Submitted by philip on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 13:19 The True Love Project continues a 20-year heritage of a movement that first made headlines on the National Mall in 1994. By Aaron Earls, LifeWay Communications NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In July 1994, more than 210,000 cards from teenagers pledging to remain sexually pure were displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In the years that followed, the True Love Waits movement witnessed millions of young people in the U.S. and around the world commit their sexual purity to God. In addition, many who compromised their sexual purity in the past experienced the promise of hope and restoration through Jesus. Twenty years later, building on the deep and rich legacy of True Love Waits, the program is being relaunched through a new resource called The True Love Project, a video-driven Bible study for students written by author and speaker Clayton King. The True Love Project is not simply another Bible study for students on the topic of sex and virginity. Rather, it is a “summons” for the next generation of students to understand their sexuality in light of the gospel, according to Ben Trueblood, director of student ministry at LifeWay Christian Resources, the organization behind … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Press CONGO (BP) – At least five U.S. families have been stuck in the Democratic Republic of Congo since as early as October amidst red tape and questions in the process of adopting children there, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission reported. The DRC has suspended its adoption program and the exit permits of the adopted children there, thereby delaying the exit of the families with finalized adoptions in the war-damaged country where UNICEF counts 800,000 orphans and vulnerable children under age 17. Pray for the families and urge elected officials to intervene to help the families bring their children home, the ERLC urged on its website. “Our hearts ache for these families,” Matthew Hawkins, coalition director for the ERLC, wrote. “In addition to praying for these families and the wisdom of Congolese officials, friends of these families are encouraged to appeal to their respective representatives in the U.S. Congress, educating them on the situation and asking the representatives to encourage the State Department to use every diplomatic effort to bring these families home.” The DRC on Oct. 8, 2013, suspended its adoption program but grandfathered in adoptions approved before Sept. 25 of that … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 13:23 B-Groups are the church’s name for Sunday School and other small group classes. In them, Broadmoor members grow as Christians by studying the Bible together SHREVEPORT – “Plan A” at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport involves “everybody.” They work together in B – Believe, Belong, Become – Groups. It’s a simple concept that came to Pastor Chuck Pourciau in 2011. “For a quarter-century, I experienced the frustration of trying to lead a program-driven church,” Pourciau said. “Trying always to latch onto the latest, greatest church growth/motivational strategy is a futile and fatiguing experience. “About three years ago, the Lord hit me between the eyes with the Great Commission,” said the pastor where about 1,800 people participate in one of seven Sunday morning worship services. “Speaking to all His followers, Jesus commanded them to preach the gospel to all the world. Therefore, doing missions is for every follower of Christ.” Broadmoor Shreveport for years has been among the top givers to missions in Louisiana; regularly it is No. 1. Their goals for seasonal offerings are 0.1 percent of the national or state goal, and often they exceed it. For example, … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 09:45 More than 3,000 pro-life demonstrators marched from the Old to the new State Capitol on Jan. 18 during the 4th annual Louisiana Life March. By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - When one of the State Capitol police officers was asked to estimate the crowd attending the 4th annual Louisiana Life March on Saturday, Jan. 18, he said, between 2,500 and 3,500. “We had a contingency plan for up to 8,000,” the officer said, looking out on the diverse gathering of young and old, African-American and Anglo, Protestant and Catholic, that filled the parking lot and spilled onto the Capitol Park lawn. “Wouldn’t that be something if there were 8,000 here!” quipped a man standing nearby. “Yes it would,” the trooper replied. “Maybe next year,” the man said. The trooper nodded in agreement. The annual march commemorated the 41st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in all 50 states. Several speakers reported that since then, more than 50 million American children have been aborted. While some previous marches were held in cold, dreary conditions, this day was clear and warm. Because the start/finish line for the Louisiana … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 09:47 Twice as many pastors gathered for two days of focused prayer in Atlanta compared to the first such meeting last fall in Dallas, prompting the gathering’s organizer, Ronnie Floyd, to say, “God is up to something special in America.” By Erin Roach, Baptist Press ATLANTA (BP) – Twice as many pastors gathered for two days of focused prayer in Atlanta compared to the first such meeting last fall in Dallas, prompting the gathering’s organizer, Ronnie Floyd, to say, “God is up to something special in America.” “As I leave our prayer gathering, I am convinced more than ever that the Lord is stirring up men of God all across this nation,” Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas, wrote in a blog post. Floyd was greatly encouraged by the turnout for “A Call to Pray for Revival and Awakening”: nearly 400 pastors and other ministers praying together Jan. 13-14 at the Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel. Last fall’s gathering primarily was for senior pastors, and the latest meeting was opened to a broader group. The men were from 180 churches in 28 states as well as various Southern Baptist entities, state conventions and other ministries. “The only answer in the church and … [Read more...]

