• 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
• Latest Stories...

RSS News Feed

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Officers who hail from Florida, California and Missouri were elected as the 2004-05 officers of Southern Baptist Convention during the SBC’s June 15-16 annual meeting in Indianapolis. A total of 8,600 messengers, 545 from Florida, were registered to the meeting, which took place at the Indiana Convention Center RCA Dome.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Southern Baptist messengers passed a recommendation June 15 asking New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees to adopt the corporate organizational model known as sole membership.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting voted overwhelmingly July 15 to withdraw from the Baptist World Alliance.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—A proposed study committee to consider changing the name of the Southern Baptist Convention proved controversial when the idea came to the floor of the SBC annual meeting June 15 in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Messengers to the 2004 Southern Baptist Convention called for increased Christian influence on American culture, but stopped short of issuing a declaration against public school education in resolutions adopted June 16.

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.

I began a series of doctrinal studies this past January with the firm conviction that all Florida Baptists need to know what they believe. I think every congregation ought to be a “mini-seminary” and provide an understanding of Baptist doctrines to their members.

For those who harbor a deep affinity for the Puritans, John Flavel (1630-1691) is most certainly on the short list of favorites. He was the eldest son of Richard Flavel, a Gospel minister, who had a profound impact on John in the areas of reading and biblical studies. John Flavel excelled as a student at Oxford University, and was ordained to the ministry on October 17, 1650. Throughout his years as a pastor, John Flavel exemplified practical wisdom, a fervent prayer life (both privately and publicly), and a thorough grasp on the theological controversies of his day. Perhaps the greatest tribute paid to him in biographical works is that he was a man who loved his people, speaking the truth to them in love, and was therefore loved by his people in return.

The late, revered President Ronald Reagan is being enlisted in an all-out campaign to lift President Bush’s restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research. Even before President Reagan died on June 5, fifty-eight U.S. senators signed a letter asking President Bush to remove those restrictions. Now many of those senators, from Democrat Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) to Republican Orrin Hatch (Utah), are pointing to Reagan’s long illness and death as the perfect justification for why such research is needed.

INDIANAPOLIS (FBW)—Florida Baptists attending the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 15-16 in Indianapolis overwhelmingly expressed approval of the new SBC president, Floridian Bobby Welch, who is also pastor, First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach—and for the meeting in Florida’s partnership state.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—A sense of urgency for evangelism is topmost in the mind of the Southern Baptist Convention’s newly elected president, Bobby Welch.

INDIANAPOLIS (FBW)—Invited to offer a prayer of blessing for newly elected SBC President Bobby Welch at a June 15 reception, J.D. Grant asked for the assistance of his wife, Judy, and their 12-year-old grandson, Dylan Haynes. Grant was the first to urge Welch to consider running for president in 2002 during the St. Louis annual meeting, having worked with Welch when they both served as trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources. Grant, pastor of Calvary Road Baptist Church in Waynesville, N.C., read the following prayer, written by Judy and Dylan, to the amusement of the audience, before offering a more serious, extemporaneous appeal on Welch’s behalf.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Southern Baptists know their priority is to fulfill the Great Commission, stated Texas pastor Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church of Plano in his final address as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Graham, elected president of the 16-million member denomination in 2002, spoke during the first session, June 15, of the two-day SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—California pastor Rob Zinn was elected chairman of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee during its meeting June 14 prior to the SBC annual meeting.