By Pat Ennis FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) - A blond-headed, blue-eyed daughter, I looked like the perfect blend of my mother and father. As others commented on the likeness, my parents smiled inwardly knowing that it was their heavenly Father who had chosen the custom matching of their adopted daughter as He had "made a home for the lonely" (Psalm 68:6 NASB), or as the King James Version puts it, "God setteth the solitary in families." Oliver and Mary Ennis were older when they commenced the adoption process and were willing to commit to nurturing a child. Eventually they welcomed an abandoned child with pneumonia to their home. She had lain so long on her back that the back of her head was bald. I was that abandoned child. Many children spend many years with one or both parents. My parents knew they likely wouldn't enjoy the normal number, so they maximized each to its fullest. Celebrations were important in the Ennis home. I recall well the January 31st when I arrived at home and found the dining room table set with Mom's best linen and china. Lying across my bed was a new "fancy" dress, and my favorite black patent leather shoes were awaiting my feet. I was 10. Without giving extensive details -- my parents explained … [Read more...]
SANCTITY OF LIFE: Making a difference
By Melanie Lenow Sunday, Jan. 17, is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention. FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- It was the beginning of the summer when I first heard of the horrendous videos about Planned Parenthood. For months, I would see them posted and mourn for the children affected, for the moms who were so grievously deceived. I would cry for the atrocities and then my mind would go to the facility that is literally across the street from the hospital where my own children were born. It grieved me that on the days when I gave my children life, the lives of other babies were being brutally taken away. Finally, I realized that my mourning, although justified, was doing nothing to save any children. It was at that moment when I began praying that God would give me direction in how I could help my community be a city of life and not death. God places each believer in a particular location, not for them to hide their light in the security of their own home, but so they can greatly affect those around them. A city where there are Christians should be better off for it. However, the problems seem too big, so many of us stay silent, frozen by lack of direction. At the end of this summer, God placed … [Read more...]
First New Orleans’ David Crosby among those named to ERLC Leadership Council
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) - The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has unveiled its new Leadership Council. The 43 Southern Baptist pastors and leaders who were announced Thursday (Jan. 14) will serve as the advisory council for the entity's Leadership Network in 2016. The ERLC launched the network and its advisory council in 2014. Each January, the entity names a new list of council members, most of whom serve for one year. The Leadership Network is open to men and women who seek to identify with the ERLC's Gospel-focused approach to cultural issues in their roles as pastors, leaders or laypeople. Council members - all who are serving or have served in pastoral ministry - will receive equipping from the ERLC staff and give guidance to the network. They also may provide content for the entity's website. ERLC President Russell Moore said he is "thrilled to welcome this group of Gospel-focused, innovative band of pastors and leaders" to the council. "As we come alongside one another, we'll talk about crucial ethical issues confronting churches and how we can engage with a Gospel-focus in the culture and in the public square," Moore said in a written release. "We'll think … [Read more...]
Decision America Tour not just about a nation, but a generation
By Cicely Gosier, BGEA Communications BATON ROUGE -- Franklin Graham has never been tight-lipped about his age. “I was born in 1952, grew up in the ’60s and ’70s, started my ministry in the ’80s. I’ve had a good life,” he said at the Decision America Tour rally in Baton Rouge on Wednesday. Yet, even with decades between him and some of the attendees at the latest Decision America prayer rally, a connection resonated. “I look at my grandchildren. They’re not going to have the same country that I grew up in,” Franklin said. “That’s why I’m doing this tour. “… My father, when he went to school, they still had the Ten Commandments on the wall. The teachers still led the Lord’s Prayer with the entire class. They still said the Pledge of Allegiance,” he later added. “Now this is gone.” That reality is driving much of the passion behind Decision America. Baton Rouge marked the third stop on the 50-state tour urging Christians to live out their faith and pray for our nation. Passing the Torch Local resident Linda Clark is a home-school teacher and brought her eight highschoolers. Clark doesn’t typically follow Franklin Graham or the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. She simply saw a post from a friend on … [Read more...]
