• David Johnson named Ariz. executive director
• Randy Adams elected NW executive director
• New Bush presidential library testifies to faith, family values
• Pastorate can be ‘lonely place’ new Suwannee DOM says
• Three Florida Baptist communicators recognized with awards at annual meeting
• Witness Executive Editor James Smith takes position at Southern Seminary
• Worship pastor changes beats, slows tempo
• After 40 years Pastor Bumpers says ‘the old-fashioned stuff’ still works
• Tampa native takes helm of new Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry at Southern
• Advocates: Immigration bill a good step forward
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BRANDON (FBW)—Tommy Green is most encouraged by "the tremendous spirit of cooperation" he has found in his travels in Florida during his inaugural term as president of the Florida Baptist State Convention. In an interview last month with Florida Baptist Witness editor James A. Smith Sr., Green touted Florida Baptists’ spirit of unity as the envy of other state conventions.

PINELLAS PARK (FBW)—It had been six days since her daughter had eaten. Mary Schindler’s voice lowered as she remembered Oct. 21. She could hardly speak. With a rigid back, she clasped her hands to her face, her chest—and finally grabbed her chin.

CHINA (IMB)—Sheer hills rise around a quiet Chinese town, framing the idyllic setting like a Chinese alpine village.

Often overlooked in a province known more for ethnic minority groups, the city of nearly 500,000 is often just a bus stop on a frequently traveled commercial route.

Last year, International Mission Board personnel initiated work among 146 new people groups identified as "unreached." Multitudes gained access to the Gospel for the first time.

Church-planting movements are taking off in China, Latin America and even Northern Africa. So many people came to Christ in one African city that mosques had to close. One strategy coordinator reached his four-year goal of 200 churches among his assigned people group in just six months. It is not unusual to hear testimonies of God’s miraculous power manifested in signs and wonders when people are confronted with the claims of Christ.

This has been a banner year for human rights. The administration has brokered what looks like a peace deal in Sudan ending years of genocide and the enslavement of Christians. The president pushed for and got $15 billion to combat AIDS in Africa. And the bill to end the trafficking of women and children in international sex trade was signed by the president—an issue the president spoke about at the United Nations.

Welcome to Tampa and the 142nd Annual Meeting of the Florida Baptist State Convention. I trust that you will have a blessed experience in Tampa Bay. I am excited about our two days of proceedings. I pray that you will be encouraged through the opportunities of worship throughout the Convention.

When President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, he did more than save thousands of lives from an unnecessary and barbaric death. Through passing the ban, the President, along with the majority of our Congress, restored a measure of sanity to our national conscience and slowed our descent in the moral abyss.

Have fun with cryptography and exercise your Bible knowledge. A King James Version verse is encoded by letter substitution. The same letter is substituted throughout the puzzle. Solve by trial and error.

Lake Talquin (FBC)—John Sullivan returned to the Florida Baptist Association to say "thank-you" for the association’s role in the founding and nurturing of the Florida Baptist State Convention.

GHANA, West Africa (FBW)—Rising over the dusty African earth, the moon peeks through a blanket of slowly moving clouds, seeming to look over the activity happening below. People are gathering. More come, then more—fanning out from a rustic wooden stage. A small figure emerges on the front of the platform. The energy in the crowd seems to grow as all eyes fix on him. Then a thunderous voice with a twinge of southern accent breaks through the nighttime air.

The idea of the Florida Baptist Convention was born in Georgia. On November 22, 1853, the Florida Baptist Association of churches met at Olive Church in Thomas County, Georgia. A resolution was passed unanimously that stated it was "proper, expedient and practicable to form an association to be styled The Florida Baptist State Convention."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–Two Florida Baptist churches were honored at the second annual C.H. Spurgeon Awards ceremony Oct. 23 at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–The man who led the charge in the 1970s to remove homosexuality from a list of mental disorders now says that those claiming to be "ex-gay" are telling the truth.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–A new book by two Christian authors seeks to help those who look at the homosexual movement in America and ask: "How did we get here?"