By Baptist Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- A Louisiana director of missions has urged pastors in the Baptist association he leads to raise questions about new personnel policies of the International Mission Board during the IMB's report at the June 16-17 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, according to a June 10 report by the Southern Baptist TEXAN newsjournal. Lonnie Wascom, a former IMB trustee and director of missions and ministries for the Northshore Baptist Association in Hammond, wrote in a June 2 email to the nearly 100 pastors in the association that he has major concerns" related to the missionary qualifications policy adopted by IMB trustees during their May 12-13 meeting in Louisville, Ky. Wascom told the Baptist Message that he has nothing personal against anyone at or affiliated with the IMB but just wants people to ask questions. “I love the IMB,” Wascom said. “I pray that God will continue to use the missionaries that Southern Baptists affirm and support to push back the darkness to the ends of the earth. But I’m about the gospel the New Testament teaches, not the one we make up.” SBC President Ronnie Floyd told the TEXAN he hopes any questions posed by messengers during the IMB's report … [Read more...]
Is Christianity a ‘lost cause?’
By Will Hall, Baptist Message Editor There’s been a lot of talk about the recent Pew report announcing the growth of “nones” in the United States during 2007-2014. Overall, the number of adults in the nation grew by nearly 18 million during that seven-year span, expanding from 227 million to 245 million, and the “unaffiliated” segment (atheists, agnostics, and those who named “nothing in particular” as their religious preference) picked up all this gain and then some, growing from an estimated 36.6 million to 55.8 million. At the same time, those who claimed a Christian identity fell in actual numbers, 178.1 million to 172.8 million, dropping from 78.4 percent to 70.6 percent of the adult population. The mainstream press played up the angle that this decline points to signs Christianity is dying in our country, and evangelical commentators were quick to object: -- Some dismissed the sweeping changes as nothing more than “nominals” – those who are Christian in name only, and not committed to the faith – finally being honest that they really are “nones.” -- Others took solace in the fact the actual number of evangelicals increased by an estimated 2 million new members, even if “market share” possibly dropped by … [Read more...]
NOBTS among seminaries urging tax-exempt protection
By Diana Chandler, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - Southern Baptist educational leaders are among 74 signatories to a June 3 letter urging Congress to pass a bill protecting the tax-exempt status of schools in the event the U.S. Supreme Court approves same-sex marriage as a civil right. If the Court establishes gay marriage as the law of the land, educators are concerned there may be legal precedent to withdraw tax-exempt status to schools that uphold the biblical truth that marriage is between one man and one woman. "It is out of concern that schools adhering to traditional religious and moral values could lose tax-exempt status that we urge support for the Government Non-Discrimination Act, which would ensure that the federal government cannot discriminate or take action against private entities because they act in accordance with a moral or religious belief that marriage is between a man and a woman," the letter reads. "This bill, introduced in the 113th Congress with more than 100 House and Senate cosponsors and which will be introduced soon in the 114th Congress, would protect against government discrimination of those who believe in natural marriage." Christian educators are concerned after an April 28 exchange … [Read more...]
Louisiana College, seminary students with Louisiana ties graduate
Students from Louisiana College, as well as those from Southern Baptist seminaries recently graduated. Below is a list of the graduates. LC President Brewer addressed the 148 graduates and hundreds of onlookers May 16 at the college’s 158th commencement ceremony. His message was entitled "And Then Some," with the goal of challenging the graduates to "do hard work, and then some." Meanwhile, Daniel Akin told the spring graduates of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, that "Our God is a global God. He is always with those who are on mission with him." The seminary's 61st graduating class of 274 graduates heard Akin, the president of the seminary, issue a challenge with Jesus’ last words in Matthew 28:18-20. He highlighted God’s sovereign power, plan and promise. And at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., 297 graduated on May 14, with 107 graduating from the seminary's Boyce College on May 8. Seminary President Albert Mohler Jr. charged the new Southern graduates to "Take your place in line and fulfill your ministry with eyes wide open, knowing your destiny in Christ. Go into the world of darkness as brave children of the day." Click here for 2015 graduate listings … [Read more...]
New beginnings at Standard Baptist Church in Olla
By Joe Dupree, Message Staff Writer OLLA - Out with the old and in with the new. That seems to be the popular way of doing things nowadays. For the folks at Standard Baptist Church, it was just time to replace an aging sanctuary with a larger and newer building that would house congregants comfortably. The original church structure, which was made of wood, was built back in 1945. The current structure was built later in the 1960's. But as time progressed, the building began deteriorating and the leaders of the church decided it was time to build a new, larger sanctuary. "Our old building has some age issues, " said Rodney Shelton, chairman of deacons, Standard Baptist. "Our attendance has grown. The Lord has blessed us with our attendance growing and with this building project. "With our growth, there's just a good chance they'll be uncomfortable," said Shelton. It was about a year ago the church decided a new sanctuary was needed to accommodate the large growth in congregants. "If you talk about the history of the building, that's one thing," said Shad Tibbs, pastor of Standard Baptist. "The history of this church five years ago, what I saw, is a very small group of people who were, in reality, tired of … [Read more...]
