to embrace a UUPG and what they will need to give in the process,” said SBTC missions associate Chad Vandiver. Churches will hear [...]
Continue ReadingTop Shot Dustin Ellermann visits Fort Worth church
FORT WORTH—A “nobody from Nowhere, Texas” is what the History Channel’s “Top Shot” for season three, Dustin Ellermann, called himself in an interview given to the National Rifle Association recently. Although he had watched the show and was a big fan, the thought of actually being a contestant wasn’t even [...]
Continue ReadingWilton among preachers at SBTC evangelism conference
FRISCOSouth Carolina pastor Don Wilton will be among the speakers at the 2012 SBTC Empower Evangelism Conference, Feb. 27-29 at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco. The theme, I Am Not Ashamed, is taken from Romans 1:14-17. This years conference will feature many familiar names, and one of those is Wilton, [...]
Continue ReadingCriswell College trustees approve church planting and renewal degree
DALLAS—The Criswell College Board of Trustees approved a new degree plan in church planting and revitalization (CPR) following extensive interviews with 12 nationally known leaders in the field of study who shared what school President Jerry Johnson described as “the best courses, best professors, best practices and best books.” A committee [...]
Continue ReadingIntersection of Calvinism, evangelism discussed during SBTC-Criswell dinner
EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to space constraints in the last TEXAN, this story was held for this edition. IRVING—Evangelism and God’s sovereignty were the focus of a dinner and dialogue Nov. 15 at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in Irving. The event, co-hosted by Criswell College and the [...]
Continue ReadingSouthwestern dedicates SBTC baptismal pool
FORT WORTHJim Richards said the Southern Baptists of Texas Conventions decision to support the seminary by helping to build the new chapel came easily. The SBTC gave $200,000 in surplus funds in 2007 to Southwestern Seminary to provide the baptismal pool in the rotunda of the schools new J.W. MacGorman Chapel, [...]
Continue ReadingCoppell church gives bittersweet gift
RICHMOND, Va.—God uses unexpected ways to further his kingdom. Just ask the members of a former Coppell church. This past March, Pastor Randy Webb realized God’s plan for Sandy Lake Road Baptist Church in the northwest Dallas suburb had been fulfilled. After 45 years of ministry, the church doors would permanently [...]
Continue ReadingStates move toward Great Commission thrust
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Great Commission Resurgence that arose within the Southern Baptist Convention last year is being embraced by many state Baptist conventions as they restructure for greater efficiency and provide increased funding of missions and church planting efforts in North America and around the world. What once appeared to be the [...]
Continue ReadingCreamer elected Criswell VP of academic affairs
DALLAS—For Criswell College professor Barry Creamer, the principles that govern life are simple: “Follow Jesus, that’s the highest goal. Take everything else and figure out how it’s supposed to fit that goal. Challenge other believers to do that. Invite nonbelievers to do that.” Sometimes, he admitted, that doesn’t always look the [...]
Continue ReadingPastors speak up for Athens nativity scene
MALAKOFFFor the sake of his three young sons and the daughter he and his wife will soon adopt from Africa, Pastor Nathan Lorick says he has drawn a line in the dirt of his East Texas community in defiance of an atheist groups demand that a nativity scene be removed [...]
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