STATEWIDE – Many churches of various sizes are taking advantage of the summer months to offer a large number and variety of missions opportunities throughout  Louisiana as well as other states and countries during the summer months. n GAs of Kingsville Baptist Pineville recently raised $1,550 for six water purification filters for Pure Water Pure Love, a WMU missions response started in 1987 to help provide people in third-world nations with a pure source of water. n Pisgah Baptist Bernice has set July 7-11 as the date for a Houma Mission Trip where they will be  working with Montegut Baptist doing light construction and youth rallies. Jerry Dark, pastor. n Students of The Edge Student Ministry of First Baptist Blanchard are preparing for the Brownsville Mission Trip set for Friday, June 6 through Saturday, June 14. Lonnie Hill, student minister; James Hill, pastor. n Pine Grove Baptist, Ruby, is preparing for a Dominican Republic mission trip July 14-24 with a fundraiser auction, 9 a.m. Saturday, May 31. n The June Mission Emphasis, “Emmanuel loves…” at Emmanuel Baptist Alexandria is participating in numerous mission projects during the month of June. These include preparing and serving food at the local Manna … [Read more...]

If your family is like many families in America, you may have abandoned your family’s legacy of the family dinner hour. If your family is like many families in America, you may have abandoned your family’s legacy of the family dinner hour. We knew that time of day was important for our mothers; now society is learning just why it was so important. When families eat dinner together, family members benefit from better nutrition and are more likely to engage in positive behaviors.  We could blame the convenience of microwaves or inconsiderate coaches for the demise of the traditional family dinner hour. But long hours at work, last-minute errands, extracurricular activities, the Internet, and the television all contribute to keeping families from having a calm hour around the dinner table. Yet there are plenty of good reasons for us to work at rearranging our lives to make sure we sit down as a family more often.  Young people who frequently eat dinner with their family are more successful in school and less likely to drink alcohol and use tobacco or marijuana than their peers that rarely sit down for a family meal, according to a study reported in the 2003 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.  While … [Read more...]

Planned Parenthood Federation of America – known far better for terminating motherhood than for promoting it – nonetheless found a way to turn Mother’s Day into an excuse for fundraising.  WASHINGTON (BP) – Planned Parenthood Federation of America – known far better for terminating motherhood than for promoting it – nonetheless found a way to turn Mother’s Day into an excuse for fundraising. The country’s leading abortion chain, which performed nearly 290,000 abortions in 2006, observed Mother’s Day by asking for donations in honor of mothers in the days surrounding May 11. Under the homepage heading “Planned Parenthood Celebrates Mother’s Day,” PPFA told visitors to its website they could make “a gift in honor of your mother or someone else you love this Mother’s Day.” A link took visitors to a form on the website for credit card donations. The form included a space for the name of the person in whose honor or memory the gift was to be given. It also enabled the donor to include a person to whom a Mother’s Day card could be sent from PPFA. “For Planned Parenthood to ask for ‘Mother’s Day Gifts’ is beyond appalling,” said Janet Morana, co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness campaign, in a written statement. … [Read more...]

High rates of divorce and unmarried childbearing cost U.S. taxpayers at least $112 billion each year, making marriage enrichment a legitimate policy concern, a first-of-its-kind study sponsored by four public policy and research groups said.  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – High rates of divorce and unmarried childbearing cost U.S. taxpayers at least $112 billion each year, making marriage enrichment a legitimate policy concern, a first-of-its-kind study sponsored by four public policy and research groups said. “These costs are due to increased taxpayer expenditures for anti-poverty, criminal justice and education programs, and through lower levels of taxes paid by individuals whose adult productivity has been negatively affected by increased childhood poverty caused by family fragmentation,” Ben Scafidi, the lead researcher and an economics professor at Georgia College & State University, said. “Prior research shows that marriage lifts single mothers out of poverty and therefore reduces the need for costly social benefits,” Scafidi added. “This new report shows that public concern about the decline of marriage need not be based only on ‘moral’ concerns, but that reducing high taxpayer costs of family fragmentation is a … [Read more...]

For years, conservatives have bemoaned the fact that California is a sort of cultural trend-setter – setting trends that eventually spread east and reverberate nationally. SAN FRANCISCO (BP) – For years, conservatives have bemoaned the fact that California is a sort of cultural trend-setter – setting trends that eventually spread east and reverberate nationally. It helped spark the sexual revolution, adopted the nation’s first no-fault divorce law and helped launch the modern-day “gay rights” movement. And while it has broken ground that both conservatives and liberals can applaud – it, for instance, was the first to overturn bans on interracial marriage – few conservatives were celebrating May 15 when the California Supreme Court, by a slim 4-3 margin, ordered the state to legalize “gay marriage.” California’s high court isn’t the first to hand down such a ruling – Massachusetts’ court owns that distinction – but its impact has the potential to be far more significant, for at least four reasons: The decision was issued in the nation’s most populous state; the court is one of the most, if not the most, influential high courts in the country; the justices placed sexual “orientation” alongside race, sex and religion in … [Read more...]

