James A. Smith Sr. 2001
Editorial Archive
February
-
What to expect from the new editor
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published February 15, 2001
- With this issue I begin my editorship of
the Florida Baptist Witness. I was honored and humbled
by our Commission’s decision to elect me to this strategic
position. The storied history of this venerable publication is
one to which I’m privileged to contribute further chapters.
The opportunity to serve here is a great gift from God "who
is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think"
(Eph. 3:20).
-
Atlanta Association: Wrong on autonomy
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published February 22, 2001
- I re-read the headline three times before I
realized the Baptist Press story actually said what I believed at
first must have been an error. The Atlanta Baptist Association
voted decisively Jan. 30 to affirm two homosexual-friendly
congregations.
March
-
Faithfulness to Bible’s demands draws critics
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published March 1, 2001
- Baptists in Florida have been in the media spotlight in recent weeks concerning their involvement in Jewish evangelism.
-
Lawsuit shows ‘pro-choice’ lobby opposes choice
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published March 8, 2001
- Any question about the true agenda of the
so-called "pro-choice" lobby should have been answered
by a lawsuit argued last week in Leon County. The National
Organization for Women, along with a Palm Beach synagogue and
three other plaintiffs, argued before Circuit Judge Nikki Clark
that Florida’s Choose Life license plates should be recalled
on the grounds that the message violates the First Amendment
religion clauses. The lawsuit also contends the state should not
promote one side in abortion politics.
-
School shootings remind us kids need Jesus
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published March 15, 2001
- The horrible shooting at a Santee, Calif.,
school last week, resulting in the death of two kids, has brought
the predictable calls for gun control and other political answers
to a great social ill that is plaguing our nation: kids killing
kids. No doubt, Americans should consider whether new laws might
be needed, as well as how to enforce more vigorously laws already
on the books. But is that the best we can do?
April
-
Blaspheming Jesus: Your tax dollars at work
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published April 5, 2001
- It’s happened again: our tax dollars
have been used to denigrate our most deeply held beliefs and,
more importantly, blaspheme our Lord and Savior.
-
He is risen. He is risen indeed!
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published April 12, 2001
- This Lord’s Day Christians across the
United States and around the world will celebrate the glorious
resurrection of Jesus. As the Scriptures report and believers
from the first century forward have testified, on the third day
after his burial, Jesus arose from the grave leaving behind an
empty tomb.
-
Just say "No!" to FCC Petition RM-2493
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published April 19, 2001
- Don’t believe everything you read. In
the age of the Internet and e-mail this maxim has never been
truer.
-
‘Salvation is of the Lord’ (not human coercion)
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published April 26, 2001
- Witnessing opportunities happen sometimes
when we are concentrating on ourselves.
May
-
Commentary shows value of SBC reformation
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published May 3, 2001
- Anyone who may have doubted the necessity
of the SBC controversy of the 1980’s and 1990’s need
only look to a new commentary series published by Smyth &
Helwys, a moderate Baptist publishing house based in Macon, Ga. A
recent Associated Press story by veteran religion writer Richard
Ostling provides a glimpse of what the two decade long Baptist
battle was about and why it’s good that conservatives won.
-
‘Children are a gift of the Lord’
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published May 10, 2001
- Indeed, children are a blessing.
Unfortunately, the Psalmist’s declaration (Ps. 127:3)
frequently is not appreciated or practiced by some parents and
other adults. That’s where the Florida Baptist Children’s
Homes comes in; and so do we, through the annual Mother’s
Day Offering. The goal for this year’s offering is $1.21
million.
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Reading the Florida Baptist Witness
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published May 17, 2001
- In my first three months as executive
editor of the Florida Baptist Witness I have been asked
often how I determine the content of each issue of the paper. It’s
a reasonable question. In my first editorial, I explained my
vision for the Witness and summarized the unique mission
of our state paper. Those can be called the "why"
questions. The "why" questions, however, do not touch
on day-to-day decision-making. With this column, I will give an
overview on the "how" question.
-
Showers of blessings, yet needs remain
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published May 24, 2001
- In this week’s Florida Baptist
Witness readers will find coverage of last week’s
meeting of the State Board of Missions held at Lake Yale Baptist
Assembly. It was my first opportunity to attend this strategic
gathering and was a wonderful exposure to the breadth and depth
of God’s favor on Florida Baptists.
-
Will Bush fund research from aborted children?
Editorial
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published May 31, 2001
- A battle for the soul of the Bush
Administration is now underway and you can play a part in
determining who wins. What’s the battle about? Whether or
not our tax dollars will be used to violate the sanctity of human
life through federal funding of stem cell research from aborted
children.
June
-
Guidelines for writing Letters to the Editor
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published June 7, 2001
"I am not the editor of a newspaper and shall always try
to do right and be good so that God will not make me one."
-
Let’s support ‘Pray for Rain’ July 1
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published June 14, 2001
Florida Baptist leaders have declared July 1 as "Pray for
Rain" Sunday to mobilize our churches to concerted
supplication to the Father to bless our land with much needed
rain. (See story on page one.) I pray that all Florida Baptist
churches will take time during their July 1 worship services to
participate in this special season of prayer. -
Is apathy creeping into the SBC?
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published June 21, 2001
The Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans
last week featured many wonderful speakers, reports,
presentations and music. We have tried to capture some of the
happenings in the Witness this week. There is much to be thankful
for in our Southern Baptist Zion. I wonder, however, if
complacency and apathy are also at work in SBC life. July
-
Who will defend the Boy Scouts?
