The room seats only 120 folk. So, if you are attending CBF or the American Baptist Churches meeting, come early. Come ready for good discussion of BCE's latest initiative in moral education and activation.

As our long-standing supporters know, BCE is committed to using the best of available and affordable technology to advance a biblically faithful moral agenda.

BCE was one of the early goodwill Baptist organizations to launch a dynamic Web site under the name www.baptists4ethics.com. We renamed it www.ethicsdaily.com for simplicity and accuracy when we decided to begin posting fresh, daily content—news stories, columns, movie reviews and other material. We knew Baptist newspaper circulation was declining rapidly and that weekly or bi-weekly papers were failing to keep up with the 24/7 information society. We knew paper readership was aging, and younger Baptists would get their information from the Net. 

Our site is now one of the flagship sites for goodwill Baptists, read literally by Baptists around the world.

Now, we have another technological innovation within the Baptist world. We are posting videos online and producing video shorts.  We've also begun to produce DVDs, two of which we want to introduce to attendees at the CBF meeting this week.

If you care about global poverty, attend the first screening from 9 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. on Friday morning.

We will preview "Always ... Therefore: The Church's Challenge of Global Poverty." It is a 28-minute DVD that examines what goodwill Baptists are doing together around the world to address hunger issues, with a special focus on Baptist World Aid. Paul Montacute, director, Baptist World Aid, and Brent McDougal, coordinator of the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, will serve on a panel to discuss the DVD and ways Baptists can work together.

"Always…Therefore" has an online, four-part study guide. It has a Bible study designed for churches that think global poverty is a frontline moral issue, which Christians have a moral imperative to address.

A limited number of DVDs will be available for purchase at a discounted price.

If you care about faith and politics, attend the second screening from 10:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.

We will preview "Golden Rule Politics: Reclaiming the Rightful Role of Faith in Politics." Panel leaders are two of the film's major interviewees: John Baker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Columbia, Mo., and Judy Baker, a Missouri state representative.

The DVD offers an antidote to the prevailing cultural myth that GOP stands for "God's Only Party." It challenges the political myth created over 25 years that the Republican Party is the moral party, the party of divine favor.

Rooted in the theological conviction that God is neither a Democrat nor a Republican, that neither political party is thoroughly moral nor completely immoral, the DVD explores the question of "What is the rightful role of faith in politics?" through interviews with clergy and politicians in Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee.

If you believe that the Christian faith in politics is about more than tax cuts for the rich, gay marriage, state-sponsored prayer in public schools and intelligent design, then this DVD is for you.

Both DVD screenings are in the Washington Convention Center. Check your programs for the exact location.

See you Friday.

Robert Parham is the executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics.

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