Louisiana Baptist leaders were urged to commit themselves to support of the Cooperative Program last week - especially in light of a possibly troubling trend in giving.   After several years of increased - and record giving - in the state, state Cooperative Program gifts are down in 2001. Louisiana Baptist leaders were urged to commit themselves to support of the Cooperative Program last week - especially in light of a possibly troubling trend in giving.   After several years of increased - and record giving - in the state, state Cooperative Program gifts are down in 2001.   "Is this a trend?" Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director Dean Doster at last week’s Executive Board meeting at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth. "Is there more of this to come? I simply do not have the answer. ...   "I’m not alarmed at this point, nor do I seek to raise alarm," he emphasized. "But I think we should all be concerned."   Doster noted that if the current trend continues, Louisiana Baptists will fail to meet their annual budget.   He also pointed out that a survey of figures shows 556 churches gave less through the state Cooperative … [Read more...]

Steve Achord Kansas-Nebraska convention   Sitting behind the wheel of his aging car, Mike Crowell headed south out of Kentucky toward the Gulf of Mexico.   The United States was a month away from celebrating its bicentennial, and Crowell was heading toward the bayous and swamps of Louisiana in hopes of making enough money in the booming oil industry to return to college in September. Sitting behind the wheel of his aging car, Mike Crowell headed south out of Kentucky toward the Gulf of Mexico.   The United States was a month away from celebrating its bicentennial, and Crowell was heading toward the bayous and swamps of Louisiana in hopes of making enough money in the booming oil industry to return to college in September.   With his freshman year from the University of Kentucky behind him, Crowell hoped a friend’s advice about high-paying jobs on an offshore oil derrick would be correct, and he could return home with his pockets full of cash and exciting stories to tell his college friends.   However, Crowell would return home with something else.   The teenager landed in Houma and began his search for a summer job. The summer did not start out well … [Read more...]

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently issued its second annual report, broadening its policy recommendations to cover 10 countries in which religious freedom is at risk. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently issued its second annual report, broadening its policy recommendations to cover 10 countries in which religious freedom is at risk.   "There is a great deal of persecution going on," commissioner Nina Shea said. "There are serious religious freedom concerns that must be addressed around the world. There are also different kinds of regimes and governments, and we need to deal with those in different ways."   Last year the commission’s report dealt with violations in China, Russia and Sudan. This year’s report includes those three countries, along with India, Indonesia, Iran, North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan and Vietnam. It also includes sections on U.S. capital markets and foreign assistance.   Not all of the countries treated by the report are equal abusers of religious freedom, commission Chair Elliott Abrams said. "Russia, despite its problems, enjoys a much larger degree of religious freedom than many of the … [Read more...]

Images of Shangri-La come to one’s mind - a hidden utopian paradise, tucked away somewhere in the harsh Asian mountains.   Shangri-La was dreamed up by author James Hilton in his 1935 novel, "The Lost Horizon" - and portrayed in a classic film. As a result, it has captured the imagination of readers and explorers for years. Images of Shangri-La come to one’s mind - a hidden utopian paradise, tucked away somewhere in the harsh Asian mountains.   Shangri-La was dreamed up by author James Hilton in his 1935 novel, "The Lost Horizon" - and portrayed in a classic film. As a result, it has captured the imagination of readers and explorers for years.   While no one has found Shangri-La, the country of Bhutan stands as a likely substitute. It is a peaceful country, bejeweled with glacier-fed streams and the highest original forest cover of any country.   In other words, it fits the bill.   Known to its people as "Druk-yul" or "Land of the Thunder Dragon," this tiny dot on the map is about half the size of Indiana. And it is isolated from the rest of Southeast Asia by the jagged peaks of snowcapped Himalayan Mountains to the north and India’s arid plains to the … [Read more...]

The Christian family is buckling under the weight of unreasonable expectations, theologian Stanley Hauerwas insisted during a recent lecture. The Christian family is buckling under the weight of unreasonable expectations, theologian Stanley Hauerwas insisted during a recent lecture.   "The strength of the family historically has been its social, economic and political function," said Hauerwas, professor of theological ethics at the Duke University Divinity School. He recently delivered two lectures on how American cultural ideals separate Christians from historic understandings of the church as community.   In close-knit agricultural communities, families once provided social infrastructure, worked together to make members financially secure and wielded political clout, Hauerwas explained.   But in today’s commercial society, the family is seen as   the accident of the worker, not his or her essence - and as an economic liability in a profit-and-loss business environment, he said. "The family now is economically and politically secondary."   Meanwhile, as people move often and do not enjoy deep relational commitments in the communities where they live, the … [Read more...]

