News

Utah-Idaho: A place of great beauty, a place of great need
By Gerald Harris, Editior
Published December 4, 2003

There are few places on earth where God's creative genius is more marvelously evident than in Utah and Idaho. In a myriad of scenic highways every bend in the road produces a view of mountain majesty and over every hill each new horizon provides some wonderfully breathtaking and amazingly colorful landscape.

The Dongxiang of China: Only a handful of believers
By Manda Roten
Published December 4, 2003

Just a few years ago, there wasn't a single known believer among China's Dongxiang people. Today 13 Dongxiang follow Christ.

The Linxia of China: Generations of spiritual bondage
By Manda Roten
Published December 4, 2003

A young woman almost decides to follow Christ, but she doesn't know how she'll survive when her devout Muslim family kicks her out of their home.

What is an unreached people group?
By Ashley Haygood
Published December 4, 2003

A people group is a group of individuals, families and clans who share a common language and ethnic identity. The most noticeable characteristic is language, but race, religion, heritage and even socioeconomic differences are also defining people-group factors.

Doctor says obesity can be won by asking 'What Would Jesus Eat?'
By Alexandra Alter, c. 2003 Religion News Service
Published December 4, 2003

(RNS) If doctors had to identify the deadliest sin affecting Americans today, they would probably name gluttony as the No. 1 killer. As obesity in the United States reaches epidemic proportions, with more than 60 percent of adults weighing in as overweight or obese, public policy makers and health officials are scrambling over ways to improve the American diet.

Religious NewsBriefs

Wiccan wins right to lead opening prayer at supervisors' meetings in Virginia
Published December 4, 2003

A Wiccan who had been barred from saying an opening prayer at meetings of a county board of supervisors has the right to pray there, a federal judge ruled Nov. 13.

Newspaper: United Methodists cut 259 jobs in two years, a 21 percent drop
Published December 4, 2003

The United Methodist Church has cut 259 jobs over the past two years - a 21 percent drop - according to The United Methodist Reporter, an independent newspaper.

Patricia Ireland fired as YWCA's CEO
Published December 4, 2003

Patricia Ireland has been fired as the chief executive officer of the YWCA, a position she held for less than six months.

People and Places

Ministerial Moves
Published December 4, 2003

Anniversaries
Published December 4, 2003

Honors
Published December 4, 2003

Obituaries
Published December 4, 2003

Ordinations
Published December 4, 2003

Cooperative Program Stories

Missions opportunities are as close as a mouse click away
www.thebridge.namb.net
By Sherri Brown, Communications, GBC
Published December 4, 2003

With just a few clicks, anyone can find a place to go on mission. When you take your home with you it makes it all that much easier.

Columns

Jerry Pereira - Quiet Champion Needed in Heaven
By J. Gerald Harris, Editor
Published December 4, 2003

Jerry Pereira, president of the North Carolina Baptist Convention, died three days before the Convention was scheduled to meet in Winston Salem, North Carolina. He was a good friend and a devout man of God.

Try a little kindness if you know single parents in need
By James Dobson
Published December 4, 2003

The Open Door
By J. Robert White, Executive Director, GBC
Published December 4, 2003

Thanksgiving had special meaning to me this year. The week of Thanksgiving I returned from a mission trip to Moldova.

Ethics & Public Affairs
Keep the Faith
By J. Emmett Henderson, Specialist, Ethics & Public Affairs, GBC
Published December 4, 2003

At the close of his ministry, Paul looked back across the years and offered a critique. His final appraisal was: "I kept the faith."

Seeds from the Sower
By Michael Guido
Published December 4, 2003

A man was accused of knocking down a policeman. The man defended himself by saying, "A bee was on his neck. I didn't want him to get stung. So I hit the bee as hard as I could."

Forum

A Lottie Moon Offering appeal
By Joe Daniel, Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church Eastman
Published December 4, 2003

Sir: In the November 6 edition of the Christian Index, Dr. Jerry Rankin, President of the International Mission Board, issued an urgent message to Southern Baptists concerning the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.