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published July 5, 2001
Several news items in recent weeks demonstrate the fact that
Boy Scouts of America is under direct assault from the radical
homosexual lobby. Who will defend the Scouts against this attack? -
A&F clothing catalog should be x-rated
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published July 12, 2001
Parents, do you know what clothing catalogs your teens are
reading? If they include Abercrombie & Fitch, you will be in
for a shocking revelation when you find it. -
President Bush: Pro-life with an asterisk?
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published July 19, 2001
Sometimes it takes a pro-abortion liberal like Richard Cohen
of The Washington Post to cut through the rhetoric and
define what’s at stake. And that’s just the case in the
ever-increasing debate in Washington concerning whether President
Bush should authorize federal funding of research from the
destruction of human embryos. -
CBF boat can’t float without doctrinal repairs
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published July 26, 2001
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship seems to see their
organization as a kind of modern-day Noah’s Ark of
disgruntled Baptists. The creatures on the boat come in all
doctrinal stripes and shapes. The recent CBF General Assembly in
Atlanta reveals just what a challenge it must be to keep this
boat afloat. August
-
Back to the Book, Baptists
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published August 2, 2001
A study by the George Barna Group released June 25 is shocking
in what it reveals about doctrinal beliefs among Christians. It’s
even more troubling in what it demonstrates about the theological
laxity among Baptists. (See the story on page nine for further
details.) -
Maguire Offering deserves robust support
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published August 30, 2001
Every Florida Baptist should give to the Maguire State Mission
Offering. The goal for this year’s offering is $1,794,000
with 1 John 1:7 as the theme, "Shine the Light of Christ
… in a world of darkness." September
-
Homosexuals should not be permitted to adopt
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published September 6, 2001
Federal Judge James Lawrence King upheld Florida’s law
prohibiting homosexuals from adopting children in a closely
watched ruling handed down August 30. The decision was met
immediately with criticism from homosexual activists, as well as
promises to appeal the ruling that seems destined to be
considered ultimately by the U.S. Supreme Court. -
Florida Baptist Witness and your church
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published September 13, 2001
The best Baptists are informed Baptists. We all know this
maxim to be true. For Florida Baptists, the best way to be an
informed Baptist is by subscribing to the Florida Baptist
Witness. -
Why an ‘Extra’ edition of the Witness?
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published September 20, 2001
Shortly after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 11—a date that
is now etched in the nation’s collective conscienceness—I
emerged from a meeting to the news that two airplanes had crashed
into New York’s World Trade Center. -
(May) ‘God Bless America’
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published September 27, 2001
Like many Americans, I have shed many tears since Sept. 11.
Our nation has experienced profound grief since that horrible day.
October
-
As America strikes back, pray for missionaries
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published October 11, 2001
Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning another front in our
war against terrorism, so freedom can prevail over fear." -
Love and encourage your pastor
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published October 18, 2001
Why would anyone want to be a pastor? It has got to be one of
the most thankless jobs around. Pastors are always on the firing
line, always "on call," sometimes subject to unruly
church members who are certain they know how to do the job
better, generally poorly compensated, and live in a fishbowl
under constant scrutiny. And those are just Mondays! -
A just war on terrorism?
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published October 25, 2001
Nearly a month after the United States began military action
against the Taliban regime of Afghanistan and with the prospect
of a multi-year war against terrorism around the world, voices of
opposition are growing louder in the U.S. and around the world.
These persons argue that military action is always wrong or that
President George W. Bush has not made the case for a just war. November
-
A&F pulls catalog, not marketing strategy
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published November 8, 2001
Many pro-family advocates were cheered by the news last month
that Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), publishers of an
essentially pornographic quarterly clothing catalog, pulled
publication of its 2001 holiday catalog. While it’s a
promising development, it’s much too early to declare
victory against this purveyor of indecent material. -
What Florida Baptists can learn from Missouri
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published November 15, 2001
Florida Baptists need to take note of the legal shenanigans
underway these days in the Missouri Baptist Convention. It is a
cautionary tale from which we must be careful to learn. -
‘Theological Weakest Link’
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published November 22, 2001
I’ll call it "Theological Weakest Link." As
Josh McDowell spontaneously lunged into the audience Nov. 13 at
the Florida Baptist State Convention, you could almost sense
Florida Baptists in the Lakeland Center’s Youkey Theater
collectively scooting down in their seats hoping (and perhaps
praying) that the fiery former atheist would not make one of them
his next illustration of evangelical incompetence in standing
against the onslaught of moral relativism. (See page one, "McDowell: ‘Church has lost the right to judge,’" for our story on his address.) -
Now, more than ever: Pray, give to missions
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published November 29, 2001
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have had enormous ripple
effects across America and around the world. I think it could be
reasonably argued that there has never been a time in world
history when the actions of so few individuals have affected so
many. Whether it is economics, politics, entertainment, travel or
a myriad of other facets of daily life, Sept. 11 has altered our
lives, in some ways, permanently. December
-
Congress must ban human cloning now!
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published December 6, 2001
On Nov. 25 a Brave New World arrived ushering in the most
heinous assault on the sanctity of human life since Jan. 22, 1973,
when the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand
in the infamous Roe v. Wade case. History should not
look kindly on the day that Advanced Cell Technology, a
Massachusetts-based biotech company, announced that it had
successfully cloned the first human embryo. -
Immanuel: God thinking about us
Editorial
James A. Smith, Sr.
Executive Editor
Published December 20, 2001
When one thinks about the meaning and message of Christmas the
miracle that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ must
immediately come to mind. The Apostle John declared, "And
the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and
truth" (John 1:14, NASB).
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