Hurricanes top Witness stories for 2004

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—From surviving ferocious weather to performing heroically in the face of America’s war on terror, Florida Baptists have ministered both in the marketplace of ideas and through practical means while the world watched in 2004.

Though it would be impossible to correctly assess the impact of one story or the coverage of one issue or even a series of related issues to each individual, the editorial staff of Florida Baptist Witness has compiled a list of the “Top Ten Stories” for 2004.

The follwoing list encompasses stories the Witness reported during 2004, and so does not include coverage of the tsunamis in Southeast Asia, which was reported in 2004 only in the Witness on-line at www.FloridaBaptistWitness.com. More complete tsunami coverage is included in this issue of the Witness.

TOP TEN

1. FOUR HURRICANES DEVASTATE FLORIDA IN SIX WEEKS. When four hurricanes–Charley, Frances, Jeanne and Ivan hit Florida in the space of six weeks, Florida Baptists launched the largest ever relief effort in the history of the nation. Florida Baptist Convnention staffers and Florida Baptist Disaster Relief specialists led the charge which ultimately resulted in more than 9,000 Southern Baptist volunteers from 38 states who prepared more than 2.4 million meals. Dozens of churches and associations also pitched in to provide both immediate and long-term assistance after the hurricanes. Relief ministries ranged from counseling to childcare and included food distribution, housing allowances, repair work and more. Undaunted by their own circumstances, Florida Baptists answered the call to help in relief efforts in Haiti, where earlier in the year they had already generously given $190,636 in “Operation Beans, Rice and Water.”

2. FLORIDIAN BOBBY WELCH ELECTED SBC PRESIDENT. Bobby Welch, pastor of First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, was elected as Southern Baptist Convention president at the annual meeting in Indianapolis June 16. Welch, founder of the the popular FAITH Sunday School Evangelism Strategy, Aug. 29 embarked from Daytona Beach on a 50-state “Everyone Can” tour. Riding on a bus throughout North America and then flying to visit Baptists in Alaska and Hawaii, Welch challenged churches to witness to, win and baptize 1 million people in a one-year period beginning in June 2005.

3. FLORIDA BAPTIST STATE CONVENTION 150th ANNIVERSARY. Florida Baptists celebrated their sesquicentennial by holding a series of rallies across the state, beginning in 2003 and culminating with a final observance Nov. 20 by nearly 170 who walked in the woods of Madison County, celebrating on the site of the Clifton mansion where the Florida Baptist State Convention was birthed Nov. 20, 1985 when 17 men decided to form an organization which would be focused on missions work throughout the Sunshine State. Today, there are more than 2,853 churches which form the largest evangelical denomination in the state. Florida Baptists celebrated by baptizing five new converts from five different ethnic groups during its 143rd annual meeting in Jacksonville in November. Another cause for celebration was a record $37.7 million in Cooperative Program giving in 2004, and a nearly unprecedented Maguire State Missions Offering of over $1 million.

4. FLORIDA BAPTISTS CALL FOR STATE MARRIAGE AMENDMENT. Messengers to the Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting in Jacksonville Nov. 9 voted unanimously to support a statewide constitutional marriage amendment. In November, 11 states passed ballot initiatives to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Because no such legislation was considered in Florida, Jay Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, proposed the resolution, prompting Governor Jeb Bush to weigh in saying he might be in support of such a move if he felt it is necessary. Florida’s 1997 Defense of Marriage Act may not be strong enough to withstand legal challenges in the judicial system, Bush admitted.

5. ELECTION 2004. Largely considered a “swing state” for the 2004 presidential election, Florida was targeted by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s “iVoteValues.com” initiative which brought a tractor-trailer of information about Christian citizenship to locations throughout the state. Inside the truck was information about voter registration and election issues. In the 2004 election, Florida voters affirmed an amendment which would require parental notification of a minor seeking an abortion. Floridians also faced gambling proponents who prevailed when an amendment was passed that will allow two south Florida counties to vote on whether to introduce slot machines at seven pari-mutuel facilities. Florida Baptists were also up for election when Bill Bunkley, a member of Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa and the Florida Baptist Conv-ention’s legislative consultant, ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat incumbent Kevin Ambler, representative for District 47. Two other Florida Baptists, both members of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer and Tampa attorney Jan Govan, also came face-to-face when Govan fell short in his challenge against the presiding judge.

6. TERRI SCHIAVO CASE DRAWS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION. Twists continued in the case of 41-year-old Terri Schiavo, a disabled woman in Clearwater who is at the center of a world-wide euthanasia debate. The woman’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have been in a battle over Terri’s life for over six years. Her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, has requested her artificial feeding be discontinued and she be starved to death. The Florida Supreme Court in October ruled Gov. Jeb Bush’s actions in the case were unconstitutional. Bush has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

7. WAR ON TERRORISM. Felix Ramirez, pastor, La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Mascotte, represented Floridians throughout the state who have been impacted by the war on terrorism. On Feb. 21 he buried his son, Eric Ramirez, who was killed in action in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Other stories of bravery and of God’s sustaining faith were told by former Florida pastor Huey Bratton, a former chaplain in Iraq, and church lay leaders and U.S. Naval officers Chuck Hollingsworth and Bryan Hager, who were “Home for Christmas” in December. One unnamed hero shared experiences as a JAG officer stationed in Iraq.

8. SULLIVAN MARKS 15th ANNIVERSARY. John Sullivan, ninth executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention celebrates 15 years at a special dinner in his honor during the Jan. 29 State board of Missions meeting at Lake Yale Conference Center. He is heralded as a “pastor’s pastor.”

9. CHILDREN’S HOMES CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL. Florida Baptist Children’s Homes celebrates 100 years of caring for children, after first opening its doors Feb. 1, 1904. Gov. Bush signed a proclamation and the Florida Legislature adopted a resolution in April honoring the agency.

10. FBSC PRESIDENT FINISHES HISTORIC TERM. Tommy Green, pastor, First Baptist Church, Brandon, completes a second term after presiding over the historic FBSC annual meeting. Green is the first president in recent history to serve two terms after messengers voted last year to change the state convention’s by-laws.