News

Stained glass & Starbucks
An Overview
Published September 29, 2005

The call for a missional church - one that incarnates Christ through culturally relevant evangelism and worship approaches - is being sounded in evangelical circles nationwide. This radical approach, as old as Christianity itself, is being viewed as the last hope for reaching North America with the Gospel.

Chris Reis: Tech safety and Christ's ambassador
By J. Gerald Harris, Editor
Published September 29, 2005

Chris Reis, Georgia Tech football team's strong safety, has been called the leader of the Yellow Jacket's defense. From his vantage point in the middle of the field he is essentially the commander of the defense. A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter wrote of Reis, "He's got the authority that comes with being the team's leader in sacks last season and its fourth-leading tackler."

Stained glass & Starbucks
An Analysis
By Joe Westbury, Managing Editor
Published September 29, 2005

For years evangelicals started churches on overseas mission fields by shaping the Gospel to fit the culture. The message was never compromised but was presented in a variety of ways in an attempt to strip it from its Western context.

Contemporary churches on the rise, poll of GBC congregations reveal
Published September 29, 2005

What once was the exception is slowly becoming the norm.

What is a 'missional ' church?
Published September 29, 2005

A 20th century church with a mission program usually sees missions as one activity alongside many activities of the church - Christian education, worship, acts of service, hospitality, discipleship, and other programs. A missional church, based on the First Century church model, focuses all of its activities around its participation in God's mission in the world. It is a more holistic approach to reaching the lost.

Emphasis on the basics makes First Redeemer crown-worthy
By J. Gerald Harris, Editor
Published September 29, 2005

Those who are astute baseball fans know that only fourteen times in the history of the Major Leagues has "The Triple Crown" been awarded to deserving players. The award is given to the hitter who leads his own league in three hitting statistics: (1) home runs, (2) batting average and (3) runs batted in. The last player to accomplish this amazing feat was Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox in 1967.

Georgia Baptists help Katrina victims see a better view
By Sherri Brown, Special Assignment Reporter
Published September 29, 2005

Two Georgia Baptist associations are already partnering with churches in southern Mississippi that have been damaged or destroyed, but more are needed.

Dear Georgia Baptists ...
Letters from victims
Published September 29, 2005

Stained glass & Starbucks
By Joe Westbury, Managing Editor
Published September 29, 2005

When Milton Wood was growing up in Burning Bush near Dalton, something happened which shaped his life and molded his yet-to-be ministry.

New ministers build connections, resources at orientation
Published September 29, 2005

Nearly 80 new ministers from across Georgia gathered at the Baptist building in Atlanta Sept. 22 to be introduced to tools and resources available for their ministries.

Ministering to ministers yields gains for all
October 9 is Pastor Appreciation Day
By Scott Barkley, Staff Writer
Published September 29, 2005

When Roger Wilkins, pastor of Gum Branch Baptist Church in Hinesville, celebrated his 50th birthday his church let him know how they felt about him.

Ten years after disappearance, fiesty atheist still shapes a movement
By Rebecca Phillips, c. 2005 Beliefnet
Published September 29, 2005

Most Americans today would have a difficult time naming the man responsible for bringing the recent case to take "Under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Supreme Court, even though Michael Newdow is arguably America's most well-known - and most detested - living atheist. But in the 1960s, no one would have had a hard time remembering the name Madalyn Murray.

Developing a missional mindset
Published September 29, 2005

One gospel, many expressions
Published September 29, 2005

Religious NewsBriefs

Christians sentenced for allowing Muslims to attend Sunday School
Published September 29, 2005

Three Indonesian women who ran a Christian Sunday school program were convicted and sentenced Sept. 1 to three years in prison for allowing Muslim children to attend.

Katrina boosts terrorists' morale, hurricane called 'soldier of God'
Published September 29, 2005

The devastation from Hurricane Katrina caused a "morale lift" at extremist Web sites across the Middle East, according to an organization that monitors terrorism.

Orthodox want church at site of Beslan tragedy
Published September 29, 2005

Russian Orthodox Church officials are proposing that a church be built in the ruins of Beslan's School No. 1, where 331 people, more than half children, were killed a year ago in the worst terrorist attack in modern Russian history.

Air Force clears general accused of proselytizing non-Christian cadets at Academy
Published September 29, 2005

The Air Force has cleared a brigadier general accused of violating the Constitution by proselytizing non-Christian cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The military service determined that the allegation against Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida, the commandant of cadets at the academy, "was not substantiated," said Jennifer Stephens, an Air Force spokeswoman, Sept. 7.

People and Places

Ministerial Moves
Published September 29, 2005

Anniversaries
Published September 29, 2005

Homecomings
Published September 29, 2005

Ordinations
Published September 29, 2005

Cooperative Program Stories

Evacuee increase leading to greater World Hunger fund needs
Requests for ministry assistance up
By Sherri Brown, Communications, GBC
Published September 29, 2005

Each month volunteers at Good Samaritan ministry pass out 10,000 pounds of food. Clients receive boxes loaded with canned goods, boxed goods and even fresh fruits and vegetables.

Bible Study

Experience God's Life-Changing Power
By Dannie Williams, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Lyons
Published September 29, 2005

Ephesians 1:18-2:10
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, October 9

Live in God's Peace
By Dannie Williams, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Lyons
Published September 29, 2005

Ephesians 2:11-22
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, October 16

Columns

France: a preview of the future America?
By J. Gerald Harris, Editor
Published September 29, 2005

Martha Jean (my wife) and I just returned from a mission trip to Paris, France. Mike Gravette, Georgia Baptist Convention specialist for Mission Volunteers, coordinated the trip stateside with considerable help from International Mission Board missionaries Keith and Deborah Grimaud, who live on the outskirts of Paris near Versailles.

A wealth of faith among the poor
By Dale Hanson Bourke, c. 2005 Religion News Service
Published September 29, 2005

It was easy to feel sorry for them. The poor, displaced, battered citizens of New Orleans confronted us with the disparity of economic life in America.

The Open Door
By J. Robert White, Executive Director, GBC
Published September 29, 2005

A few weeks ago I sent a letter to all Georgia Baptist pastors requesting that a special offering for Katrina disaster relief be received on the following Sunday.

Stay-at-home moms are essential part of workforce
By James Dobson
Published September 29, 2005