By Bonnie Pritchett, Southern Baptist TEXAN JERUSALEM – Many Christians would cherish the opportunity to travel to Israel and visit the places where our Lord Jesus Christ walked, taught, died and rose again. Such a trip, which some say is akin to a spiritual journey, takes much prayer, money, and preparation. Unless, of course, you’re a guest of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, where the entire trip – organized by them – is a sprint to see as much as possible in as little time as possible, racing against an unseen clock that would time out before we, as reporters, could confirm that the tomb was, indeed, empty. Atop Mount Carmel (Actually, atop the gift shop of the monastery whose monks tend the site) I briefly reflected on one of my favorite Old Testament stories: Elijah vs. the prophets of Baal. The tourist-condensed version went something like this: “God 1, prophets of Baal 0. God wins. Everyone, back on the bus!” There is so much of spiritual and historical significance to see in Israel that one could easily lose sight of them by focusing on the schedule. But in the end, I was thankful for that bus and our very able and long-suffering guide, Rivka Cohen-Berman. Those whose business and pleasure it is to organize … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Ergun Caner will no longer serve as dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Va., but will remain on the seminary’s faculty, according to a public statement released by Liberty University. “After a thorough and exhaustive review of Dr. Ergun Caner’s public statements, a committee consisting of four members of Liberty University’s board of trustees has concluded that Dr. Caner has made factual statements that are self-contradictory,” the June 25 statement said. “However, the committee found no evidence to suggest that Dr. Caner was not a Muslim who converted to Christianity as a teenager, but, instead, found discrepancies related to matters such as dates, names and places of residence.” Under Caner’s leadership, seminary enrollment has tripled to about 4,000 students since 2005. Caner’s contract as head of the seminary was not renewed when it expired June 30, but he has accepted a teaching contract, according to the Liberty statement. Caner has “apologized for the discrepancies and misstatements” that led to the investigation, the statement added. University Provost Ron Godwin led the investigation. Caner came to prominence in the aftermath of … [Read more...]

By Mickey Noah, Baptist Press ORLANDO, Fla.(BP) – From Nevada to New York and many states in between, about 100 Southern Baptist Convention bivocational pastors attended the inaugural luncheon (June 15) of the newly named Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network during the SBC annual meeting in Orlando. [img_assist|nid=6509|title=Ray Gilder, national coordinator for the SBC Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network, addresses bivocational pastors.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]“Being a bivocational pastor does not mean you’re a little preacher or part-time preacher,” said Ray Gilder, the network’s national coordinator and bivocational ministry leader for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. “You may be getting part-time pay but you are the full-time pastor of your church.” Gilder knows the ropes because he is also bivocational himself, the pastor of 200-member Gath Baptist Church in McMinnville, Tenn. “Most pastors in Southern Baptist life are familiar with bivocational ministry,” said Gilder, adding that an estimated 75 percent of all SBC churches run less than 100 people in Sunday school. About half of the convention’s 50,000 churches are small and bivocational – not only small, rural … [Read more...]

TIOGA -- In all, 67 children and leaders from South Korea are in Louisiana this week for the sixth year of Camp USA. Camp USA is a self-funded, three-week American immersion program for Korean youngsters. Week one is in central Louisiana; week two is in southeastern Louisiana; week three is in Houston. A partnership between North Rapides Baptist Association and the Home Mission Board of the Korean Baptist Convention, Camp USA is one aspect of Reach Missions Partnerships, coordinated by David Cranford, pastor of First Baptist Church of Ponchatoula. Cranford previously was pastor of Tioga First Baptist Church, which is the lead church for week one of Camp USA. Susan Duke coordinates. “We’re excited to have this opportunity to share God’s love with Korean students and their leaders,” Duke said. “They stay in host homes, getting a real feel for what life is like in America – or at least, in Louisiana – and for the hosts, it’s like foreign missions at  home.” Their first week was spent with the students in Vacation Bible School, early afternoons in “English and Culture” classes, both at Tioga First. Mid-afternoons change each day: 4-wheeler riding Monday; fishing and water slides Tuesday; remote control cars Wednesday; … [Read more...]

Compiled by Joanne Brechtel COMINGS & GOINGS Mike Smith, new as pastor at Brookwood Baptist, Shreveport. Ken Gilmore, new as pastor at Evangeline Baptist, Wildsville. Brandon Gill, new as interim pastor at New Hope Baptist, Jennings. NEEDED Bi-vocational pastor needed at Bonita First Baptist Church; call 318.647.3637 or 318.647.5307 after 5 p.m.; send resume to PO Box 305, Bonita LA 71223. Pre-school program director needed at Oak Park Baptist, New Orleans; send resume to OPBC, 1110 Kabel Dr., New Orleans LA 70131; fax 504.392.1810 or email pastor@oakparkbc.com. ANNIVERSARIES MONROE – Lakeshore Baptist: 56th Ministry Celebration; Sunday, July 25. TALLULAH – First Baptist: 25th Anniversary Celebration of John Rushing as pastor. RUSTON – First Baptist: 125th Anniversary Celebration/Reception 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7; Clyde Fant, speaker; and at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 8, Danny Wood, speaker. BERNICE – Evergreen Baptist: 120th Anniversary and Homecoming 10:45 a.m. Sunday, July 25; Jimmy Yocum, speaker; Jerry Chapman, music; covered dish luncheon; Charles L. Davis, pastor. SPEARSVILLE – First Baptist: 162nd Anniversary Reception 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7; 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 8; Steve Dominy, speaker; Dale Liner, … [Read more...]