By Staff, World News Magazine ALBANY, N.Y. – The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed out key parts of New York City’s law requiring pregnancy centers to post signs saying they do not offer abortion referrals. The court ruled this provision is a violation of the centers’ free speech. In striking down the city law’s sign requirement, the 2nd Circuit ruled the law “requires centers to mention controversial services that some pregnancy services centers, such as plaintiffs in this case, oppose.” The ruling continued: “A requirement that pregnancy services centers address abortion, emergency contraception, or prenatal care at the beginning of their contact with potential clients alters the centers’ political speech by mandating the manner in which the discussion of these issues begins. … The centers must be free to formulate their own address.” The court also struck the provision that centers post a sign saying that “the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene encourages women who are or who may be pregnant to consult with a licensed provider.” The court said if the city wanted to get that message across, it could do so through its own ad campaign, not through pregnancy centers. “We think the court was right … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor The conviction of a 60-year-old man for having sex with a pre-teen girl was overturned by Italy’s highest court last fall according to a report by Agence France-Presse. Social worker Pietro Lamberti was sent to prison for five years for his relationship with an 11-year-old girl. The original conviction in 2011 was upheld by an appellate court but now has been overturned by the Italian Supreme Court, which ruled the original court had failed to consider the consensual nature of the relationship, according to AFP. The court ordered a retrial. The high court said consideration should have been given to the “existence of an amorous relationship, the absence of physical force, the girl’s feelings of love,” AFP reported. Russia Today reported that one Supreme Court justice said the sexagenarian and the pre-teen “shared a genuine emotional bond that could justify the carnal union between the two.” It seems the Italian Supreme Court has joined a growing number who are more than willing to acquiesce to the prevailing winds of perversity in regard to adult depravity and child sexuality. Two respected publications have subtly promoted the idea in the past year that adults having sex with pre-teen children … [Read more...]

By David E. Hankins, LBC Executive Director Now that it is over, how do you rate 2013? Are you singing with Sinatra, “It was a very good year”?   We like good years where there is bountiful harvest, good health, memorable experiences with family and friends, and a general sense of peace and satisfaction. Those are the years we remember with fondness. We get out the photos or pop in the DVD and enjoy once again the pleasant times. Then… there are those “other” years –  the ones marked by loss and hardship and conflict. We pack the artifacts of bad years in a box tied with strong twine, and shove it in a corner of life’s attic, hoping to never look at it again. The biblical man Noah lived a long time and also long time ago. Across his lengthy lifespan, he probably had a wide admixture of annual experiences. There were years that were good, bad, mediocre, exhilarating, frightening, happy, sad, mundane, forgettable- -the whole gamut. But his 600th year was catastrophic – a life-changing, earth-shattering, epoch-making, never-to-be-repeated calamity. It was the year of the deluge-the great flood. He had been warned it would come and told how to prepare. But it was still catastrophic. The Bible’s description of the flood’s … [Read more...]

By Gary Ledbetter, Editor of The Texan Last month’s federal district court decision out of Utah that struck down part of the state’s anti-polygamy law prompted much talk about slippery slopes. Clearly this is another shoe dropping from earlier decisions against the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act and even the Lawrence v. Texas decision, which declared anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional. It really is hard to imagine how such decisions, which blur the definitions of morality and marriage, will have no catastrophic consequences. In fact, there is little doubt that advocates of minority morals are counting on the slope being slippery. Remember when the Boy Scouts of America decided to abandon a national ban on openly homosexual scouts but did not go so far as to accept homosexual scout leaders? Protesters and advocates who pushed for homosexual rights responded by saying this is only the first step. And we agreed with them. Those who favor public endorsement of licentiousness have taken encouragement from the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military, from the growing number of states that now recognize same-sex marriages and from cases where private businesses have been punished for their private refusal to participate in … [Read more...]

To the Editor Has a policy been issued or a revised interpretation of scripture been developed which says that rededication is no longer appropriate or politically correct? Has this personal act of surrender become a victim of the “reculturalization” of our churches? As Christians we can each go into our bedroom, our closet, or our automobile and rededicate our lives to God. It would have the same validity as a public rededication. What it would not have is the visual, physical, and social support from our fellow Christians who become not only our mentors but also our monitors. Christianity is both a personal and a corporate responsibility. Personal in that we alone have the freedom to choose salvation. Corporate, in that we depend upon our church leadership to provide an environment that fosters the enabling of our conversion as well as the development, maturation and maintenance of our Christian life. Sometime ago I asked a minister “How is Christianity measured”? He had no answer. However, I fully believe that each one of us knows exactly the level of our tank concerning our Christianity. We know both spiritually and intuitively. The indicators are practically unlimited and include our thoughts, speech, physical actions, … [Read more...]