Week of January 31
LC prayerwalk
Louisiana College President Joe Aguillard has scheduled a first-ever
campus prayerwalk for Feb. 19. The event is set to begin on the
Pineville campus at 11 a.m. “We are calling on Louisiana Baptists and
all other interested LC family members, regardless of denomination, to
join us in praying over our campus as we anoint it to God’s service,”
Aguillard said. “God promised us in 2 Chronicles 20 when we declare
‘Our eyes are upon thee’ his reply is ‘Be not afraid, the battle is not
your but God’s. Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord.’ …
God’s promises are real and true, and he will bless our obedience. This
call to prayer is a total acknowledgment that God is in charge of
Louisiana College and our allegiance to him will bring his blessings
upon us. I encourage every church in our state to send their youth and
adults to come and pray on and for our college campus.” For details,
call (318) 487-7137 or visit www.lacollege.edu.
Marriage amendment
A constitutional marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution was
re-introduced in the Senate late last month with support from 22
senators. The amendment would define marriage as only between a man and
a woman, thus banning same-sex marriages throughout the nation.
Although the amendment was defeated last year, supporters hope it has a
better chance of passing this session. Despite actions by a number of
states to ban same-sex marriages, some say a federal amendment is the
only permanent remedy to the problem. The name of the proposed
amendment has changed a bit from the last session, when it was known as
the Federal Marriage Amendment. It now is called the Marriage
Protection Amendment (Senate Joint Resolution 1). In 2004,
Massachusetts became the only state to legalize same-sex marriages.
Traditionalists fear that homosexual couples eventually will win a
legal battle in federal court to have the licenses from Massachusetts
recognized elsewhere. A federal amendment would prevent that, they say.
Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote of both houses of
Congress to pass. It then must be ratified by two-thirds of all states.
Mission of the church
A three-day conference on “The Mission of Today’s Church” has been
scheduled at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for Feb. 10-12.
The conference is sponsored by the seminary’s Baptist Center for
Theology and Ministry. “Our desire is that this conference will equip
and assist our local Baptist churches in their Great Commission
ministries as they confront and engage our world with the claims of
Christ,” center Director Stan Norman said. A range of speakers are
scheduled to address such topics as church ordinances and worship to
expository preaching and church discipline. Registration fee for the
event is $75 per person, which includes three meals and a banquet. To
make reservations, visit www.providencelearningcenter.com or call
(800) 662-8701, ext. 8060.
Bible ad approved
Two weeks after it rejected an advertisement for a new translation of
the Bible, Rolling Stone magazine has agreed to run the ad after all.
“We have addressed the internal miscommunications that led to the
previous misstatement of company policy and apologize for any confusion
it may have caused,” a spokesperson for the magazine said. Previously,
the magazine had said an ad for Today’s New International Version of
the Bible conflicted with an unwritten policy against accepting ads
containing religious messages. The ad now will run in mid-February as
scheduled. It shows a serious young man pondering the problems of
modern life. The text says Today’s New International Version of the
Bible is a source for “real truth” in a world of “endless media noise
and political spin.” Ads for the bible version also are set to appear
in other magazines and on major cable stations.
Pro-life comments
President George Bush told tens of thousands of Americans gathered for
the annual March for Life late last month that – based on history – the
pro-life movement will succeed. Speaking by phone to the crowd
assembled for the pro-life event, the president said: “I encourage you
to take warmth and comfort from our history, which tells us that a
movement that appeals to the noblest and most generous instincts of our
fellow Americans – and that is based on a sacred promise enshrined in
our founding document – that this movement will not fail. The America
of our dreams, where every child is welcomed in … life and protected
in law may still be some ways away, but even from the far side of the
river, … we can see its glimmerings.” The president thanked the
pro-life marchers for their effort to establish a “culture that will
protect the most innocent among us and the voiceless.” The pro-life
movement is making progress, he said. “We need, most of all, to change
hearts,” he said. “And that is what we’re doing, seeking common ground
where possible, and persuading increasing numbers of our fellow
citizens of the rightness of our cause.”
Fighting poverty
Evangelical leaders have written a letter to President George Bush,
asking him to augment efforts to overcome hunger and poverty in his
second term. “A dramatic reduction in poverty, both here and abroad,
would honor our Lord who called us to feed the hungry and clothe the
naked,” dozens of leaders from evangelical Christian denominations,
colleges, relief organizations and other ministries wrote. “It would
also be a wonderful legacy for you to leave with the American people
and indeed the world. Such an outcome is clearly within the reach of
the richest nation in history. The moral values you share with us
demand no less.” The letter urged Bush to propose policy changes
related to poverty and health insurance. The signatories congratulated
the president on his faith-based initiative and his efforts to address
AIDS and human trafficking but said more needs to be done. “Tragically,
however, both at home and abroad, the number of people in poverty
remains unacceptably high,” they wrote. “Poverty in our own nation has
increased in the last several years and millions more working poor lack
health insurance.” Signers included officials from the Council for
Christian Colleges and Universities, the Salvation Army and the
National Association of Evangelicals, among others.
Terry Schiavo decision
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to
overturn a decision by the Florida Supreme Court, which said a law
keeping a 41-year-old disabled woman alive was unconstitutional. The
ruling is the final avenue of appeal in the case of Terry Schiavo, who
has been in what some doctors consider a persistent vegetative state
since 1990, when she collapsed in her home. She currently is fed
artificially through a feeding and nutrition tube several times a day.
Her husband has sought removal of the tubes for several years, sparking
a heated legal battle. The Florida Legislature has been involved,
passing a law that allowed Bush to issue an order keeping the tubes in
place. However, that action now has been declared unconstitutional. A
Bush attorney said the high court ruling sets a dangerous precedent for
handicapped people throughout the nation. While the governor has no
other legal avenues open, Schiavo’s parents continue to pursue the case
through the courts.