In the Witness this week

Photo by Joni B. Hannigan

A family stops to read messages on a makeshift memorial on Highway 121, the site of a tragic three-vehicle accident Jan. 25 in Lake Butler. The youth at Fellowship Baptist Church in Raiford designed items in the memorial to honor seven of their friends–five of whom attended church with them.

Union County youth bid friends final farewell Published February 2, 2006: LAKE BUTLER (FBW)– Standing bravely behind four white caskets trimmed in gold, 40 youth from Fellowship Baptist Church in Raiford paid tribute to their friends Nikki, Elizabeth, Johnny and Heaven.
Conference to focus on practical evangelism Published February 2, 2006: JACKSONVILLE, FL (FBC) Practical applications of evangelism will be the focus of the 2006 Florida State Evangelism Conference March 6-7 at First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland.
Florida Baptists giving ‘absolutely overwhelming’ 2005 giving tops previous records Published February 2, 2006: JACKSONVILLE (FBC)–In a year of urgent needs, the financial support by Florida Baptists to the denomination’s ministry and mission causes reached a banner high in 2005 with record gifts reported in every category.
Over one million set for SBC causes Published February 2, 2006: EUSTIS (FBW)–Record giving by Florida Baptists resulted in the distribution of $2.2 million in Cooperative Program income overages during the State Board of Missions meeting Jan. 27 at Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center.

Opinion

Editorial

The stem cell debate comes to Florida JAMES A SMITH SR. Executive Editor: A committee hearing last week in Tallahassee on a bill to provide taxpayer funds for embryonic stem cell research will fuel a growing debate in our state concerning the ethical implications of these scientific endeavors and what role the state should play in fostering such research. This is a debate in which pro-life citizens should be participating to ensure morally wise public policy is made in the Sunshine State.

Point of View

Church polity meshes independence and cooperation JOHN SULLIVAN executive director-treasurer Florida Baptist Convention: This week, I am beginning a new series of articles on how the Florida Baptist State Convention functions, which I am titling “How Does That Work?” The first subject is polity. Polity is our strongest and weakest paradox, the “rope of sand” that wires us together.
Why the church needs apologetics MARK COPPENGER Baptist Press: Now and then apologetics (argumentation for defense of the faith) has a direct impact on lost people, leading them toward conversion, or at least away from hostility. For instance, perennial skeptic Antony Flew now expresses a form of theism, in part because of the argument from intelligent design in nature. (See the interview at www.biola.edu/antonyflew/.)
BREAKPOINT: Pandora’s box: What Roe has wrought CHARLES COLSON BreakPoint: America recently marked the 33rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision – a day Americans should mark with sadness and shame. Forty million babies have been sacrificed on the altar of personal choice and autonomy.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor Published February 2, 2006: Letters to the Editor may not reflect the views or opinions of the Witness. Letters may be mailed, faxed or submitted using our online form. Only letters marked clearly for publication, signed with address will be considered for use. Letters are subject to editing. Please limit letters to 250 words.

