First Baptist Church in Dallas elected Robert Jeffress as its newest senior pastor Aug. 12. DALLAS (BP) – First Baptist Church in Dallas elected Robert Jeffress as its newest senior pastor Aug. 12. Jeffress – who is leaving First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, Texas – replaces Mac Brunson, who left the church in February 2006 to become pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. Jeffress attended FBC Dallas growing up. More than 3,000 people came to hear Jeffress preach and at the conclusion of the service voted to call the 51-year-old minister. They voted by standing. The pastoral search committee had recommended him to the congregation one week earlier. “I will pour my life – everything I have – into building this church for the glory of God,” Jeffress said, according to The Dallas Morning News. The pastoral search committee looked at more than 100 individuals before settling on Jeffress, according to a news release from the church. FBC Dallas has been home to several well-known preachers during its history, including George W. Truett and W.A. Criswell. Jeffress has been at FBC in Wichita Falls since 1992 and prior to that served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Eastland, Texas, from 1985-92. … [Read more...]

Following a unanimous vote by FamilyNet’s board of trustees Aug. 7, North American Mission Board (NAMB) trustees Aug. 8 voted unanimously to accept a letter of intent from Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministries outlining the ministry’s intention to purchase NAMB’s FamilyNet television network. ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – Following a unanimous vote by FamilyNet’s board of trustees Aug. 7, North American Mission Board (NAMB) trustees Aug. 8 voted unanimously to accept a letter of intent from Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministries outlining the ministry’s intention to purchase NAMB’s FamilyNet television network. Under terms of the letter, NAMB and In Touch Ministries will work together to evaluate and negotiate the planned sale and purchase of FamilyNet, and finalize details for the sale on or before Oct. 31, 2007. NAMB board of trustees chairman Bill Curtis, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Florence, S.C., said the sale “will result in two very significant Kingdom events.” “First,” he said, “it will enable NAMB to focus on its primary tasks as the North American missions arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. Second, it will enable FamilyNet to become the network Southern Baptists always dreamed it could be.” Curtis … [Read more...]

After more than 200 years of British rule, India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, hoisted the Indian flag at midnight Aug. 15, 1947. The struggle for independence, which had lasted nearly 30 years, was over. DELHI (BP)--After more than 200 years of British rule, India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, hoisted the Indian flag at midnight Aug. 15, 1947. The struggle for independence, which had lasted nearly 30 years, was over. “People fought for freedom; they fought for what we are enjoying today,” Pooja, a high-caste Hindu, said. Aug. 15, 2007, marks 60 years of India’s independence. Every year, Indians celebrate “Swatantrata Divas,” or Independence Day, for the world’s largest democracy. “We celebrate our freedom from the British; we celebrate the fathers of our nation – Gandhi, Nehru,” said Newesterland, a north Indian. “We are like a free bird,” he said. “We can go anywhere, travel to other states, communicate with different kinds of people.” In a country where fewer than 3 percent of the people are Christians, most Indians do not grasp how the freedom they celebrate is fulfilled only through the blood of Christ Jesus, said Darryl Pogue*, an international Christian serving in India. “The … [Read more...]

Every year, a swash of orange, white and green spans the nation of India on the anniversary of its independence from Britain. DELHI (BP) – Every year, a swash of orange, white and green spans the nation of India on the anniversary of its independence from Britain. The Indian flag is a central part in each year’s Independence Day celebrations. “Flags are everywhere, on bikes, in schools, in shops,” said Muida*, a language teacher in southern India. “Everyone has a flag. There are big banners in the big markets and bazaars, plus the flags.” On the morning of Aug. 15, the nation’s prime minister raises the flag at the ancient Red Fort in Delhi, just as India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, raised it 60 years ago. Around the nation, Indians follow suit. “We still have classes, but we take classes on freedom fighting, said Muzammil, an Indian student. “Then we march in the road with flags. Our parents are invited to attend.” At the very center of India’s tri-color flag is the Gandhi “chokra.” “Gandhi’s symbol is very important,” Muida said. “It is the symbol of a hard worker.” Like the Indian flag that is proudly flown to proclaim independence, Christians across India are flying banners of another kind – … [Read more...]

Various reports: Culture robs young girls of innocence CULTURE TAKES AWAY GIRLS’ INNOCENCE -- Dolls dressed in fishnet stockings, miniskirts and stomach-flaunting tank tops, Care Bear thongs and push-up bras are just some of the items being marketed to girls younger than 12 these days, according to a book by Wendy Shalit promoting a return to modesty in an overtly sexual age. “American popular culture seems determined to obliterate innocence – even in the crib!” syndicated columnist Mona Charen wrote in reference to Shalit’s book, “Girls Gone Mild.” Magazines like Cosmo and Seventeen advise girls to “keep your heart under wraps,” Charen said, because, as the magazines contend, the worst thing a woman can do is express desire for commitment from her sexual partner. Such behavior is “boring and clingy,” the periodical tells young girls. A magazine called Scarleteen offers a “sex readiness checklist” for girls, Charen wrote, that includes “I have a birth control budget of $50 per month” and “I can separate love from sex.” A report released this year by the American Psychological Association coined the term the “sexualization of girls” based on the blaring messages coming from “role models” such as Paris Hilton, Britney … [Read more...]