While voicing a number of concerns about missions work done by the Southern Baptist Convention, a Texas Baptist study committee is suggesting little change in funding of that work. While voicing a number of concerns about missions work done by the Southern Baptist Convention, a Texas Baptist study committee is suggesting little change in funding of that work. The Baptist General Convention of Texas committee is recommending no change in state funding of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board and no direct funding of the moderate/conservative Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The most significant recommendation of the group is to keep about $1.3 million of Cooperative Program money the state sends to the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board to be spent back in Texas. Mississippi Baptists took similar action several years ago. The committee says the change is not a "defunding" but simply a more efficient administration of funds that would have returned to the state anyway. The state convention would continue to send about $4.6 million in Cooperative Program funds to the North American Mission Board. This would not decrease funding of mission work outside Texas. Still, the Texas committee did … [Read more...]

Marv Knox Texas Baptist Standard   The American obsession with avoiding death robs Christians of the ability to accept death as God intended it, theologian Stanley Hauerwas said. The American obsession with avoiding death robs Christians of the ability to accept death as God intended it, theologian Stanley Hauerwas said.   Americans want to avoid death to such a degree that death-deferral has become the principle focus of medicine, said Hauerwas, professor of theological ethics at the Duke University Divinity School. He recently delivered a pair of lectures at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.   In two lectures - on death and on family - Hauerwas explored how American cultural ideals separate Christians from historic Christian understandings of church.   Hauerwas said he frequently asks people how they want to die. "They say they want to die in their sleep, quickly and painlessly, and they don’t want to be a ‘burden,’ which means they no longer trust their children," he continued.   The preference for sudden death has not been the norm in Christian history, he said. "Medieval people feared what we want - sudden death. They didn’t so much fear death … [Read more...]

Consider the tongue: "What a huge stack of timber can be set ablaze by the tiniest spark! And, the tongue is, in effect, a fire. It represents among our members the world with all its wickedness; it pollutes our whole being; it keeps the wheel of our existence red-hot, and its flames are fed by hell." (James 3:5b-6, NEB) Consider the tongue: "What a huge stack of timber can be set ablaze by the tiniest spark! And, the tongue is, in effect, a fire. It represents among our members the world with all its wickedness; it pollutes our whole being; it keeps the wheel of our existence red-hot, and its flames are fed by hell." (James 3:5b-6, NEB) We do well to remember that many of the harshest words in the Bible are about people misusing the power of the tongue to destroy or severely damage the life and/or reputation of another person, especially another child of God.   The Psalmist observed the wickedness of this misuse of the tongue and was inspired to condemn, "Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right. You love all words that devour. O deceitful tongue." (Psalm 52:2-4. NAS)   The writings in … [Read more...]

Key issues still remain to be decided in the Louisiana Legislature - and there is still time for concerned citizens to have a voice in what decisions are made, Ken Ward insisted. Key issues still remain to be decided in the Louisiana Legislature - and there is still time for concerned citizens to have a voice in what decisions are made, Ken Ward insisted.   "There is still time to make a difference in the outcome of many legislative measures," said Ward, executive director of the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation. "By acting now, Louisiana Baptists can help make a positive difference in the state in which they live."   Technology provides convenient means of monitoring bills and communicating with legislators, Ward noted. For instance, he pointed out that persons can identify and monitor bills via the Internet and can communicate with legislators via e-mail as well   "But along with the opportunity comes the responsibility to do so," Ward emphasized.   The current legislative session is scheduled to end June 18, which means the next few weeks will be critical for what happens in several areas, Ward noted.   The measures include:   • House Bill 37. … [Read more...]

The Louisiana College Chorale made their third overseas concert tour, traveling to the very cradle of Christianity.   The Chorale traveled to Italy to present concerts in Rome, Florence, and Marghera, a suburb of Venice. The Louisiana College Chorale made their third overseas concert tour, traveling to the very cradle of Christianity.   The Chorale traveled to Italy to present concerts in Rome, Florence, and Marghera, a suburb of Venice.   The Chorale is a select group of singers, representing all divisions of the college. Members are chosen through competitive auditions from the entire student body.The director is Curt Hamlett, professor of music at the school.   "This was the opportunity of a lifetime for these students, ..." Hamlett said.   "The choir sang less than a mile from the spot where Caesar Augustus declared that ‘all the world should be taxed’ and from the Apostle Paul’s dungeon where he wrote Second Timothy."   While in Rome, the Chorale performed three times. They then traveled to Florence, to perform at Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica Battista, one of the oldest Baptist churches in Italy. It was established in 1895.   The … [Read more...]