News For Monday Oct 6, 2008 News For Monday Oct 6, 2008

Religion Religion

Saintly surfers praise divine waves in California - Added 20 hours ago

He may not be able to walk on water, but when the mood strikes, Father Matthew Munoz can ride one gnarly wave all the way into the beach. So Sunday at dawn, on the white sands of the town where the U.S. Surfing...

Pa. Episcopal diocese OKs split over Bible, gays - Added 1 day ago

Clergy and lay members of the theologically conservative Pittsburgh diocese voted overwhelmingly Saturday to break from the liberal Episcopal Church, with which it differs on issues ranging from homosexuality to...

Episcopalians meet in Pa. to apologize for slavery - Added 2 days ago

Episcopal leaders gathered in Philadelphia expect to formally apologize Saturday for their ancestors' slave ownership _ and to discuss the "white privilege" they say endures. In a solemn repentance service,...

'Bailout' vs. prosperity - Added 2 days ago

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Now that the economic "bailout" plan has been passed by Congress, expect all parties involved to claim credit if it appears to work and deny blame if the crisis worsens. Though the primary problem...

Pulpit politicking and the IRS - Added 2 days ago

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--On Sunday, Sept. 28, a few dozen pastors across the United States endorsed or opposed political candidates from pulpits during their churches' worship services. The coordinated effort apparently...

Missions video stirs husband to new birth - Added 2 days ago

HAWTHORNE, Calif. (BP)--Forget art imitating life. Try art ushering in new life.That's what happened when Arturo Carrillo showed a segment of the 2008 California Mission Offering video to a man in his church he had been...

CULTURE DIGEST: Evangelicals now are more environmentally conscious, Barna says - Added 2 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Millions of evangelicals have become more environmentally conscious in the last year, according to a study by The Barna Group dubbed as the most comprehensive look at the Christian community and...

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: John McCain & Barack Obama on the energy crisis - Added 2 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of a special series of stories focusing on the election that Baptist Press will run between now and Nov. 4. Stories will run on Wednesdays and Fridays.NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--This is the...

'Pulpit freedom' touted in 7 SBC churches - Added 2 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Pastors of at least seven Southern Baptist congregations participated in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," a Sept. 28 free speech initiative to test the 54-year-old Supreme Court ruling that forbids the...

VP debate includes 'gay marriage,' Darfur - Added 2 days ago

ST. LOUIS (BP)--The first and only vice presidential debate of the 2008 election season, held Oct. 2 at Washington University in St. Louis, covered domestic topics such as taxes and "gay marriage" as well as foreign...

Thousands continue to be fed daily - Added 2 days ago

GALVESTON, Texas (BP)--On Galveston Island and in inland areas of southeast Texas, disaster relief volunteers from Texas and six out-of-state conventions are continuing the work of recovery -- and feeding thousands...

Coastal town faces long recovery - Added 2 days ago

BRIDGE CITY, Texas (BP)--In Bridge City, a Texas community near the Louisiana border, residents are just beginning to dig out from Hurricane Ike. Much of Bridge City was underwater when the storm surge pushed water from...

World Hunger Fund aids overseas outreach - Added 2 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 12, Southern Baptists will observe World Hunger Sunday and congregations across the United States will collect offerings for the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Since its inception in 1974,...

A needed channel for food & the Gospel - Added 2 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 12, Southern Baptists will observe World Hunger Sunday and congregations across the United States will collect offerings for the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Since its inception in 1974,...

Cooperating to fight hunger - Added 2 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 12, Southern Baptists will observe World Hunger Sunday and congregations across the United States will collect offerings for the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Since its inception in 1974,...

'It's a pleasure waiting on you' - Added 3 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--"It's been a pleasure waiting on you," the young blonde waitress announced as she handed us our checks. As she flitted away, my son David looked at me incredulously and asked, "Was she...

