C. Lacy Thompson LBM Associate Editor   Almost 25 years ago, an author visited Louisiana College in Pineville, to talk about the dangers of technological advances.   His message was simple - the world was entering uncharted territory fraught with moral and ethical peril. Almost 25 years ago, an author visited Louisiana College in Pineville, to talk about the dangers of technological advances.   His message was simple - the world was entering uncharted territory fraught with moral and ethical peril.   In response, the time had come for researchers and others alike to stop and ask how far they should advance into the new land - and under what terms.   "Just because we can do something does not mean we should," the author emphasized again and again.   A quarter of a century later, his words could not be more relevant as the world faces the issue of stem-cell research.   One would have to be a hermit almost not to know of the debate now underway regarding the stem-cell procedure.   Should it be done? How should it be done?   What are the other options?   The debate is crossing all sorts of lines.   It … [Read more...]

Ice cubes clinking together in a tall glass, the fizz as a favorite can of soda opens, a bird cheerfully singing outside - all are common sounds most people do not even notice. Ice cubes clinking together in a tall glass, the fizz as a favorite can of soda opens, a bird cheerfully singing outside - all are common sounds most people do not even notice.   However, for Allison Wilson, these sounds and many others cause her to praise God. After all, the Louisiana resident is hearing them clearly for the first time at the age of 23.   Wilson has spent most of her life looking and listening but never really hearing. However, with the help of a cochlear implant in April, she has "heard" for the first time. Indeed, Wilson is being introduced to a whole new world of hearing as her brain adjusts to the stimuli of many different sounds during the next several months.   "I feel so wonderfully excited and blessed each time I hear a sound or a word," she says. "It has been a highly emotional time, from the night before my surgery even to today as I hear new sounds.   "Being able to hear has made me feel richly blessed," Wilson adds. "Each time I hear a new sound, I silently praise … [Read more...]

I hope this message finds you and the "Baptist Message" doing well. I hope this message finds you and the "Baptist Message" doing well.   I just read the article in your "Baptist Scene" section about the closing of Southeastern’s child care center and wanted to bring you up to date on the situation at Southern Seminary in Louisville.   Several months ago, Southern decided to keep our child care center open. We have invested about $100,000 to improve the playground equipment and to upgrade the fencing and other security features.   The story you ran originated in the North Carolina Baptist newspaper and was later corrected but, unfortunately, not before it was picked up by other state papers.   If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.   Lawrence Smith Southern Baptist Seminary … [Read more...]

Three years after the Southern Baptist Convention met in Salt Lake City, the eyes of the world focus on the Utah city as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in about six months. Three years after the Southern Baptist Convention met in Salt Lake City, the eyes of the world focus on the Utah city as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in about six months.   And as they did in 1998, Baptists and Mormons both see the event as an opportunity for evangelism in the hometown of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   With strong family values, an emphasis on Jesus Christ and a massive public-relations campaign, Mormons appear to have a lot to offer. Their continuing growth bears out the appeal of their message. Indeed, there are about 5 million Mormons in the United States and 11 million worldwide.   Mormons contend their doctrine is Christian and a restoration of the original church established by Jesus Christ.   In turn, Baptist leaders warn of deception and a doctrine that is lacking.   On any Sunday, visitors to a Mormon ward - or what is referred to as a meetinghouse - likely will find plenty of families and friendly people to greet … [Read more...]

Music used in corporate church worship should not seek to amuse, entertain or manipulate congregations, Ken Puls stressed recently. Music used in corporate church worship should not seek to amuse, entertain or manipulate congregations, Ken Puls stressed recently.   Instead, every text and tune should be carefully and thoughtfully informed by Scripture, said Puls, who teaches church music at Dallas Baptist University and serves as music director at Heritage Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas.   "I know of no other ministry in the church that has so great a potential to help or to hinder the pastoral ministry of teaching and preaching in the church than music," Puls said in an address at the recent 2001 Southern Baptist Founders Conference.   Music often competes with preaching and teaching for supremacy in the contemporary church - when it should serve as an underpinning for the proclamation of God’s Word, Puls explained.   "The music in your church has the potential to become an obstacle to worship (by) amusing, distracting, entertaining the people and, as a result, minimizing and trivializing the preaching of the Word of God, or worse, contradicting the pastor who is … [Read more...]

