In a state with oil rigs on its state capitol grounds, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma is developing an oil field chaplaincy program. OKLAHOMA CITY (BP) – In a state with oil rigs on its state capitol grounds, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma is developing an oil field chaplaincy program. “There are 60,000-plus people in Oklahoma employed in the oil and gas industry,” said Tom Beddow, who is coordinating the new outreach in conjunction with BGCO chaplaincy specialist Paul Bettis. Wherever there’s an oil and gas field in the state, Beddow said, there is a Baptist church. “And in those churches are men and women who have or are currently working in the oil and gas industry. We want to find them, train them and send them into the community as chaplains,” Beddow said. The mission statement of the new chaplaincy ministry is to be available anytime, anywhere to be a caring and supportive presence in the lives of oil and gas industry personnel and their families. Beddow, in addition to serving on the BGCO staff, has been appointed by the North American Mission Board. He previously served as director of counseling and family ministry at First Baptist Church in McAlester, Okla. Earlier, he owned an … [Read more...]

Inflation didn’t eat away all of the average Southern Baptist pastor’s pay increase over the past two years, but it came close. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Inflation didn’t eat away all of the average Southern Baptist pastor’s pay increase over the past two years, but it came close. That’s one finding of the SBC Church Compensation Study, a survey of 12,854 staff positions in Southern Baptist churches. The survey was conducted by LifeWay Research in cooperation with GuideStone Financial Resources and Baptist state conventions through July 1, 2008. The study also found that almost two-thirds of churches are partially or fully paying for their full-time senior pastor to have medical insurance and that compensation can vary significantly depending on geography, worship attendance and the pastor’s experience and education. All the data acquired by the study has been compiled into a Web-based tool that will help churches as they begin planning staff compensation packages for their 2009 budgets. Adjusting for church size, the average full-time Southern Baptist senior pastor’s compensation (salary and housing) rose 7.26 percent between 2006 and 2008, compared to the compounded 7.01 percent inflation rate for the same period … [Read more...]

When a local utility company in one of southeastern Europe’s Balkan countries shut off electricity to poor neighborhoods this past winter, Southern Baptists stepped in to help. And when those same families had trouble finding food this spring, community leaders knew where to turn. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--When a local utility company in one of southeastern Europe’s Balkan countries shut off electricity to poor neighborhoods this past winter, Southern Baptists stepped in to help. And when those same families had trouble finding food this spring, community leaders knew where to turn. “The situation this past winter was desperate,” said Edward Vaughan*, a Southern Baptist field partner in the area. “Members of the minority group here are severely below the poverty line. Unemployment is very high and families have very little by way of finances. “When many families couldn’t pay their utility bills, the local electric company shut off their power for much of the day,” he added. “With the high temperatures in the low 40s and lows in the 20s – and little or no heat in the home – children were coming to school with frostbite issues. The head of a local school asked if we could help.” An emergency request for $22,220 in relief … [Read more...]