Baptist family appears on BBC reality show - Added 3 days ago

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)--A Southern Baptist family in Alabama hosted two unruly British teens for a week as part of a BBC reality show "World's Strictest Parents," and the family gave a positive portrayal of a Christian...

Ind. Baptists celebrate half-century mark - Added 3 days ago

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)--Fifty years ago, the Southern Baptist Convention was already over 100 years old. There were some Southern Baptists in Indiana, but no convention.Fifty years ago, the International Mission Board (then...

Church sees CP's spiritual dimension - Added 3 days ago

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (BP)--When people are educated about missions, they pray better, give more and go more eagerly, says Kansas pastor Ray Kempel."We can give to any cause. We can give to all kinds of good organizations,"...

SBC: Ahead of budget; CP down slightly - Added 3 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Southern Baptist Convention finished its Oct. 1 - Sept. 30 fiscal year 1.89 percent ahead of budget, but Cooperative Program receipts for the year were down .65 percent and combined giving for...

City's mission centers meet post-Ike needs - Added 3 days ago

HOUSTON (BP)--Right after Hurricane Ike ripped through Houston -- knocking down trees, leaving stoplights dangling at car-door level and pitching 3 million residents in the dark -- the bright teal-blue Dodge pick-up...

Galveston residents begin coping with hurricane's clout - Added 3 days ago

GALVESTON, Texas (BP)--It's been almost three weeks since Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston Island, but residents are just now in the beginning stages of cleanup.On Pine Street, most residents have moved their...

Religion news in brief - Added 4 days ago

Four State Board of Education members are promoting a public school Bible curriculum that has been criticized as favoring conservative Protestant views and has already landed some districts in court. An e-mail to Texas...

Religion today - Added 4 days ago

Within the nation's largest Protestant denomination, a woman may not lead a church or a home. But prominent Southern Baptists see nothing wrong with Sarah Palin serving as vice president _ or perhaps even...

DVD addresses tough faith questions - Added 4 days ago

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--If God exists, how come there's so much evil in the world? And if there is a God, is Jesus the only way to Him? In the new DVD "The Case for Faith," (Lionsgate Films) journalist Lee Strobel...

Hurricane relief showcases cooperation - Added 4 days ago

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Little did I know when I traveled to southeast Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike that I would learn more about pastoral ministry, the resilience of God's people and the power of the...

Navy chaplains obtain Bibles, books - Added 4 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Two Navy hospitals and a new ship are among the latest global points of contact for Holman Bible Outreach International, a ministry of LifeWay Christian Resources.HBOI has donated Bibles and a...

Financial freedom's New Testament boost - Added 4 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--To help families reduce their financial debt, LifeWay Christian Resources and the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee hope to see a New Testament become a valuable resource. If so,...

In Galveston, Baptists help kindle hope - Added 4 days ago

GALVESTON, Texas (BP)--For years the big, blue pillars flanking the bridge to Galveston Island have welcomed tourists and beachcombers to the city. Today they welcome Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers who are...

Bayou community welcomes Baptist help - Added 4 days ago

THERIOT, La. (BP)--Amid the destruction and widespread sense of helplessness along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana brought on by hurricanes, pastor Jerry Moser said there is tremendous opportunity, and he hopes Southern...

ELECTION 08: Mich. voters face vote on legalizing embryonic stem cell research - Added 4 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of a special series of stories focusing on the election that Baptist Press will run between now and Nov. 4. Stories will run on Wednesdays and Fridays.DETROIT (BP)--When Michigan voters...

Boston-area Arabic Baptists 'reaching out' - Added 4 days ago

WEST ROXBURY, Mass. (BP)--When Shady Bishay, a sales executive for a Boston high-tech firm and a native of Egypt, tells American friends he belongs to an Arabic evangelical Baptist church in West Roxbury, Mass., the...

U.S.-Muslim engagement seen as key to security, prosperity - Added 4 days ago

WASHINGTON (BP)--Deep misunderstandings between the United States and Muslim communities around the world are causing serious problems and solving them will require constructing "bridges of understanding," says the...

