About 50 women’s ministry leaders who gathered at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center one recent Saturday learned that their goal was to “bring women to a place where their lives can be transformed,” said Deb Douglas of First Baptist Bossier City. WOODWORTH – About 50 women’s ministry leaders who gathered at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center one recent Saturday learned that their goal was to “bring women to a place where their lives can be transformed,” said Deb Douglas of First Baptist Bossier City. “We’re not accomplishing anything for Christ if we’re not seeing lives changed,” Douglas said in the first general session of the Women’s Enrichment Leader Training June 6. “God didn’t call us to be comfortable. He called us to lead women to live out Matthew 27:37-39 – Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and body. It’s an all-consuming love. “And to love others likewise,” the women’s ministry leader reminded her listeners. “That becomes our purpose: [To find the answers to] how to live that out, how to provide an environment in which women are growing.” Douglas spoke of a sea of senior adult women who populate casinos mid-week, bused in on low-cost private charters arranged as an “outing” by the casinos … [Read more...]

The National Collegiate Ministry Division of LifeWay Christian Resources has launched a new Transitions Ministry website to help connect high school seniors with the collegiate minister of the college or university they will attend. BATON ROUGE – The National Collegiate Ministry Division of LifeWay Christian Resources has launched a new Transitions Ministry website to help connect high school seniors with the collegiate minister of the college or university they will attend. The website – www.sbccampusconnect.net – is designed for access by youth ministers, parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers, church staff members, and high school juniors and seniors. All the information the users provide to the site will be networked to the Baptist campus minister of the college or university the student will be attending. The campus ministers will pass names along to churches with a collegiate ministry in those specific communities. “Transitions” is a term that represents the ministry of Southern Baptist churches to, with, and for juniors and seniors in high school and freshmen in college,” said Steve Masters, Transitions Ministry contract worker for LifeWay. “Our local Southern Baptist churches are losing massive numbers … [Read more...]

What is the connection between Jesus and John the Baptist? And why was Jesus baptized by John? Question: What is the connection between Jesus and John the Baptist? And why was Jesus baptized by John? Bill Warren responds: According to Luke 1:36, Jesus and John the Baptist are relatives since Elizabeth (John the Baptist’s mother) and Mary were relatives. We don’t know if Jesus and John had much contact with each other during their childhood, but John’s recognition of Jesus when he comes to be baptized may indicate some familiarity, although the text itself does not mention this. What we do know is that at least two of John the Baptist’s disciples follow Jesus (John 1:35-40), namely Andrew and most likely John the Apostle.  Also, in Matthew the message that Jesus is proclaiming is the same as what John the Baptist was proclaiming, with the exact same words being used for both in the Greek text: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is drawing near” (Matthew 3:2 and 4:17).  In sum, John the Baptist and Jesus are members of the same extended family, share some of the same disciples, and have the same basic emphasis on repentance and the coming of the Kingdom of God. The biggest difference between Jesus and John is that … [Read more...]