http://www.sbtexan.com Publication of the Southern Baptists of Texas en-us 2007 Wed, 7 Jan 2009 06:47:11 EST 240 http://www.sbtexan.com/images/Texan_Header.jpg http://www.sbtexan.com http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6038&issue=12/31/2008       HOUSTON—Landon Hays, son of SBTC church planters Ben and Kelli Hays, was born with a rare liver disease. And the place where the family found a remedy for Landon and experienced a call to plant a church is one and the same—Houston’s Medical Center.   Officially known as The Medical Center, the city within a city is the world’s largest concentration of medical providers, employing some 75,000 people.   “We spent the first year of Landon’s life in and out of hospitals, and we were sort of immersed in this really busy community. We were focused on our chil... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6039&issue=12/31/2008      The SBTC is offering a leadership development course to help pastors lead their congregations to minister within their church’s cultural context.   Called Z-Leader, the course includes a 12-week online study and a personal coach who will interact periodically with the pastor “to help him understand his ‘glocal’ context”—a blending of a missions focus that is local and global, explained SBTC Church Ministries Associate Kenneth Priest. The 12-unit course uses the book “Breaking the Missional Code” by Ed Stetzer and David Putnam. Stetzer is president of LifeWay Resear... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6040&issue=12/31/2008   A relief effort funded partly by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in Burma (also called Myanmar) has resulted in the construction or repair of 15 Baptist churches, about 70 fishing boats and nets purchased for villagers, and discipleship training for dozens of pastors and laymen. A Burmese citizen helping with relief efforts told the Southern Baptist TEXAN the work there following Cyclone Nargis, which killed nearly 150,000 people last May, was progressing. The SBTC first sent aid to the Southeast Asian country last summer and again this fall. Baptist Global Relief has also d... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6044&issue=12/31/2008   Jonathan Falwell, senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., and successor to his father, the late Jerry Falwell, will be among the preachers and speakers at the 2009 Empower Evangelism Conference Feb. 16-18 at First Baptist Church of Euless. The theme for the 2009 conference is “Empowered: The Holy Spirit in You,” based on Ephesians 1:13-14. Falwell served at Thomas Road under his father from 1995 until the elder Falwell’s death in May 2007. He was called to be the pastor on June 3, 2007 by a unanimous vote of the church congregation. Falwell preaches at the m... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6041&issue=12/31/2008     “When someone is in danger or pain, it is the nature of one who considers life valuable and worthy to go and rescue,” explained Pat Layton, author of a newly released Bible study for women who are dealing with the post-traumatic stress of abortion.   “There has been a crisis going on for 35 years as millions of men, women and children have been caught in the rapids of sin and death and they need a hero,” she said, appealing to a gathering at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention last fall to accept that challenge. “One in three women have aborti... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6042&issue=12/31/2008     A recent National Public Radio story says that President-elect Obama will stop allowing Christian organizations that receive federal money for benevolent work to hire only Christians. The Bush administration allowed participants in the faith-based initiatives program an exemption from federal hiring practices so they can maintain the integrity of their own faith. The story went on to center the upcoming controversy on “intensively religious organizations,” an obvious reference to organizations that not only hand out a cup of cool water but also do it in Jesus’ name. I wonder if ... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6045&issue=12/31/2008      Amid the scenic beauty of El Salvador, Robert and Ann Horton, members of Central Baptist Church in College Station, are working to alleviate human suffering among children victimized by the ugly, crime-ridden side of the Central American country. Robert Horton, a homebuilder, took his first trip to El Salvador in 2004 at the behest of a missionary friend who had encountered a Salvadoran believer caring for orphans in an abandoned school. Since then, the Hortons have made 20 trips, founded a non-profit ministry to the needy in the United States and abroad, and are raising... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6046&issue=12/31/2008      For the third straight year, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is encouraging churches to participate in “Discovery Day,” an SBTC initiative to increase participation in Sunday School and small-group Bible studies. The Jan. 25 emphasis combines a high attendance effort with intentional plans to engage seekers and nominal church-goers in new Sunday School or Bible study groups. “It’s worked for churches that have participated in it,” said SBTC Church Ministries Associate Kenneth Priest. “Since we started it three years ago, of the churches that report back to us, ... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6047&issue=12/31/2008     DALLAS—The annual Dallas Walk for Life will begin at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 17 with music and a rally at a downtown Catholic church and conclude with a right-to-life lunch and information fair at First Baptist Church of Dallas. The march will include a stop at the federal courthouse, where a memorial wreath will be placed on behalf of the 52 million unborn children aborted since the Jan. 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion on demand in all 50 states. The rally will begin on the Plaza at the Cathedral de Guadalupe, 2215 Ross (Ross at Pearl), and will inc... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6048&issue=12/31/2008     Americans United for Life is sponsoring an online petition in opposition to the Freedom of Choice Act, which right-to-life activists fear will become law under the Obama administration. As of Dec. 17, the petition at fightfoca.com had gathered more than 337,850 signatures. The fightfoca.com website has downloadable copies of the United States Senate and House versions of FOCA, and a video of President-elect Barack Obama telling a Planned Parenthood gathering, “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d do.” Denise Burke, ... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6043&issue=12/31/2008     AUSTIN—A policy requiring Texas public schools to teach the strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories, including Darwinian evolution, will come up for review as the State Board of Education (SBOE) selects science textbooks during scheduled meetings Jan. 21-23 in Austin. The board held a public hearing on the 10-year-old policy in November; another public hearing is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 21 at the Texas Education Agency, located in the William Travis Building, 1701 N. Congress Ave., Austin 78701. Board Chairman Don McLeroy of College Station said t... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6049&issue=12/31/2008   Texas Life Connections (TLC) is a partnering ministry of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the North American Mission Board that works to connect the local church to a statewide network of Christian life-affirming ministries. These include pregnancy resource centers, post-abortion recovery groups, adoption agencies, maternity homes, abstinence groups and foster-care providers.  TLC members are ministry partners linked by each affirming a statement of faith and shared ministry goals. Members are committed to evangelism while carrying out the life-affirming mission of t... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sbtexan.com/default.asp?action=article&aid=6050&issue=12/31/2008    Going to what the CIA states as the “poorest country in the world” was both a challenging and a rewarding experience. But more than anything else, this mission trip was a learning experience. On Oct. 1, nine members of Friendly Baptist Church in Tyler left for Malawi, Africa, on a 12-day trip in which the round-trip travel time alone would take 74 hours. The team was led by Tyler businessman and church member Bill Langley, who had been to the country on two previous mission trips. The goal was to have teams go to more than 100 locations in and around Lilongwe, capital of Mala... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST