In the Witness this week

BP photo by Gary D. Myers

Ron Holman, director of alumni relations at NOBTS, talks with his daughter Raegan, 2, during a “welcome back” cookout for NOBTS staff marking the reunion of all offices at the main campus.

New Orleans seminary trustees approve degree-granting ‘hubs’ in Orlando, Atlanta
Published May 18, 2006

NEW ORLEANS (BP)—Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary set a course for the seminary’s future by establishing two degree-granting extension centers, restructuring undergraduate and church music degrees and launching new doctoral specializations during their spring meeting April 12.

Lakeland pastor prays at White House
Published May 18, 2006

WASHINGTON D.C. (FBW) – Jay Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, received an invitation several weeks in advance to attend the National Day of Prayer Breakfast at the White House.

John Sullivan recovering after mild heart attack
Published May 18, 2006

JACKSONVILLE (FBW) – John Sullivan, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, was released from Jacksonville’s Memorial Medical Center May 11 according to Don Hepburn, director of the public relations division of the Convention.

Banner year for Florida summer missionaries
Published May 18, 2006

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Florida’s Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) will send out a record 129 college students to serve as summer missionaries in 11 states, Canada and Mexico and 13 overseas regions this summer.

Floyd to promote spiritual renewal if elected SBC president
Arkansas pastor says ‘judging’ CP ‘violates’ voluntary cooperation
Published May 18, 2006

SPRINDALE, Ark. (SBT)–Spiritual renewal is the emphasis native Texan Ronnie Floyd will bring to the Southern Baptist Convention if elected president at the June 13-14 annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C. The pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., spoke with the Southern Baptist TEXAN after Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt announced that he would nominate Floyd for the top SBC office.

How should Christians respond to The Da Vinci Code?
Published May 11, 2006

GRACEVILLE (FBW)–Dan Brown’s phenomenal best-seller is a fictional book. Why should Christians be concerned about a book of fiction? First, although written as a fictional novel, Dan Brown claims he based his book on factual data. Second, history reveals the power of novels to shape culture. Third, Brown’s novel will lead many people to adopt the position that the novel’s unhistorical premises about Jesus are correct. According to Lee Strobel, a recent survey revealed that one out of three Canadian readers believes that descendants of Jesus live on earth today. Further, George Barna’s research reveals the shocking influence of the book. Barna commented, “After all, 53% of a national sample of adults who have read The Da Vinci Code from cover to cover stated that the book had been helpful in their “personal spiritual growth and understanding.’”

Opinion

Point of View

Immigration crisis requires biblical response
RICHARD LAND
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

The immigration crisis in the United States is a huge issue, impacting tens of millions of people in many different ways. How do we approach this problem? First, we have to identify “we.” When I speak of “we,” I am referring to Southern Baptists and other evangelical Christians who are American citizens. As such, we have responsibilities in two realms: as citizens of the nation and as citizens of the heavenly Kingdom (Philippians 3:20; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9).

BREAKPOINT: The dangers of being Christian
CHARLES COLSON
Breakpoint

This past Good Friday, a man entered Mar Girgis Church in Alexandria, Egypt, and stabbed one worshipper to death and wounded two others. He then went to another church and stabbed three other Christians.

‘Dismal’ CP support should invalidate Floyd for SBC president
MICHAEL PETTY
Special to Florida Baptist Witness

Hearing the news that Ronnie Floyd will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro next month first brought acceptance and pleasure – that is, until I read of his dismal record of cooperation through the Cooperative Program.

CP should not be ‘sacred cow,’ Floyd would be ‘great leader’ for SBC
TED TRAYLOR
Special to Florida Baptist Witness

The Cooperative Program was adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in May of 1925. It was implemented to give each Southern Baptist a way to be a part of reaching the world through their local church as a partner with others. This partnership brings together the local church, state convention and national convention for the purpose of eliciting, combining and directing the energies of the whole denomination in one sacred effort for the propagation of the Gospel. The Cooperative Program has been a God inspired way of doing missions since M. E. Dodd introduced it to the convention in Memphis 81 years ago. I add my voice to the call to Southern Baptists to increase giving to this wonderful cooperative delivery system for the Gospel.

Ten questions to ask about The Da Vinci Code
DON WHITNEY
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.”