Sen. John McCain’s recent global warming speech assured Americans of one thing, a skeptical scientist says – no major presidential candidate in 2008 will challenge prevailing assumptions. WASHINGTON (BP) – Sen. John McCain’s recent global warming speech assured Americans of one thing, a skeptical scientist says – no major presidential candidate in 2008 will challenge prevailing assumptions. The May 12 address by the presumptive Republican Party nominee “made it clear that there will be no presidential candidate this year willing to question the assertion that [climate change] is manmade, or the assertion that we can fix global warming by passing a few laws,” wrote Roy Spencer, a research scientist at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and an evangelical Christian, in a commentary for National Review Online. The scientific evidence for human-induced global warming is questionable, and the ability to do anything about it could seriously harm economic growth, he said. “So, here we are with bad science ready to support bad policy decisions that will lead to bad economic times ahead, and no presidential candidate who is willing to ask the hard questions,” Spencer wrote. In his speech, McCain proposed a “cap-and-trade … [Read more...]

The food crisis in southern Africa is deepening and Southern Baptist workers in Zimbabwe are calling for prayer that God will intervene.  HARARE, Zimbabwe (BP) – The food crisis in southern Africa is deepening and Southern Baptist workers in Zimbabwe are calling for prayer that God will intervene. With food prices rising and supplies dwindling globally, “food security” is a major issue in many countries, but the crisis is much sharper in Zimbabwe, where political uncertainty and economic turmoil – including the world’s highest inflation rate at 160,000 percent – are making daily life virtually impossible for the poorest people. About one-third of Zimbabwe’s 12 million people are receiving emergency food aid. The situation is compounded even further by weather, said Mark Hatfield, who leads work in sub-Saharan Africa for Baptist Global Response, a Southern Baptist international relief and development organization. Flooding wiped out crops in many parts of the country early this year, then three months of extremely dry weather has caused serious damage to this year’s maize harvest. “Southern Baptists who care have been responding to the crisis by providing boxes of staple food to help families in crisis,” Hatfield said. … [Read more...]

Submitted by Jenny Price on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 02:00 … [Read more...]

From all outward signs, John seemed to be a wonderful sixth-grade boys’ Sunday school teacher. He prepared, attended leadership meetings, participated in outreach and even spent time with the boys outside of Sunday school. But something went wrong. NASHVILLE, Tenn. – From all outward signs, John seemed to be a wonderful sixth-grade boys’ Sunday school teacher. He prepared, attended leadership meetings, participated in outreach and even  spent time with the boys outside of Sunday school. But something went wrong. It was late one Wednesday evening when the call came to the pastor’s home. A parent of one of John’s students began to share incredible accusations. “Know that the church will be hearing from  our attorney,” was the final comment. Completely bewildered, the pastor sought the advice of a local attorney. The attorney’s first question was, “What does your church do to ensure that minors (anyone under the age of 18) are protected  from abusive conduct by adults?” The sick feeling in the pastor’s stomach grew as he confessed, “Nothing.” Reports of abusive conduct toward children by adults are shocking. It is estimated that one out of every four girls  and one out of six boys will experience some form of sexual abuse … [Read more...]

It’s been nearly 24 years since Ed Erwin observed Memorial Day in a military role, so it holds special significance this year for the longtime Southern Baptist pastor. PENSACOLA, Fla. (BP) – It’s been nearly 24 years since Ed Erwin observed Memorial Day in a military role, so it holds special significance this year for the longtime Southern Baptist pastor. On Jan. 7, as a 48-year-old, Erwin joined the Navy as a chaplain. The son of a retired Army officer enlisted at an age when many fellow Baby Boomers are pondering future pension benefits or Social Security’s future. “I know as a chaplain I’ll be involved in a number of services,” Erwin said of Memorial Day’s commemoration of men and women who died in military service. “I’ve done that before as a pastor in Shelbyville (Ky.),” said Erwin, who was pastor of First Baptist Church there for 12-plus years. Memorial Day began in 1866 to honor veterans of the Civil War, but after World War I it was expanded to include those who died in any war. “There are a number of veterans who inspire me,” Erwin said. One is still living – his father, retired Lt. Col. Hamilton Erwin. A conversation the two had in the fall of 2006 stirred the son to think about rejoining the Air … [Read more...]