Baptism site at Jordan River now open
Israel opened the traditional baptism site of Jesus to daily visits July 12, a move that required the cooperation of Israel’s military and the removal of nearby mines in the West Bank along the border with Jordan, according to the Associated Press. The location is where many believe John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River. Until now, it was opened several times a year in coordination with the Israeli military, but because of its sensitive location, it had not been regularly open to the public since Israel captured the site from Jordan, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 Mideast war.
Platt selects new Secret Church topic
A change in topic has been announced for the next Secret Church gathering and simulcast led by David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala. The new topic will be “Family, Marriage, Sex, and the Gospel” for the Nov. 4 event instead of the previously announced “Heaven, Hell, and the End of the World.” The Secret Church session and simulcast will be from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, Nov. 4. For information about the simulcast in cooperation with LifeWay Christian Resources, visit http://www2.lifeway.com/secretchurch/?CID=RDR-SecretChurch.
CP slightly below last year’s pace
Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee are .36 percent below the same time frame last year. As of June 30, gifts received by the Executive Committee for distribution through the Cooperative Program allocation budget totaled $144,994,409.71, or $526,010.70 behind the $145,520,420.41 received at the end of June 2010. Designated giving of $168,099,359.68 for the same year-to-date period is 2.82 percent, or $4,873,054.62, below gifts of $172,972,414.30 received at this point last year.
Official tally: SBC registration 4,852
SBC registration secretary Jim Wells has released official registration figures for the 2011 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix. A total of 4,852 messengers were sent by 2,158 churches from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Only North Dakota and Rhode Island had no registered messengers. The registered messenger count was down 56.19 percent from 2010’s 11,075 messengers sent to Orlando and was the lowest-attended annual meeting in 67 years. Tennessee had the largest number of messengers, with 389. South Carolina sent 106 messengers. Two of every three messengers were 50 years of age or older.
LifeWay acquires Bible study resource
LifeWay Christian Resources has acquired the WORDsearch and QuickVerse brands of Bible software resources. WORDsearch Corp., based in Austin, Texas, offers more than 4,200 volumes of electronic books for pastors, teachers and laypeople through its WORDsearch, Bible Explorer, LESSONmaker, WORDsearchToGo and InstaVerse software products. WORDsearch and QuickVerse (www.QuickVerse.com) software simplifies biblical research, allowing a user to view multiple reference materials including Bibles, dictionaries, commentaries and encyclopedias side-by-side on the user’s computer screen. Other QuickVerse software products include SermonBuilder, which provides quick access to thousands of Bible-related stories, quotes and anecdotes and various biblical language tools, sermons and stories.