Does the First Amendment ban any mention of Jesus in elementary public schools?   Incidents suggest some teachers and administrators still think the answer is "yes." Does the First Amendment ban any mention of Jesus in elementary public schools?   Incidents suggest some teachers and administrators still think the answer is "yes."   Last fall, a school superintendent in Alabama turned down a request by a community member to start an after-school club for students at the local elementary school - because the club would address issues from a Christian perspective.   Meanwhile, a mother in Texas said her third-grade child was told she could not do her report on Jesus, even though the assignment was for students to write about a historical hero or heroine of their choosing.   In New York, a mother said her fourth-grader was told by a teacher not to talk about Jesus in school. The girl had told a boy who was swearing that he needed to have Jesus in his heart or he would go to "you-know-where." The teacher called that harassment.   Federal guidelines distributed to public schools last year were supposed to provide common-ground answers to such issues, said … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptists have a new association - but it is unlike any other they have known   Unlike a traditional Baptist association, this one has no geographical boundaries, no moderator, no affiliated churches and receives no funds. Louisiana Baptists have a new association - but it is unlike any other they have known   Unlike a traditional Baptist association, this one has no geographical boundaries, no moderator, no affiliated churches and receives no funds.   It is the "Virtual Association of Lay Baptists," and its website is designed "to be used by its members to inform and encourage one another."   The founder and operator of this "virtual association" is Charles Harper, who was second vice president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention last year.   "I was elected second-vice president of the state convention, and the second-vice president is such a do-nothing position," Harper said. "I wanted to do something for the convention as a layman. I thought about it and prayed about it and came up with this idea of something I could do."   The Baton Rouge resident is a member at Goodwood Baptist Church and is a retired sales and marketing … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptists have a new association - but it is unlike any other they have known   Unlike a traditional Baptist association, this one has no geographical boundaries, no moderator, no affiliated churches and receives no funds. Louisiana Baptists have a new association - but it is unlike any other they have known   Unlike a traditional Baptist association, this one has no geographical boundaries, no moderator, no affiliated churches and receives no funds.   It is the "Virtual Association of Lay Baptists," and its website is designed "to be used by its members to inform and encourage one another."   The founder and operator of this "virtual association" is Charles Harper, who was second vice president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention last year.   "I was elected second-vice president of the state convention, and the second-vice president is such a do-nothing position," Harper said. "I wanted to do something for the convention as a layman. I thought about it and prayed about it and came up with this idea of something I could do."   The Baton Rouge resident is a member at Goodwood Baptist Church and is a retired sales and marketing … [Read more...]

In most measurable areas, the Louisiana Baptist Convention is doing as good or better than ever, Dean Doster noted last week. In most measurable areas, the Louisiana Baptist Convention is doing as good or better than ever, Dean Doster noted last week. But that is not good enough, the state executive director emphasized.   "If we are to make a difference, we must do more than ‘business as usual,’ " Doster told members of the LBC Executive Board during the group’s first meeting of 2001.   That challenge was the focus of the board’s meeting. Members conducted only a few matters of routine business.   Instead, they focused on the "business" of the Christian faith - fulfilling the Great Commission charge to take the gospel to everyone around the world.   The meeting at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth opened and closed with that challenge.   In his report to board members, Doster outlined a number of positive signs related to Louisiana Baptist life.   "Our churches are starting more new units of work each year. Our churches are annually baptizing near the highest number of baptisms ever recorded - over 15,000 each year. Our churches … [Read more...]

"Free Offer!"   This usually means if you buy a few hundred dollars worth of stuff, you get a piece of cheap junk free, if you pay the postage.   But this "Free Offer!" is on the back of a breakfast cereal box, so it merits close scrutiny. "Free Offer!"   This usually means if you buy a few hundred dollars worth of stuff, you get a piece of cheap junk free, if you pay the postage.   But this "Free Offer!" is on the back of a breakfast cereal box, so it merits close scrutiny.   Sitting here at the kitchen table, reading the back of a cereal box takes me back to my seventh year of life. The cereal box promised a magic decoding ring with a secret compartment: "Hide secrets from all your friends."   "Mother, can I order one of these?" I pleaded. We understood ordering. That was the way we got most of our stuff in this tiny town almost lost on the flat plains of West Texas. Had it not been for Sear’s and Ward’s, the abundance of the world would have been unknown to us.   She paused in her housecleaning chores to give the offer a glance. "How are you going to get the quarter (for postage)?"   "I’ll save the pennies from the movie." We … [Read more...]