By Karen Willoughby, Managing Editor EDITOR’S NOTE: The Louisiana Baptist Message talked with three of the 42 Louisiana churches that participated in the simultaneous Native American revivals last fall. (See page one article for the rest of the story.) TICKFAW – The night before Pastor Michael Baham received an email from his director of missions that forwarded Randy Carruth’s request for churches to get involved in Native American ministry, Baham heard at the tail end of a sermon that the American church had neglected Native Americans. God got his attention with the juxtaposition of those two bits of information, Baham said. “As a result of our experiences in Nebraska with Ron Goombi and with Sandstone Community Church in the war zone on the streets of Albuquerque, N.M., our people who have been along on those trips have gained an awareness and a passion for reaching people outside our own context, reaching the homeless and hurting and broken of our community, and especially with Native Americans,” Baham said. On its first mission trip, to Albuquerque in October 2009, Woodhaven Baptist Church in Tickfaw collected and brought a load of winter clothing, which was distributed along with hot meals to homeless … [Read more...]

By Steve Lemke, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Provost In five prior issues, I have been presenting the biblical rationale for the belief that once we are genuinely saved, we are saved forever.  We call this belief the security of the believer.  The five reasons presented to support belief in the security of the believer’s salvation are: We cannot lose our salvation:  (1) because salvation is not ours to lose since God provides it, not we ourselves; (2) because it is based upon a life-changing salvation experience with God; (3) because eternal salvation is a Scriptural promise; (4) because eternal salvation is a logical necessity; and (5) because it is based on the unchanging status of our relationship with God. However, some other Christian denominations teach that believers can indeed lose their salvation.  How do they reach this conclusion?  What biblical basis do they claim for their belief? Let’s look together at what they take to be a biblical rationale that people can lose their salvation, and why we believe that this is not the correct reading of these texts. Can a Believer Fall Away? The primary Scripture verses usually cited on behalf of those who believe you can lose your salvation include the idea … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, PH.D., NOBTS Professor of New Testament and Greek Question: Why is our New Testament arranged like it is in the English Bible, and is Hebrews at the end of Paul’s letters or the beginning of the General Epistles section? Bill Warren responds:  Let’s begin by considering how the New Testament (NT) first circulated. The NT books began as separate documents, so they were not bound together originally. The longer books were probably written as scrolls, with the shorter ones being single papyrus sheets or only a few at most, so most likely loose pages not in a scroll form. For example, one early papyrus manuscript from about the year 200, designated as NT Papyrus 66, only contains John. Paul did not send copies of all of his letters to each church, for example to the Thessalonians (most were not written yet when he penned 1 and 2 Thessalonians). If the NT books were originally independent of each other, however, how did they become collected into our NT? Three major collections of books comprise our NT: 1) the 4 Gospels (collected together near the mid second century); 2) Paul’s Epistles (gathered by the late first to early second century); and 3) the General Epistles (1 Peter and 1 John are gathered early, but … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter LORANGER – When general contractor Mike Baham of Loranger learned that True Vine Indian [Baptist] Church in Bristow, Okla., needed a building, he loaded up his crew of five employees, two company trucks, and a trailer of tools, for a week-long construction trip –  all at his expense. Baham, of Mike Baham and Sons LLC, paid his employees their regular 40 hour-a-week wages and covered the cost of travel. [img_assist|nid=6517|title=General contractor Mike Baham poses with his crew and members of True Vine Indian Church in Bristow Okla.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]When Baham first mentioned the trip to his employees, Chris Boudreaux, a non-Baptist, hesitated because he didn’t want to spend a week away from his wife and children, ages 3 and 7 months. “But the more I heard about [the trip,] the more I thought it would be something I would look back on later and be glad I did it,” Boudreaux said. Baham said scheduling the trip around family responsibilities was difficult and some, like Boudreaux, moved vacation time to other weeks, in order to participate. The trip was coordinated through Randy Carruth of IAmAble ministries, in conjunction with the partnership of … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter COVINGTON – Pretty and petite, Kathy Jo Thompson jumped at the chance to be athletic trainer for the LSU football team in what turned out to be their 2008 national championship year. Now battling a debilitating condition, Kathy Jo faces an even greater challenge, though it’s a journey she says she doesn’t regret. “She’s my hero,” said Delos Thompson, Kathy Jo’s father. A loss of balance and numbness of hands during Kathy Jo Thompson’s final semester at LSU brought back a diagnosis of neurofibromatosis, type 2, a genetic disorder that typically produces benign tumors in the brain and spinal cord. [img_assist|nid=6520|title=Diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, Kathy Jo Thompson, remains strong by staying focused on God.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=67|height=100]Thompson, 24, has undergone three major surgeries in the last sixteen months. The most recent – and potentially the most serious – involved a tumor inside the spinal cord the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny. Although life these days revolves around hospitals as much as it does home and ranch, Kathy Jo Thompson and her family stay focused on God. “I’m stronger than I thought I was,” Kathy Jo said. “I know it’s … [Read more...]