Florida

Florida News

Union County youth bid friends final farewell: LAKE BUTLER (FBW)– Standing bravely behind four white caskets trimmed in gold, 40 youth from Fellowship Baptist Church in Raiford paid tribute to their friends Nikki, Elizabeth, Johnny and Heaven.
Victims of bus accident regulars at Raiford church: RAIFORD (FBW)–Seven children who perished in a fiery crash Jan. 25 in Lake Butler were all regulars at Fellowship Baptist Church in Raiford. The children’s grandfather, Edwin Scott, 70, died of a heart attack hours after hearing about the accident. He was a long-time member of Ochwilla Baptist Church in Hawthorne.
Pastor says deacon overcome by tragedy, follows seven grandchildren who perished in bus accident: HAWTHORNE (FBW)–Calling William Edwin “Ed” Scott, 70, one of the most loving and truthful men he ever met, Johnny Goodwin said the grieving grandfather was overwhelmed with pain and heartbreak on hearing seven of his grandchildren were taken from him as the result of a fiery accident involving a stopped school bus and a tractor-trailer rig Jan. 25.
Conference to focus on practical evangelism: JACKSONVILLE, FL (FBC) Practical applications of evangelism will be the focus of the 2006 Florida State Evangelism Conference March 6-7 at First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland.
Florida Baptists giving ‘absolutely overwhelming’ 2005 giving tops previous records: JACKSONVILLE (FBC)–In a year of urgent needs, the financial support by Florida Baptists to the denomination’s ministry and mission causes reached a banner high in 2005 with record gifts reported in every category.
Over one million set for SBC causes: EUSTIS (FBW)–Record giving by Florida Baptists resulted in the distribution of $2.2 million in Cooperative Program income overages during the State Board of Missions meeting Jan. 27 at Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center.
Convention hires two, transfers four staff members: EUSTIS–(FBC) The retirement of many long-term Florida Baptist Convention employees in the next year will provide opportunity “to reposition staff” and achieve a “greater diversity of persons from other cultures who have been saved by the grace of God to reach our diverse state,” John Sullivan, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, told the State Board of Missions.
Florida evangelist featured on radio show ‘Unshackled’: ORANGE PARK (FBW)–The radio program “Unshackled” will feature Feb. 5-11 the life story of Walter St. Clair, a WWII veteran and evangelist based in Orange Park.
Valentine’s Day marks third Day of Purity: ORLANDO (FBW)–Feb. 14 marks the third annual Day of Purity, a commemoration meant to counteract a culture that bombards youth with images of sex from television, schoolbooks, magazines, movies and advertisements.
Preaching conference features ‘pastor’s pastor’ as speaker: GRACEVILLE (BCF)–The annual Preaching Conference will be at The Baptist College of Florida (BCF) February 20 - 22 on the college’s Graceville campus. The event will be from 10 – 11 a.m. each day in the R.G. Lee Chapel.

Florida News Briefs

Bible study summit at 2 locations
Youth ministers to network Mar. 9
Ministry assistants to convene
Lectures to feature Russ Moore

Florida Focus

Florida Focus

National

National News

Abortions allow women to be ‘born again,’ doctor says Abortionist embraces ‘emotionally satisfying career’ of terminating life: WASHINGTON (BP)–America has gained a peek into the closely guarded world of the abortion clinic recently and, as would be expected, it has not been a pleasant sight.
National tragedy: U.S. passed 47 million mark for abortions in 2005: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–In what can only be described as tragic, the United States likely experienced its 47 millionth legal abortion at some point in 2005, more than three decades after the Supreme Court issued its infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the killing of the unborn.
‘Brokeback’ conveys twisted view of sexuality: LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–The movie “Brokeback Mountain” presents a distorted and unbiblical picture of human sexuality, said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, during a Jan. 17 appearance on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”
Supreme Court justices return parental notification case: WASHINGTON (BP)–The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Jan. 18 two lower courts had overreached in striking down in its entirety a state law requiring parental notification before an underage girl has an abortion.

International News

Mideast peace process endangered as Hamas wins: JERUSALEM (BP)–A radical Islamic party classified by the United States as a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel won a landslide surprise victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections Jan. 25, casting doubt on whether the Mideast peace process will proceed.

National News Briefs

Okla. WMU leader dies at 43 OBITUARY

Features

Media Montage

Soap star finds God’s grace, breaks out of ‘perfect 10’ From living in a ‘superficial’ Tinsel Town to God’s ‘supernatural’ Kingdom, a former Hollywood actress finds happiness in Christ: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Tracy Lindsey Melchior has played some pretty dramatic characters in her roles on popular daytime dramas Sunset Beach, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and One Life to Live, but her real life story tells a tale that even Hollywood writers could not create.
Leadership is about more than the newest cell phone: NASHVILLE, Tenn., (LWCR)–If you’re a pastor who feels more like a CEO than a church leader, your spiritual leadership skills may need some improving, contends author and speaker Henry Blackaby.

Bible Study

Family Bible Study

February 5: Starting now Jeremiah 1:4-19: Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.
February 12: Paying a price to serve God Jeremiah 26:1-16: Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

Explore the Bible

February 5: Guard your actions Romans 14:13-23: Troy Bush is the minister of evangelism and missions at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.
February 12: Glorify God Romans 15:1-13: Troy Bush is the minister of evangelism and missions at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.