San Diego is known by locals as “America’s Finest City,” and in some ways, that’s not an exaggeration. Beautiful beaches dot the city’s coastline, desert flowers bloom in inland areas, and, of course, there’s the nearly perfect weather. It’s a center of industry and research, a home base for thousands of residents who serve in the United States military, a temporary home to 250,000 college students, and a thriving tourist destination. SAN DIEGO (BP) – San Diego is known by locals as “America’s Finest City,” and in some ways, that’s not an exaggeration. Beautiful beaches dot the city’s coastline, desert flowers bloom in inland areas, and, of course, there’s the nearly perfect weather. It’s a center of industry and research, a home base for thousands of residents who serve in the United States military, a temporary home to 250,000 college students, and a thriving tourist destination. But most importantly, as California’s second-largest city and the nation’s eighth, Greater San Diego is filled with more than 3 million people, more than half of whom claim no religious affiliation. Only 6 percent of the population claim to be evangelical Christians. Local and national Southern Baptists hope to bring the light of Christ to the … [Read more...]

Individuals searching for everything from Beth Moore Bible studies to vacation Bible school songs need look no further than their iTunes account. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Individuals searching for everything from Beth Moore Bible studies to vacation Bible school songs need look no further than their iTunes account. In 2006, LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention began placing downloadable audio files on Apple’s iTunes website, the world’s largest such catalog that features more than 5 million songs and nearly 1,000 television shows and movies. “iTunes is the easiest and most customer-friendly way to get music to our customers,” said Aaron Linne, a customer experience technician at LifeWay. “It allows us to reach beyond regular channels to meet people’s needs.” Today, LifeWay offers more than 500 tracks on the popular audio repository, and that list is ever-growing. This fall, for instance, choir directors and choir members will even find rehearsal tracks from LifeWay’s music area on iTunes, which already houses several Christmas choral releases, including Phil Barfoot and Dave Williamson’s The Joy of Christmas and Finding the Christmas Star, a children’s piece by Jeff Slaughter. “This is … [Read more...]

Official registration figures for the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in San Antonio were released July 12 by SBC Registration Secretary Jim Wells.  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Official registration figures for the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in San Antonio were released July 12 by SBC Registration Secretary Jim Wells. Texas Baptists sent the largest number of messengers, 1,605, of the 8,630 who registered for the June 12-13 sessions at San Antonio’s Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Other leading states were Tennessee with 653 messengers (7.58 percent of the total); North Carolina, 627 (7.28 percent); Georgia, 602 (6.99 percent); and Florida, 525 (6.09 percent). Messengers were sent by 3,567 churches from 49 states in addition to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Official state-by-state registration numbers follow: Alaska, 9; Alabama, 517; Arkansas, 336; Arizona, 56; California, 160; Colorado, 43; District of Columbia, 8; Delaware, 1; Florida, 525; Georgia, 602; Hawaii, 11; Iowa, 11; Idaho 12; Illinois, 143; Indiana, 73; Kansas, 63; Kentucky, 400; Louisiana, 371; Massachusetts, 3; Maryland, 75; Maine, 4; Michigan, 28; Minnesota, 7; Missouri, 282; Mississippi, 477; Montana, 2; North … [Read more...]

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Teche Baptist Church, which started in 1953, dwindled over time to just two couples. Editor’s note: The annual Week of Prayer for the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering is Sept. 16-23. The offering goal is $1.5 million. The Message plans to highlight one GBO recipient each issue until then to help you better understand the need for and benefit of your mission offering at work around the state. CENTERVILLE – Teche Baptist Church, which started in 1953, dwindled over time to just two couples. Then Adam Beach was called in 2005 as pastor. Louisiana Baptist missionaries Adam and Keitra Beach realized the church’s image needed a makeover and the church needed to be reintroduced to the community. Now, membership is up and baptisms continue to increase as the church reaches out to the community, located less than 30 miles west of Morgan City.   “God is breathing new life into our church, making it useful and vibrant once again for His Kingdom,” Beach said. “Without the support of the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, we really would not have grown to where we have now.” The Beaches prayed for a way to reopen communication with the community and discovered that a learning center for preschool children was a … [Read more...]