Seldom a week passes without word of another Louisiana Baptist church experiencing conflict. It seems every report is different, and every report is the same. Usually, the pastor or church staff member is at the center of the church conflict. Seldom a week passes without word of another Louisiana Baptist church experiencing conflict. It seems every report is different, and every report is the same. Usually, the pastor or church staff member is at the center of the church conflict. Certainly, there are other controversies in churches, but time and time again the church’s minister is the focus.   Occasionally, incidents of ministerial immorality or documented malfeasance are involved in the conflict. Thankfully, such incidents are rare although by all the attention they receive and because of the Baptist gossip circuit, there seem to be more than there actually are.   The vast majority of church-pastor conflicts have an all too familiar pattern. A group of members of the church will decide the pastor "needs to go" and set about to see that he does.   If the truth is known, most of the time the problem the members have with the pastor is this: They do not like him - for whatever … [Read more...]

Strong-willed kids get a bad rap these days, author, speaker and self-acknowledged strong-willed adult Cynthia Tobias insisted recently. Strong-willed kids get a bad rap these days, author, speaker and self-acknowledged strong-willed adult Cynthia Tobias insisted recently. "Sometimes when we’re dealing with a stubborn, mule-headed kid, it’s hard to believe that a strong will is not automatically a negative trait," Tobias told preschool and children’s music leaders attending a recent gathering sponsored by the LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. "But it’s definitely not a negative trait. You want your kids to have a good dose of strong will. That’s how a kid holds up and makes it through life," said the founder of Apple St. (Applied Learning Styles), Sumner, Wash., and author of "You Can’t Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded): Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong-Willed Child." Strong-willed kids have been called bad kids all their lives because they do not automatically do as they are told, she said. "But God has a lot of respect for what he built in us in the first place," Tobias maintained. "Being streetwise, edgy and having a quick wit are okay if those things can bring … [Read more...]

High incarceration rates have failed to decrease crime in the United States or address justice for victims, author Marc Mauer charged. High incarceration rates have failed to decrease crime in the United States or address justice for victims, author Marc Mauer charged.   Mauer said the growing use of prisons in recent United States history "has all the hallmarks of a social experiment in crime control," said Mauer, author of "Race to Incarcerate."   That experiment has failed, he told a recent gathering of American Baptists. Indeed, some 2 million Americans are now behind bars, Mauer noted. Two-thirds of those taking up cells are African Americans and Latinos. Last year, the United States passed Russia to become the world’s leader in prison use.   The criminal-justice system has become hotly politicized in the last 30 years, and prisoners are now viewed as "commodities," said Mauer, assistant director of The Sentencing Project and a member of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Race and the Criminal Justice System.   The private-prison industry is "flaming the fire," he said, citing one brochure that touts the private-prison system as a way for investors to "grow … [Read more...]

The Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children’s decision to fire a lesbian employee three years ago did not constitute religious discrimination, U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson has ruled. The Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children’s decision to fire a lesbian employee three years ago did not constitute religious discrimination, U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson has ruled.   While that decision is a victory for the home, Simpson also declined to dismiss a claim that state funding of Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children services violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.   That means the pending case is a key test for the idea of faith-based initiatives that President George Bush proposes.   The case dates back to 1998, when Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children administrators dismissed Alicia Pedreira after they were informed of her lesbian lifestyle.   The letter terminating her employment as a family specialist stated she was being fired "because her admitted homosexual lifestyle is contrary to Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children core values."   Simpson’s ruling noted that the agency’s "intentional exclusion of homosexuals from employment does not run … [Read more...]

Three Louisiana Baptist Convention committees are seeking input from church members. Three Louisiana Baptist Convention committees are seeking input from church members.   Louisiana Baptists have been invited to submit names of nominees for service on state convention boards and committees and to submit resolutions for possible consideration at the 2000 state convention.   The Louisiana Baptist Committee on Committees is beginning work to nominate persons to serve on various state convention committees.   Currently, 22 nominees are needed for service on committees related to convention arrangements, credentials, Louisiana Baptist history, moral and social concerns, nominations, order of business and resolutions.   Committee on Committees Chair is Bendel Johnson of Shreveport.   In addition, the LBC Committee on Nominations is beginning work to fill vacancies on state boards.   At this point, 32 nominees are needed to serve on the state Executive Board and as trustees of Louisiana College, the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home, the Louisiana Baptist Message, the Louisiana Baptist Foundation and the Baptist Retirement Center.   The Committee … [Read more...]