More states promise larger CP gifts
More state conventions are committed to sending a larger share of Cooperative Program dollars to Southern Baptist causes worldwide by reducing the portion they keep for ministry within the state. Sixteen of the 41 state conventions and fellowships – including the South Carolina Baptist Convention – will increase the percentage of CP dollars sent beyond their states in 2011, most of them making the change at a time when their own in-state budgets were cut. Only eight state bodies increased their own budgets for next year, a half-dozen kept them flat, and the majority made cuts as extreme as 13.6 percent for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The $29.54 million SCBC budget approved for 2011 represents a reduction of more than 8 percent from the 2010 budget, while increasing from 40.44 percent to 41 percent the portion of receipts that will be forwarded to the SBC for national and international missions and ministries.
‘Narnia’ website aids pastors
NarniaFaith.com is a website where pastors can find sermon outlines, study guides and clips from “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” the third movie installment from C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia.” The website has a section dedicated to learning about the film and story, including information about the book’s adaptation to film and insight into Lewis’ life. There is a film trailer and images from the production. In the section set aside for teaching, visitors will find a collection of sermon outlines, study guides and youth materials created by noted pastors and Christian organizations, including a sermon by Luis Palau. Also included is a study guide on the life and works of Lewis, how to talk to children about Narnia, and other resources intended to help ministry professionals worldwide connect to the lessons and themes of the story.
‘Courageous’ movie to open Sept. 2011
“Courageous,” the next film from the makers of “Fireproof” and “Facing the Giants,” will be released Sept. 30, 2011, according to its distributor. Principal filming for the new movie concluded in June, and officials with Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. – which made the film – are putting the final touches on it. The 10-month window between now and the release will allow the film’s distributor, Provident Films, to show the movie to Christian leaders and build momentum for it, as happened with Fireproof. “Courageous” will follow the story of four police officers and their attempt to be better fathers. Its budget of around $1 million is twice that of “Fireproof,” the top independent film of 2008.
Theologian Roger Nicole dies in Fla. at 95
Renowned theologian Roger Nicole, a leading light on the doctrines of inerrancy and Christ’s atonement, died Dec. 11, a day after his 95th birthday. Born Dec. 10, 1915, in Charlottenburg, Germany, Nicole was the son of a pastor and lived in Switzerland most of his childhood. In 1986, after 41 years as a professor of theology at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Nicole and his wife Annette retired to Orlando, Fla., where he served as an emeritus professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.
3 vice presidents among NAMB retirees
Two longtime North American Mission Board vice presidents have announced they will take the voluntary retirement offer NAMB has extended to all staff members age 54 and older who have at least five years of service. Richard Harris, vice president of the Sending Missionaries Group and NAMB’s interim president from August 2009 until mid-September 2010, and Harry Lewis, vice president of partnership missions and mobilization, will retire Dec. 31. David Meacham, NAMB’s vice president of associational strategies, retired Oct. 31. The three will leave the mission board with legacies that span decades and with plans to continue their ministries in other areas for years to come.
Church’s ‘Grinch Alert’ garners spotlight
GrinchAlert.com is giving consumers an opportunity to register their compliments or complaints about which seasonal greeting they see or hear at stores or in their advertising. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, announced the website’s launch Dec. 6. GrinchAlert.com’s tabs allow the public to submit reports for the “nice” list of businesses that use “Merry Christmas” alongside those that employ “Happy Holidays” for the “naughty” list. “I realize we live in a pluralistic society, where everyone doesn’t recognize the spiritual value of Christmas the way Christians understand it,” Jeffress said. “But the world as a whole does recognize the significance of the coming of Christ,” he continued, noting that the world’s calendar is based on the birth of Christ. “That’s one reason why Christmas is a unique season and deserves everyone’s recognition.”
Post-tsunami, water filters help save lives
Fifty families in a coastal village of Myanmar (Burma) were struggling to survive without drinking water after a 10-foot tsunami swept away their homes this fall. A Southern Baptist Disaster Relief assessment team discovered the families were not being helped by any agency, and water filters were rushed to the scene to prevent loss of life from waterborne disease. The water filters were available because of generous donations to the World Hunger Fund, said Ben Wolf, who with his wife Pam directs work in the Asia Rim for Baptist Global Response. “If it wasn’t for people who care about people in need, we wouldn’t have the resources on hand to meet a crucial need like this. People would have died without the opportunity to know about and experience the love of God,” Wolf said. “Please pray that the recipients of the filters will see this met need as a sign that there is a God who loves them and wants to give them a bigger and better gift.”