When the community heard Jack Daniels was being poured out in this northeastern Louisiana town 12 miles from the Arkansas line, they showed up in droves. OAK GROVE – When the community heard Jack Daniels was being poured out in this northeastern Louisiana town 12 miles from the Arkansas line, they showed up in droves. More than 1,000 a night, and at least 1,400 Friday night attended the Festival of Hope July 22-27, say organizers, who guesstimate based on the number of empty chairs in the Jason Thomas Lingo Community Center. “They came out of the woodwork,” said Carl Gulde, pastor of First Baptist Oak Grove. “The Lord really blessed. We had over 170 professions of faith.” It was a week-long crusade sponsored by Bayou Macon Baptist Association, with Heflin-based evangelist Jack David Daniels doing the preaching and Richard Ainsworth of North Monroe Baptist Church leading the music. Daniels, who wears blue jeans, boots and a white or country-striped shirt when he preaches, has a testimony of being taken “from the bottle to the Bible,” according to his website:www.jackdaviddaniels.com. He has a message and a manner that rural people can relate to, Gulde said. “We’re talking about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and … [Read more...]

Health care professionals who moved out of state in the wake of the devastation of the 2005 hurricanes contributed to the glaring lack of those workers in Louisiana today, especially in rural areas, says Don Shipley Sr., director of the new allied health program at Louisiana College. PINEVILLE – Blame/Thank Katrina/Rita. Health care professionals who moved out of state in the wake of the devastation of the 2005 hurricanes contributed to the glaring lack of those workers in Louisiana today, especially in rural areas, says Don Shipley Sr., director of the new allied health program at Louisiana College. That lack resulted in the state legislature and Louisiana Rural Healthcare Association in mid-June allocating funds to equip new healthcare workers. Louisiana College jumped at the opportunity to expand its courses of study. The college, which received a $2 million grant in early July, plans to start its allied health program with the start of the fall semester in late August. Shipley, who retired after 37 years as a dentist to take the position Aug. 1, says LC is responding faster to the opportunity to train allied health workers than are other colleges and universities across the state. LC is prepared to accept freshmen … [Read more...]

For the 400-member “Carolina Mission Team” in New Orleans – Operation NOAH Rebuild’s largest group of volunteers ever – changing the world might not seem so tall an order. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – For the 400-member “Carolina Mission Team” in New Orleans – Operation NOAH Rebuild’s largest group of volunteers ever – changing the world might not seem so tall an order. “Sometimes kids don’t think they can change the world until they have the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than they’ve ever imagined,” said Jeff Gray, youth minister at Willow Ridge Church in Lexington, S.C., one of nine Carolina churches involved. In an initiative as big as the team itself, the group worked with NOAH – the North American Mission Board partnership with Louisiana Baptists to rebuild homes and share the Gospel in New Orleans –- to tackle dozens of work orders, taking on everything from painting to roofing. “The Carolina group did a tremendous amount of work for our homeowners,” said Steve Gahagan, NOAH construction manager. “The Carolinians came prepared with field supervisors, runners and the skills needed for the task.” “Kids grow to trust you when they see you practice your faith in front of them,” said leader L.E. Williamson. … [Read more...]

The media is bristling with political banter. The media is bristling with political banter. Most of us already are sick of all the talk and posturing. However, in a little more than 16 months, Americans will go to the polls and cast their votes for a new president. Will he or she represent our biblical values? Next year’s presidential election could be the most strategic one since the 1960 race between Kennedy and Nixon. Perhaps the most ominous issue for the election is the reality that the next president will select as many as three new Supreme Court justices. This court makes decisions that impact our lives, and, consequently, responsible Christians must look past the war in Iraq and the state of the economy, and vote their values on who will become the next leader of the most powerful, most economically blessed nation in history. If things hold true as they have in the past, prior to the election, pastors across America will received a letter from a pseudo-authoritative source for church and state issues. Americans United (AU) touts itself as the last word on First Amendment rights. The letter will use scare tactic claims such as “your church will lose its tax exempt status” if you speak-out  on political … [Read more...]

I believe the greatest doctrinal issue confronting the church today is the exclusivity of the gospel, or the belief that salvation is possible only through a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. I believe the greatest doctrinal issue confronting the church today is the exclusivity of the gospel, or the belief that salvation is possible only through a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. It is incredible to think that the most fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith could be called into question or debated among people who call themselves Christians, but that is precisely what is taking place in our world today. From a Christian viewpoint, the very idea that there are many ways to heaven is unreasonable, unscriptural and offensive. If there are many ways – or even two ways – to God, Jesus Christ was a deceiver. For Jesus avowed more than once that he is the only way to heaven.He declared, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). However, there are those who do not believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven as emphatically declared in John 14:6. For example, a reporter of the Edmonton Journal in Edmonton, Alberta, … [Read more...]