ustxtxb_obs_1998_07_03_50_00032-00000_000.pdf

THE BACK PAGE July 1, AD. 1998 B 1<: *Aar\( la co u benticat I want to thank all 8,300 of you for attending our annual Southern Baptist Convention this yee never could ear in Salt Lake City, Utah. What a truly special group! Without all of your dedication and hard work, w have succeeded in passing such an ambitious and proactive platforms. I know if our Lord Jesus Christ were Dear Friends, Some of you were worried that the reason we adopted a plan this year to reach out to Mormons was be assing a big p with us today, 'He would give each and every one of you on the back. cause our 1996 mission to ert people of the *Jewish faith had failed. On the contrary! Those of you who had the opportunity Co to meet delegate Mort Steinsaltz, from Holland, Michigan, know how successful to that program has been. \(Mort is not, as I heard one person complaining, "the only darnjew we m anaged convert:' but r Also, I want to remind one and all what a tremendous accomplishment it was to approve such a pro family platform. I know everyone was as excited as I was about our resolution stating that wives must submit to their husban a ds. As my own helpmeet, Patricia, told more than one secular reporter, submission is not Now, it may have been a let-down that some of the other Back-to-the-Bible proposals did not s ucceed. Many of you worked long and hard to require the use of stone tablets instead of pper, and many more pushed extra hard for a r eturn to the cubit s ystem of measurement. Still others were in favor of the kneea four-letter word! high leather sandals proposal, introduced byjerry Longworth of Cedars, Kan.sas. \(They sure looked great atience is all part oung pastor from Waco who provided the Biblical justification for phonics inspired many to support his m otion to put a phonetically-spelled version of the New Testament in every When those programs did not pass, some of you went home a little disappointed. But p In the meantime, please keep the members of the Men's and Women's Missions in your prayers. The motel room. . of God's game plan, and I e xpect these ideas will be back next year Missionaries' Send-off Breakfast is always one o the most special parts of the convention, and this year was no exception: what better way CO reaffirm the relevance of Christ in today's wo rld? I know that the men of our Armed Fellowship Brigades will make a difference in our violence-stricken schoolyards. And last night I had the good fortune to talk to Tom Henderson of St. Louis. Tom's wife, Ruthie, is leading this year's International Women's Mission, which will hold a s eries of c offee hours along the India-Pakistan border. Tom reported that the ladies have arrived s afely, and that Ruthies lemon poppyseed cake is already a big I look forward to s eeing you at next year's convention and awaiting the Rapture in 2000. hit. It sure sounds as if God has seen our ladies off to a good start. Yours for the Father, Reverend Paige PetetS011.