The future of the Southern Baptist Convention
By Doug Munton, pastor and author I’m neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. That’s a bad start for confidence in my predictive powers. But let me speculate on the future of the Southern Baptist Convention with whom I have been associated my entire life. In many ways I am describing what is more than what will be. Perhaps this is more of where we are than where we are headed. While it seems likely we will have more of what we currently have, God can change things dramatically. Perhaps we will have a great revival. Perhaps we will have ruin. But here is where it seems we are and where we are headed. (Keep in mind the “neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet” part.) 1. We will be less evangelistic. It is hard to imagine a denomination being much more evangelistic than the SBC was for several decades. While not all churches were evangelistic, and certainly many individual members weren’t, the denomination as a whole was focused on reaching people. For a variety of reasons, we are less so now. Focusing on those reasons is for another blog. (Is it theological, cultural, because evangelism is so hard, etc.?) But it seems obvious we are less likely to be involved in evangelistic activities. We even talk about … [Read more...]
Reflections from a Chinese orphanage
By Josh Owens, Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission YUNNAN PROVINCE, China (BP) - In China's Yunnan Province, there is an ancient temple made of copper that crowns Jindian Park. In English it is literally "Golden Temple Park," reflecting the Daoist religion that it serves. Here on Jan. 14, 1994, a police officer noticed a five-day-old orphan, took him up and delivered him to the nearby orphanage. Josh Owens and his sisters Mary (left) and Grace return to China with their adoptive parents, Waylan and Betsy Owens. Nine months and three days later, that orphan was the first boy ever adopted from Kunming Municipal Children's Home. I visited that Chinese orphanage a few weeks ago, and for the first time in two decades I entered Jindian Park. As I wandered among the rooms of the orphanage and up the temple trail in that wooded park, thoughts and questions muddled my mind. Why would I, in a nation of a billion, be left alone in Jindian Park? Why did someone notice me and bother to act? Why would all this happen right after China opened itself to foreign adoptions in 1992? And why would I be adopted into this family, my family? I am now 21 years old and even if my existence could be explained, … [Read more...]
Guide to protect churches from ‘sexual liberty’
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - The Southern Baptist Convention's religious liberty entity has collaborated with a leading legal advocacy organization to provide guidance for churches and other institutions in the face of the advance of "sexual liberty" and same-sex marriage. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have published "Protecting Your Ministry," a legal manual for Southern Baptist churches, schools and ministries. The 44-page booklet is designed to equip SBC and other evangelical churches and institutions with legal protection against sexual orientation and gender identity lawsuits. The manual includes checklists to guide Christian institutions on maximizing their religious liberty protections under the law and maintaining their freedom to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. It also provides sample documents -- such as a membership agreement, facility use policy and article for a statement of faith -- to assist churches and other ministries. ERLC President Russell Moore said he is thankful to work with ADF "to produce this resource to help equip churches on how to remain faithful to our mission in a culture that often disagrees with our … [Read more...]
Baptist relief teams practice for preparedness
By Kristen Camp, North American Mission Board ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) - When a major disaster strikes in North America, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief responds to provide help, healing and hope to survivors of the disaster. But what happens when there isn’t a major disaster? Occasionally, SBDR engages in a disaster simulation. SBDR’s most recent exercise occurred May 19 when SBDR staff and volunteer leaders simulated a hurricane hitting Charleston, S.C. “We simulated the hurricane to show the volunteers what they would have to do to support a large operation like that,” said Fritz Wilson, executive director of disaster relief for the North American Mission Board, of the May 19 exercise involving four SBDR staff members and 12 volunteers. “We even sent emails to everyone over the weekend giving updates about landfall to make it seem as real as possible -- as if it was live.” The response team came into the simulation as if it were 24 hours after landfall. At this point, SBDR would begin to move in, learn of specific needs and put teams into place to start ministering. SBDR participates in such simulations about four times a year. In mid-June, they additionally were slated to be part of a national mass care … [Read more...]
Abedini beating intensifies calls for release
By David Roach, Baptist Press TEHRAN, Iran (BP) - American pastor Saeed Abedini has been "viciously" beaten in the Iranian prison where he is being held for his Christian faith, the American Center for Law and Justice reported June 10, prompting renewed calls for Abedini's release as a condition of any nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran. "It is crucial to speak out for Saeed as we approach the June 30th deadline between the United States and Iran," Abedini's wife Naghmeh said in a June 10 Facebook post. She added June 30 "is also Saeed and I's 11th year anniversary." Naghmeh Abedini is scheduled to address the Pastors' Wives Conference in Columbus, Ohio, June 15 preceding the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 16-17. She will also briefly address the SBC Pastors' Conference June 15, delivering an update on her husband. Pastors' Conference attendees will then pray for her and Saeed. Fellow prisoners attacked Saeed Abedini June 3 as he attempted to leave his cell, punching him in the face and demolishing a table he used while studying and reading, the ACLJ reported. Prison guards stopped the attack and a prison doctor determined Abedini did not have any broken bones. Naghmeh Abedini explained in a … [Read more...]
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