For genuine peace

When Jeremy Fischer wanted his high school to teach peace studies, he learned that the only way to achieve his goal was to be persistent and to help others understand why peace was important. This excerpt from Fischer's writings to build support for the course was quoted by Colman McCarthy, founder and director of the Center for Teaching Peace, in an article he wrote about the student's quest, which was ultimately successful:

"Violence is not only physically attacking others but is also leaving the poor unassisted, allowing racism to flourish, and imprisoning those who are most in need of assistance. Pacifism does not seek merely to end all violent international conflicts. It seeks to transform our everyday world into a compassionate family, void of racism, hatred, violence and misunderstanding."

"Peace Studies:
One Student's Victory"
The Washington Post
September 28, 1999

LUNCH WITH GOD

"It helps me to deal with ... my job and the voluminous workload," says Venice Webbe-Cook, a secretary for Broward County, Florida, who spends her lunch hour each Wednesday in Bible study at First Baptist Church in Piney Grove. "I try to stay focused on what you are supposed to be doing for Christ so I can make myself strong...."

Quoted by D. Aileen Dodd
in "Solace at noon: finding God at lunch"
Miami Herald
October 1, 1999

Beautiful people—together

"I'd like to see [whites and blacks] get together in one church instead of all these separate ones," says Randy Milton, recreation director for Clarkston Baptist Church. "But that's going to take some time."

"We seem to accept that, well, it's OK for you church folks to stay segregated and separate," observes senior pastor B. J. Bennett. "But everything else in the world is coming together. And we're going to have to come together. We just got to .... It's very stressful, but the rewards, when it comes together, are beautiful."

Nadirah Z. Sabir
"Longtime Baptist church in Clarkston decides to embrace the world around it" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 11, 1999

To find true beauty

"The turn to aesthetic surgery has certainly not helped to bring into focus the image of God .... Caught up in a round of expensive surgeries, the body comes to be seen not as a gift, but as a project, not as a mystery, but a task.

"...we are fearfully and wonderfully formed in God's image .... But we must always be learning and relearning, not only to love the good as much as we love the beautiful, but to look at the world and one another through the eyes of a creator who lovingly brought forth more forms of beauty than we have yet been able to cherish."

"Fearfully and wonderfully made"
Stephanie Paulsell
The Christian Century
October 13, 1999

Christian "lighthouses" for 2000

Under the leadership of Mission America, The Lighthouse Movement is hoping to bring together three million Christians to serve as "spiritual lighthouses." Their purpose is "to share Christ's light with every man, woman and young person in America by the end of the year 2000." Individuals, families, study groups, or churches can participate by praying for, caring for, and presenting the gospel to neighbors, friends, or acquaintances who do not know Jesus Christ.

Supporters of this program include longtime evangelist Dr. Billy Graham, Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, and Dr. John Perkins of the Christian Community Development Association.