The mournful horn echoes in the still air at 4 a.m. The call to prayer resounds off bullet-pocked walls and empty buildings. The Christian remnant in this Indonesian village awakens to cry out to God for peace. The mournful horn echoes in the still air at 4 a.m. The call to prayer resounds off bullet-pocked walls and empty buildings. The Christian remnant in this Indonesian village awakens to cry out to God for peace.   The Christian call to prayer has been sounding every night since the conflict between Muslims and Christians erupted in Indonesia’s Maluku Islands in January 1999. More than 4,000 people have been killed and as many as 500,000 people displaced in this religious and political war.   Jim Brown recently traveled to the Maluku Islands. He is human needs consultant for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. While in Indonesia, his team tried to assess how Southern Baptists can help refugees - and gather evidence that the fighting in the island nation is being fueled by an outside group.   "Our ambassador said the only way the international community would do anything would be if they were able to prove outside influence with this jihad war," he … [Read more...]

By any measure, last year was a banner year for advocates of religious liberty in public education. Why? By any measure, last year was a banner year for advocates of religious liberty in public education.   Why?   Because after more than 150 years of debate and conflict, a national consensus on the constitutional role of religion in schools is finally reaching local districts across the nation.   The year began with the U.S. Department of Education’s extraordinary mailing of religious liberty guidelines to every public school in America.   The year then closed with the news that all national and state standards now mandate teaching about religions in social studies classrooms.   With all of the hand-wringing about a "divided America" in the aftermath of the election, it is heartening to note that most religious and educational groups - from left to right - endorse these developments.   However, despite this emerging consensus, the task of translating guidelines and standards into lasting change in local schools remains formidable. There likely are to be three very big challenges in 2001.   These are:   •Creating local … [Read more...]

The greatest hindrances to exercising religious freedom in American schools are not necessarily rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court as much as a lack of understanding of court rulings by many school officials. The greatest hindrances to exercising religious freedom in American schools are not necessarily rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court as much as a lack of understanding of court rulings by many school officials. An article on the opposite page reports the good news that the U.S. Department of Education recently mailed religious liberty guidelines to every public school in America. The guidelines carefully explain the differences between what constitutes state-sponsored religious activities (prohibited by law) and voluntary expressions of religion by students and teachers (protected by the law).   The differences are often subtle and delicate, yet the exercise and enforcement of both are essential to the future character of our nation. The material distributed by the U.S. Department of Education can help guide school administrators to provide proper exercise and enforcement.   Many school boards and administrators believe the U.S. Supreme Court has outlawed prayer and Bible study or any other … [Read more...]

For four weeks last summer, a group of Louisiana College students took a crash course in biblical archaeology - helping to excavate a site that dates back to Old Testament days For four weeks last summer, a group of Louisiana College students took a crash course in biblical archaeology - helping to excavate a site that dates back to Old Testament days In the Old Testament days - there was a town known as Beth-Shemesh in the foothills of Judah, about 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem. It occupied a unique place in Israelite history. It was strategically located, a border town that felt the influence of the Canaanite, Philistine and Israelite cultures.   Indeed, it lay in the land of Samson, who fell for a Philistine girl not so far away in the town of Timnah.   It carried biblical significance as well. It was to Beth-Shemesh that the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant (as recorded in 1 Samuel 6).   It also was the site of a decisive battle between King Jehoash of Israel and King Amaziah of Judah during the time the Israelites lived in divided nations.   Families in the town lived in simple - but ingenious - homes made of mud brick, with a thatched roof that … [Read more...]

For the week of January 25, 2001 Potpourri •ALEXANDRIA - Calvary church: "Celebration of Women" conference; Feb. 23, 5 p.m. and Feb. 24, 8:30 a.m.; Mamie McCullough and Cheri Fuller, speakers; Sandi Patty, music; for information, call the church office at (318) 445-5640; David Brooks, pastor.   •CROWLEY - Parkerson Avenue church: "Jesus Thru the Arts" presents Dale Crum, dramatist, Feb. 4, 6 p.m.; pre-rally music, 5:45 p.m. by The Barkleys; Acadia Association Evangelism Rally; L. C. Lord, pastor.   •DENHAM SPRINGS - Amite church: Eastern La. Association Sunday School Revival; Feb. 4, 6 p.m.; Feb. 5-7, 7 p.m.; Leon Kilbreth, evangelist; Sons of the Father, music; Terry Booth, pastor.   •DRY CREEK - Dry Creek camp: couples retreat; Feb. 16-17; Ray and Carolyn Wells, leaders; cost is $50 per couple or $30/commuters; for information, call the camp at (337) 328-7531; Curt Iles, camp manager.   •DRY CREEK - Dry Creek camp: turkey hunters’ seminar; Feb. 17, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.; cost is $10/person (includes lunch); to pre-register, call (337) 328-7531; Curt Iles, camp manager.   •EUNICE - Emmanuel church: "Jesus Thru the Arts" presents Dale Crum, dramatist, Feb. 4, 10:15 … [Read more...]