Short Spots                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                  Vol. XV, No. 9, October 2002

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention still growing: A check with the SBTC on 17 September found that the conservative Texas convention continues to grow with a total of 1170 affiliated churches. Applications arrive at an average of two requests every three days. There are a total of some 5,000 Southern Baptist churches in the state. [Staff]

SBC Giving: After 11 months of the SBC fiscal year, year-to date Cooperative Program giving is 4.58% ahead of last year. August CP donations were 9.64% above gifts for August 2001. Designated gifts for the first 11 months are just about even with last year, having increased only 0.09%. State and regional conventions retain a percentage of Cooperative Program contributions they receive from the churches to support work in their areas and send the remaining funds to the Executive Committee for national and international ministries. The percentage of distribution is at the discretion of each state convention. The two state conventions which give the largest percentages to the SBC are the new conservative conventions in Texas, the SBTC, at 51% and in Virginia, the SBCV, at 50%. [BP]

Patterson's 1 Corinthians book to be re-released in October: The Troubled Triumphant Church, a pastoral and homiletical commentary on 1 Corinthians by Paige Patterson, is headed toward its fifth printing. Wipf and Stock will publish the book which will be available in October through Southeastern's website (www.sebts.edu). "I am pleased that people seem to want the book," Patterson said. "I suspect that whatever demand is there arises from the acute difficulties and the incredible opportunities that seem to exist in local churches today -- much trouble and ultimate triumph." [BP]

Southeastern church-planting in New Hampshire: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is well on the way to fulfilling a commitment to plant 50 churches in New Hampshire by the year 2007. The church-planting successes are largely due to the seminary's North American two-plus-two program that enables students to begin planting churches while earning a degree. Students in that program study on the Wake Forest, NC, campus for two years, then finish their degree by attending biannual seminars throughout their stint as church planters. Since 1997, Southeastern students have helped plant 32 churches in New Hampshire, a state where less than 20 percent of the population attends church on a regular basis. [BP]

Evangelicals are happier than others: Evangelicals are the most conservative, most satisfied, most spiritually inclined, and least stressed of all U.S. adults, according to a poll by the Barna Research Group, while those who claim to be atheists and agnostics are more stressed out, more lonely and less satisfied with their lives. "The more deeply committed a person is to evangelical Christianity, the more at ease they report being with their life circumstances," said George Barna of the California-based research organization. "On the other hand, individuals who are indifferent or hostile to all faith systems are notably less relaxed and fulfilled with life." The study found that just less than 7% of the respondents claimed to be evangelical Christians, and of that 7%, 99% said they were "happy." [BP]