Fall celebrations - Added 5 days ago

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--Fall is here! Now is the time to plan for a fall festival or an alternative to Halloween for your community.Depending on how large an outreach you are planning, you may or may not be behind in...

'Fireproof' obeys movie laws - Added 5 days ago

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, it's a different story....

Churches become post-Ike relief hubs - Added 5 days ago

HOUMA, La. (BP)—-"When house was knocked off its stilts, he lost everything," said pastor Marcel McGee at Grand Caillou Baptist Church in Houma, La.Even so, McGee noted that the Grand Cailou attendee was among 20...

Galveston Baptists share reports, plan - Added 5 days ago

TEXAS CITY, Texas (BP)--In Galveston, leaders from local churches and the Baptist association, Southern Baptist disaster relief and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention met Sept. 25 at the Galveston Baptist...

Baptist relief at 3.7M meals & counting - Added 5 days ago

GALVESTON, Texas (BP)--Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers have prepared 3.7 million hot meals for victims and trained volunteers in the 30-day aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in Louisiana and...

Welch exhibits F.A.I.T.H. in Korea - Added 5 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: Bobby Welch recently traveled to South Korea as the SBC's strategist for Global Evangelical Relations. The following article is part of a series sharing a glimpse of his visit with Southern Baptist...

Welch encourages chaplains in Korea - Added 5 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: Bobby Welch recently traveled to South Korea as the SBC's strategist for Global Evangelical Relations. The following article is part of a series sharing a glimpse of his visit with Southern Baptist...

Welch connects with Korean evangelicals - Added 5 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: Bobby Welch recently traveled to South Korea as the SBC's strategist for Global Evangelical Relations. The following article is part of a series sharing a glimpse of his visit with Southern Baptist...

Congress moves to inform mothers, protect unborn - Added 5 days ago

WASHINGTON (BP)--A bill to protect the lives of unborn children diagnosed with disabilities has passed both chambers of Congress and is awaiting President Bush's signature.The Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed...

Creating a pattern - Added 6 days ago

EL CAJON, Calif. (BP)--Because fabrics and their patterns were originally created by hand rather than computer-controlled looms, the pattern represented something of its creator. In the Scottish tartans, the pattern...

Landrum Leavell: 'second to none' - Added 6 days ago

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--In the summer of 1975, my wife and I were finishing college and preparing for a move to seminary. Our decision was mostly made, or so we thought. After a day of fasting and prayer to finalize what...

NOBTS' Landrum Leavell dies - Added 6 days ago

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (BP)--Landrum P. Leavell II, president emeritus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, died Sept. 26 in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was 81.Born in Ripley, Tenn., Nov. 26, 1926, Leavell was raised...

Economy, foreign policy tackled at debate - Added 6 days ago

OXFORD, Miss. (BP)--The presidential debate season opened with a discussion of foreign policy on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford Sept. 26. The debate began, though, with some last-minute questions...

Cooperation bolsters Taylor Co. response - Added 6 days ago

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The largest spiritual response in Taylor County, Ky.'s history has lessons for Southern Baptist congregations across the nation, evangelist Rick Gage says.Churches from such denominations as...

University 'First Class' a lesson on eternity - Added 6 days ago

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (BP)--On Sept. 15, during "First Class," a mandatory course for incoming freshmen, nearly a third of Campbellsville University's incoming students responded to an altar call by Atlanta-based...

Fireproof red-hot at box office - Added 6 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Audiences turned out in force Sept. 26-28 for the opening week of "Fireproof," the latest film from the makers of the 2006 surprise hit "Facing the Giants."Fireproof generated the second-highest...

Protesting pastors back candidates from the pulpit - Added 1 week ago

Pastor Luke Emrich prepared his sermon this week knowing his remarks could invite an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. But that was the whole point, so Emrich forged ahead with his message: Thou shalt vote...