Georgia Barnette Conference Center on pace to open in two months
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – Louisiana Baptist leaders are optimistic the new Georgia Barnette Conference Center will open its door in two months, more than two years after the first dollars were donated for its construction. But for that to happen, favorable weather conditions and additional volunteers are needed. “We are so thankful for all the people who have volunteered so far,” said Julia Parker, volunteer coordinator for Louisiana Baptists. “We still have much work to be done but we need help. We are constantly looking for volunteers. If you could please come and help us, volunteer, we would appreciate it.” Once complete, the 8,400-square-foot center on the grounds of Tall Timbers Conference Center in Woodworth will have six small group rooms and a large auditorium that can be arranged for up to 600 participants. Also included will be a state-of-the-art sound system and lighting. With the exception of professional contractors who poured the concrete slab June 29, work on the project has been comprised entirely of volunteers, including a group comprised of volunteers from the Louisiana Baptist Building, Louisiana Baptist Foundation and Baptist Message who pitched in to help Jan. … [Read more...]
Sunday school in modern times
NY court: Farmers can’t obey their faith even in their own backyard
By Staff, Alliance Defending Freedom ALBANY, N.Y. – A New York court Thursday affirmed a Division of Human Rights ruling against an upstate couple for declining to coordinate a same-sex wedding ceremony in their own backyard. “All Americans should be free to live and work according to their beliefs, especially in our own backyards,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton, who argued before the court on behalf of the couple in Gifford v. Erwin. “The government went after both this couple’s freedom and their ability to make a living simply for adhering to their faith on their own property. The court should have rejected this unwarranted and unconstitutional government intrusion, so we will consult with our client regarding appeal.” Robert and Cynthia Gifford live in a barn they built on their farm and have occasionally hosted weddings on the first floor and the surrounding backyard area. Cynthia serves as a wedding coordinator for those events and does everything but officiate the ceremony. After the agency ruled that the Giffords were guilty of “sexual orientation discrimination,” it fined them $10,000 plus $3,000 in damages and ordered them to implement re-education training classes designed to … [Read more...]
His Kingdom will have no end
What the Powerball tells us about ourselves
By Waylon Bailey, Pastor, First Baptist Church Covington COVINGTON – I’m writing this on Wednesday afternoon so I don’t know what happened late last night with the Powerball drawing. Eventually, someone is going to win. Until that happens Americans will continue to throw their money after the big prize. You probably know all the particulars. The country is in a frenzy over the giveaway of $1.5 billion. I read an article this morning about the odds of winning the Powerball. It’s one in 292+ million– –not very good odds. If you want a fascinating look at these enormous odds, click here: http://graphics.wsj.com/lottery-odds/ People in the six states without the Powerball jackpot–Alabama, Alaska, Hiwaii, Mississippi, Nevada, and Utah–are clamoring to be included. Their lawmakers are really complaining. They want the opportunity to spend more money–other people’s money. What does this tell us about ourselves? First, it tells us that we think only about ourselves. As we look at life, we live it as “it’s all about me.” Jesus warned us about thinking this way. By doing so, we miss what our Creator planned for us. Second, it tells us money is everything to us. When will we learn that a person’s life doesn’t consist in the … [Read more...]
WMU Exec. Director Wanda Lee announces retirement
By Julie Walters, WMU communications BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) - Wanda Lee announced a search committee will be appointed to seek her successor as executive director/treasurer of national Woman's Missionary Union at the group's board meeting, Jan. 9-11. During the meeting, WMU also heard mission reports and addressed ways it is assisting International Mission Board personnel who have elected to take a voluntary retirement incentive. The meeting was at Shocco Springs Conference Center in Talladega, Ala. In her report, Lee said no date has been set for her departure. She pledged to continue to lead WMU until a new executive director is named and help facilitate a smooth transition. "It is my duty to give sufficient notice and it's my desire to ensure a seamless transition as the committee seeks someone with a fresh vision for our future," Lee shared Jan. 11 at the meeting. "May God bless the new leader of national WMU as He's blessed me on my leadership journey." Lee was elected executive director of national WMU in January 2000. She is the only woman in the history of WMU who also served as national president, an office she held 1996–2000. Lee served as president of Georgia WMU from 1993–1996. In addition, she and her … [Read more...]
