College launches Pressler law school
Louisiana College has announced the creation of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law, with classes slated to begin in 2009. To address judicial activism and the erosion of religious liberty, Joe Aguillard, the college’s president, said the Pressler School of Law will produce attorneys who will be Christian advocates in everyday life and practice as well as in the realm of politics. The initial cost of the law school, Aguillard said, would be $15-$20 million. Aguillard cited the Texas jurist’s longtime career and his prominent role in Southern Baptist life among the reasons the law school is being named after him. Pressler, a Houston native, earned his jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas Law School in 1957 and while in law school was elected to the Texas legislature. He was appointed judge of the 133rd Judicial District Court by Gov. Preston Smith in 1970, followed in 1978 by an appointment as justice of the Court of Appeals of Texas, 14th Supreme Judicial Court, by Gov. Dolph Briscoe. He is now retired.
Former N.C. leader pleads guilty
Coy Privette, a former president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, pleaded guilty to six charges of aiding and abetting prostitution Aug. 22 in Salisbury, N.C. Privette, former chairman of the trustees at Southeastern Baptist Seminary, received “deferred prosecution,” which means his criminal record will remain clear if he completes 48 hours of community service, serves a year of probation, gets counseling and pays court costs, the Charlotte Observer reported. Investigators had records from two Salisbury hotels where Privette had stayed under his own name six times in May and June, the Observer said. Security tape images showed Privette and his accuser in the same hotels on the same days. In addition to being a former executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina and a former Republican state legislator, Privette has been a Cabarrus County commissioner since 1998.
Taliban releases 12 S. Korean hostages
Taliban militants released 12 of 19 South Korean Christian hostages Aug. 19 in the wake of an agreement reached with the South Korean government. The South Korean Christians had gone to Afghanistan as part of a 23-member mission trip sponsored by Saemmul Presbyterian Church just outside Seoul, but on July 19 their bus was stopped and they were kidnapped by Taliban militants. The Taliban killed two of the members and then released two others. On Aug. 28, South Korean officials announced they had reached an agreement to allow for the release of the remaining 19 hostages. South Korea pledged to keep its promise to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan – something it previously had announced it would do – and also to ban South Korean Christian missionaries from going to Afghanistan. Southern Baptist leaders expressed mixed feelings about the deal. “I am delighted that they are being released,” SBC president Frank Page told Baptist Press. “But I am saddened about some of the conditions for the release. I had encouraged the Koreans not to negotiate with terrorists, and had hoped that they would be released out of sheer human kindness and/or military intervention. While the statement is made that missionary work will stop, God’s work will not stop in Afghanistan.”
SBC volunteers help flooded areas
More than 570 disaster relief volunteers from the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention and eight other states, including South Carolina, are working long hours to aid victims affected by recent flooding in southeast Minnesota. And in response to Aug. 21 flooding in Ohio, up to 80 disaster relief teams from across the Southern Baptist Convention were on standby to arrive as early as Aug. 30. The Minnesota disaster relief activities are based in Winona, a town of some 27,000 located along the Mississippi River, about two hours southeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Officials estimate that as many as 2,000 homes in and around Winona have been impacted. “Southern Baptists everywhere need to pray for these people in Minnesota and Wisconsin,” said Dave Wedekind, who, along with wife Jeanne, serve as co-directors of disaster relief for the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention.