For the week of March 29, 2001 Potpourri •ALEXANDRIA - "The Gift of Time" seminar presented by Friendship House Adult Day Services Center will be held at First United Methodist Church, April 2, 6:30 - 8 p.m. and April 3, 2 - 4 p.m. Edward F. Ansello will speak at both sessions. A $10 fee is required for the second session. For information, contact Julie Morris, Friendship House Director, at (318) 473-9504.   •DEQUINCY - Northside church: The Gospel Lights in concert; March 31, 4 p.m.; refreshments to follow; Shane Terrebonne, pastor.   •PINEVILLE - Pineville Park church: Common Good in concert; April 1, 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Kris Smith, director; Thomas Lott, Jr., minister of music; Herb Dickerson, interim pastor.   •WASHINGTON - Washington church: Jews for Jesus presents "Christ in the Passover"; March 30, 7 p.m.; Louis Charrier, pastor.   •WEST MONROE - New Chapel Hill church: Not By Sight in concert; April 1, 6 p.m.; Greg Green, minister of music; Clyde Sanchez, pastor. Homecomings •FLORIEN - Pine Grove church: 107th; April 8, 10 a.m.; Elcie Walker, speaker; dinner to follow; Bobby Shirley, pastor. Anniversaries •BATON ROUGE - Florida Blvd. church: 50th; April 1, … [Read more...]

Paula spends her secluded days scour ing the streets, searching for roadside trash that catches her fancy.   She has been gathering dusty jars and discarded trinkets for at least a half-dozen years, adding them to the growing collection in her modest apartment. Paula spends her secluded days scour ing the streets, searching for roadside trash that catches her fancy.   She has been gathering dusty jars and discarded trinkets for at least a half-dozen years, adding them to the growing collection in her modest apartment.   She lives alone in an apartment complex in Granite City, Ill., where the landlord turns her heat off at night to cut corners on his utility bills.   Paula (not her real name) says he has told her she will be out on the streets if she reports him. She has been kicked out of apartments before, so she knows how hard it is to find a place to live. Most landlords do not like her cherished collection in their buildings, so she remains silent about this latest injustice about heating.   Her trash menagerie provides most of her company. A grown daughter lives on the other side of town, but she seldom sees her; a son lives farther away.   Her … [Read more...]

Illustrating their personal testimony with photographs and horrific video images, American workers and Indonesian atrocity victims recently recounted a systematic butchering of Christian civilians by Islamic warriors in Indonesia’s Moluccan islands. Illustrating their personal testimony with photographs and horrific video images, American workers and Indonesian atrocity victims recently recounted a systematic butchering of Christian civilians by Islamic warriors in Indonesia’s Moluccan islands.   "Christians I met with on the Moluccan islands witnessed their loved ones being hacked to pieces by ‘jihad warriors,’" Steven Snyder said during a recent press conference. Snyder is president of International Christian Concern, a religious liberty organization. He recently returned from a fact-finding visit to Indonesia.   "Children watched their mothers and fathers being killed in front of them," he reported.   Most of the 2 million inhabitants of about 1,000 Moluccan islands are Muslims who dwelt in harmony with their minority Christian neighbors until hostilities broke out in early 1999, a report from CNSNews.com said. Since then, an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people have died in … [Read more...]

Just how important are key faith practices in modern-day United States?   The church always has emphasized several key faith practices - worshiping God, sharing the gospel, living a Christlike life, meeting needs. Just how important are key faith practices in modern-day United States?   The church always has emphasized several key faith practices - worshiping God, sharing the gospel, living a Christlike life, meeting needs.   But are church members prioritizing those foundational practices in their own lives?   A recent Barna Research Group study suggests there still is plenty of work to do in that area. The study asked persons about the importance of several foundational faith practices.   Overall, worship ranks as the most important faith practice, the survey indicates. Indeed, 75 percent of adults surveyed ranks worship as "very important." That compares to 94 percent of born again Christians and 92 percent of persons who attend Christian church regularly who say the same.   That is the good news. The not-so-good news is that many people fail to have regular positive worship experiences.   Overall, one-third of church attenders say … [Read more...]

Problems such as teen pregnancy and school shootings will be solved only if Christians turn to God and pray for revival in America, Billy Kim warned. Problems such as teen pregnancy and school shootings will be solved only if Christians turn to God and pray for revival in America, Billy Kim warned.   "What America needs today is a generation of God-fearing mothers and fathers willing to kneel by the bedside and pray all night their wandering sons and daughters back to the fold of God," said Kim, president of the Baptist World Alliance and pastor at the 15,000-member Central Baptist Church in Suwon, Korea. "This nation needs revival. ...   "There is no other nation on the face of the earth that has been blessed by God as the people of the United States of America," Kim insisted during a recent address at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "Whether you like it or not, you’re the world leader militarily, politically and even religiously. Whatever you teach here, sooner or later it will influence our part of the world."   In an address based on Habukkuk 3:1-3, Kim warned that moral decline in America will continue - unless Christians begin to pray … [Read more...]

The U.S. church faces a host of challenges - but none that spiritual awakening cannot solve At the close of a popular film, an actor portraying a fictitious president launches into a soliloquy by pointing out, "America isn’t easy."   The character is speaking of American politics and citizenship - but his assessment could apply to the religious scene in this country as well.   Talk about hard. Consider the American scene.   Interest in spirituality is at an all-time high - while commitment to organized religion is sinking.   Most Americans consider themselves Christians - but fewer than half read the Bible on their own or give any time to pray and devotion.   And less than half of professing Christians also say they are "absolutely committed to the Christian faith."   Welcome to the new millennium.   Welcome to the age of spiritual stagnation.   "While Americans remain interested in faith and consider themselves to be religious people, little has changed in relation to the religious practices of Americans in recent years, ..." explained George Barna, author and founder of the California-based Barna Research Group.   "In … [Read more...]

One could hardly excuse New Orleans Baptists from recalling the 1996 Southern Baptist Convention as their favorite.   And the truth is - their reasoning probably would have nothing at all to do with whatever business or reporting was done during the actual convention. One could hardly excuse New Orleans Baptists from recalling the 1996 Southern Baptist Convention as their favorite.   And the truth is - their reasoning probably would have nothing at all to do with whatever business or reporting was done during the actual convention.   For Baptists in the New Orleans area, the real impact of the 1996 convention came in the days before the annual meeting even opened in the Louisiana Superdome.   For them, the story of the convention can be summed up in a few words - Crossover New Orleans.   And they make it clear - hopes are high for a repeat this summer when the 2001 Southern Baptist Convention visits New Orleans once again.   In 1996, nearly 3,000 individuals made professions of faith during the Crossover New Orleans evangelistic initiative. That helped push the number of baptisms to an all-time high in the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans … [Read more...]