Before Katrina made landfall on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans (BAGNO) could count some 140 churches and missions. One month later, when we re-entered the area, we were able to identify 35 still operating. Today, two years after this life-changing event, we’re up to 94. Editor’s note: Joe Mc-Keever, author of the www.joemckeever.com blog, is director of missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. The Message asked him to update readers on the current situation in New Orleans. NEW ORLEANS – Before Katrina made landfall on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans (BAGNO) could count some 140 churches and missions. One month later, when we re-entered the area, we were able to identify 35 still operating.  Today, two years after this life-changing event, we’re up to 94. “So, are your churches back to normal and operating?” is the question I field most often. The answer is, “Some are. Some are doing great. Some are gone forever. Some are meeting in someone’s living room or in someone else’s buildings. But all have been affected deeply and are changed forever.” Most of the churches we lost were small congregations or young missions. When the … [Read more...]

What began in 1985 as a class project on storefront ministries became a 22-year commitment to a ministry with lasting results. JONESVILLE – What began in 1985 as a class project on storefront ministries became a 22-year commitment to a ministry with lasting results.   Jenny White, already a veteran school teacher and at that time a seminary student, was researching storefront ministries.  Little did she know that God had more than a passing grade in store for her. Breadcrumb Baptist Center began as an after-school literacy program for children in Jonesville when White realized that the project she had assembled on paper was a workable plan.  Through the support of the Ouachita Baptist Association and Louisiana Baptists, the successful ministry expanded to provide other service ministries, including an adult literacy program.  The venue of the literacy program has proven effective in building relationships with adults whose struggles are not always easy to untangle, but whose lives are being impacted by the mentoring and support of a faithful volunteer staff. When White thinks of lives that have been changed through the ministry of Breadcrumb Baptist Center, a young man whose life was transformed by Christ comes to … [Read more...]

It’s been a long two years in this southern coastal city since being keelhauled by Katrina Aug. 29, 2005. NEW ORLEANS – It’s been a long two years in this southern coastal city since being keelhauled by Katrina Aug. 29, 2005. People here deal on a daily basis with not only changed lives – loss of family, friends, neighborhood, lifestyle – but also unresponsive bureaucracy and ever-more-blatant crime and corruption. An event designed to do much more than just mark the date was set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, at First Baptist Church of New Orleans, where David Crosby is pastor. “I think many people need the encouragement and the hope that comes only with faith in God, and only in prayer,” Crosby said. “The recovery and rebuilding have gone slower than people have expected. There’s some despair and frustration with how things are going, and with this event we’re reminding people that our true hope and strength is in God.” Will Graham – Billy’s grandson; Franklin’s son – was to be guest speaker at what has developed into a 90-minute prayer rally. Like his father and grandfather, Will Graham preaches all over the world through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Lisa Pierre, a Black Gospel singer from … [Read more...]

Do we love one another? Do we love our pastors? Do we genuinely care one for another? Do we care for the lost? Obviously, the list could go on and on, but the question remains, “do we love and care for one another?” Do we love one another? Do we love our pastors? Do we genuinely care one for another? Do we care for the lost? Obviously, the list could go on and on, but the question remains, “do we love and care for one another?” I have been greatly burdened in recent days. Our lost world, our lost continent, hurting churches and hurting pastors are crying out. A few days ago I had the opportunity to share Christ with a young man on an airplane. At that very moment, I had to decide whether to continue writing this article or talk to this young man. Obviously, I put the writing material down and spoke with this young man who is in desperate need of Christ. He, like our world, is looking for authenticity and for love. I point this out because I believe we often are making the wrong choice. Our witness is being diluted and energies expended on other activities, especially on internecine conflict. Church conflict is rampant. Seldom does a day go by that I do not receive a call for help from either a church, a pastor or … [Read more...]

It is a shame that it takes a disaster to bring a community together. It is a shame that it takes a disaster to bring a community together. Through my 42 years of living in hurricane-prone areas – including here in Louisiana – I have found that crisis causes strangers to become friends. People want to tell someone their story. A woman told me about how a group of disaster relief workers, mainly senior adults, came to her home, cleaned it and removed the debris after a hurricane. Suddenly, her neighbors, who had not helped anyone on their block, came out of their houses and started helping one another. She told me these older men and women brought hope from the Lord to her community. God uses committed followers of His to reach out to hurting people. People want and need to share what they are feeling when they go through a natural disaster or any kind of abnormal event. A chaplain once told me, “That which is mentionable, is manageable.” I was able to use the lessons I learned during the crisis of Hurricane Katrina when a tornado struck a nearby community. As I was taking photos and working on an article about the disaster, my heart became heavy for the people picking up the pieces of their lives. I … [Read more...]