Florida

Florida News

Lakeland pastor prays at White House

WASHINGTON D.C. (FBW) – Jay Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, received an invitation several weeks in advance to attend the National Day of Prayer Breakfast at the White House.

John Sullivan recovering after mild heart attack

JACKSONVILLE (FBW) – John Sullivan, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, was released from Jacksonville’s Memorial Medical Center May 11 according to Don Hepburn, director of the public relations division of the Convention.

Banner year for Florida summer missionaries

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Florida’s Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) will send out a record 129 college students to serve as summer missionaries in 11 states, Canada and Mexico and 13 overseas regions this summer.

Drama ministry points youth toward imitating Christ

GRACEVILLE (BCF)—The aroma of freshly brewed specialty coffee drifts through the air and sounds of fingers tapping against the keyboards of laptop computers, distant conversation, and a faint steady beat of music escaping from headphones is heard all around.

Students assume personal responsibility in winning lost

PENSACOLA (FBC)—He was raised as a Buddhist in his native Thailand. As a college student at the University of West Florida, he attended a campus event that promised free food. There, he discovered he was experiencing a latent spiritual hunger.

Jay Dennis’ White House prayer

Legislature Watch

Stem cells, homosexual adoption bills blocked this year
Bunkley concerned about ‘07

TALLAHASSEE (FBW) – Pro-family activists in Tallahassee took a “defensive posture” in this year’s legislative session, fighting back stem cell research and homosexual adoptions, rather than attempting to advance an agenda in a manner similar to the 2005 session, Florida Baptist Convention lobbyist Bill Bunkley told Florida Baptist Witness, reflecting on the recently concluded 2006 legislative session.

National

National News

New Orleans seminary trustees approve degree-granting ‘hubs’ in Orlando, Atlanta

NEW ORLEANS (BP)—Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary set a course for the seminary’s future by establishing two degree-granting extension centers, restructuring undergraduate and church music degrees and launching new doctoral specializations during their spring meeting April 12.

Baptists from diverse backgrounds issue ‘Memphis Declaration’

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP)—Expressing displeasure over what they call a “narrowing of cooperation through exclusionary theological and political agendas” in the Southern Baptist Convention, a group of Southern Baptist conservatives – three from Florida – issued a document May 3 announcing their desire to seek renewal in the convention, their churches and their personal lives through repentance.

Seminary News

NOBTS returns to New Orleans; SBC volunteers praised

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – After almost eight months away, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary closed its temporary administrative offices in Atlanta and returned home to New Orleans. The return marked yet another milestone on the long road back from Hurricane Katrina.

Two Floridians new NOBTS faculty

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary elected six professors to the faculty, promoted three faculty members and granted tenure to four professors during their meeting April 12.

Features

Sports News

Fly fishermen reel in fellowship and faith

GLORIETA, N.M. (BP)—Wooly buggers, nymphs, strike indicators and sink tips. Praise and worship, Bible study and prayer.

New devotional books mix hunting, adventure, discipleship

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (LWCR)—Jimmy Sites has hunted alongside Amazon warriors and faced off with bears in Alaska, but one of his toughest challenges didn’t happen in the wild.

SBC Annual Meeting Preview

Floyd to promote spiritual renewal if elected SBC president
Arkansas pastor says ‘judging’ CP ‘violates’ voluntary cooperation

SPRINDALE, Ark. (SBT)–Spiritual renewal is the emphasis native Texan Ronnie Floyd will bring to the Southern Baptist Convention if elected president at the June 13-14 annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C. The pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., spoke with the Southern Baptist TEXAN after Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt announced that he would nominate Floyd for the top SBC office.

Summer Missionaries

Banner year for Florida summer missionaries

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Florida’s Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) will send out a record 129 college students to serve as summer missionaries in 11 states, Canada and Mexico and 13 overseas regions this summer.

Bible Study

Family Bible Study

May 28: Mary: Unwavering focus
Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-8

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

June 4: Caleb: Faith endures
Numbers 13:30; 14:6-9; Joshua 14:6-14

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

Explore the Bible

May 28: Praise our incomparable God
Micah 7:8-20

Troy Bush is the minister of evangelism and missions at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.

June 4: Respond with faith
Job 1:1-3, 8-11, 20-22; 2:7, 9-10

Troy Bush is the minister of evangelism and missions at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.