By Marilyn Stewart, Regional reporter NEW ORLEANS - When the team of 17 New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) students and faculty members stepped into the neighborhood under storm-threatening skies April 21 to hand out 9-volt batteries, they did not know what the Lord would do. Three members of the community near the seminary came to faith in Christ. “The Lord gave us a window of one hour before the rain came down,” said Preston Nix, professor of evangelism and evangelistic preaching at NOBTS. “Two people…in two different locations had just finished praying to receive Christ when the rain started.” Seven faculty members and 10 students formed teams to knock on doors and give away free batteries for home smoke alarms. The teams partnered with Gentilly Baptist Church (GBC) to show love to neighbors with the goal of sharing the gospel. Two weeks later, on May 5, seven students and seven faculty members went into the community. As a result of their witness one person came to faith in Christ. “This involvement of our NOBTS faculty and students on the streets of our city shows once again that when we obey Christ's Great Commission, the Lord has people ready to respond,” said Ken Taylor, professor of urban missions at … [Read more...]
Zoar Baptist hosting Christian sexuality conference
By Message Staff BATON ROUGE – Zoar Baptist Church is hosting a one-night conference about Christian sexuality on June 3. Scheduled from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, the second G3 Conference will include topics about same sex marriage and the church, gender and American culture, and the meaning of biblical manhood and womanhood. Student Minister Obbie Todd said the church has a mandate to address such issues, especially in a world that seems increasingly hostile toward a biblical worldview. “Christian families are coming to the slow realization that even Bible Belt culture doesn’t necessarily share their biblical values about marriage and family,” Todd said. “The legal definition of marriage has changed. The cultural role of women, inside and outside the church, is changing. Public restrooms are even changing. But the Word of God has not changed. June 3 will be a night of encouragement, education, and exhortation for a church navigating the troubled waters of the sexual revolution.” Last year, nearly 130 people attended the conference and Todd expects 170 may attend this year. Those attending will receive a free meal, t-shirts and books. The cost to attend the seminar is free, though a box for donations to cover the cost will be on … [Read more...]
A Memorial Day prayer
Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy Name. We, your children, come with very grateful hearts for all You have done for us as individuals and as citizens of this great nation. We recognize it is because of Your Grace and the sacrifice of so many that we can call ourselves Americans and can be a part of the most blessed nation in the world. On this Memorial Day enable us to remember. To remember those who have given their all for the values we hold as Americans. To remember those who have returned with wounds so physically and emotionally deep, that they may never be the same as before. May we sympathize with those who will never see the birth of their child, their child’s graduation, see their daughter as the beautiful bride, or stand with their handsome son as the groom. May we also sympathize with the many who will never hold a grandchild, cruise the oceans, or live to see old age. Your Word says, “No greater sacrifice can be given than to give one’s life for his friends.” That is what so many have done. They have given their lives for their country, for the freedom and values we hold so dear. Father, as we remember on this memorial day, help us join with the grief stricken families that live every day with the … [Read more...]
The World’s Most Famous WAR MEMORIAL POEM
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915 during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium On May 2, 1915, John McCrae’s close friend and former student Alexis Helmer was killed by a German shell. That evening, in the absence of a Chaplain, John McCrae recited from memory a few passages from the Church of England’s “Order of the Burial of the Dead.” For security reasons Helmer’s burial in Essex Farm Cemetery was performed in complete darkness. The next day, May 3, 1915, Sergeant-Major Cyril Allinson was delivering mail. McCrae was sitting at the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the YserCanal, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, Belgium. As John McCrae was writing his In Flanders Fields poem, Allinson silently watched and later recalled, “His face was very tired but calm as he wrote. He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave." Within moments, John McCrae had completed the “In Flanders Fields” poem and when he was done, without a word, McCrae took his mail and handed the poem to Allinson. Allinson was deeply moved: “The (Flanders Fields) poem was an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in … [Read more...]
Steve Gaines’ vision for the SBC: stewardship
In this video, SBC Presidential hopeful Steve Gaines shares about stewardship. Gaines is pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn. "Stewardship is simply understanding, we don’t own anything, God owns everything," Gaines said. … [Read more...]
VIDEO: U.S. Naval Academy Women’s Glee Club’s performance of Eternal Father
"Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a beautiful, haunting hymn about the men and the sea. The U.S. Naval Academy has adopted it as its official hymn. The Women's Glee Club gives a beautiful rendition of the hymn. http://www.usna.edu/Music/media/Eternal_Father.mp4 … [Read more...]
Steve Gaines’ vision for the SBC: soul-winning
Soul-winning is a passion of SBC Presidential candidate Steve Gaines. The pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., Gaines shares more in a short video. "People still get saved when we share the Gospel with them," Gaines said. … [Read more...]
MEMORIAL DAY: Jimmy Connelly’s greatest honor
By Jim Burton, Baptist Press GEORGE, S.C. (BP) -- An estimated 3.6 million Americans fought in the Pacific Theatre in World War II, overcoming brutal encounters on island after island against Japanese soldiers burrowed into the hillsides. The late Jimmy Connelly was one of those Americans. The Navy made Connelly chief of a troop-landing Higgins Craft during the massive amphibious assaults at the outset of the Allies' first major Pacific offensive against the Japanese -- Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Each craft could ferry up to 36 Marines, and when they stormed the beaches, Connelly operated a 7.62mm belt-fed machine gun to provide cover. On his 10th trip to transport troops into the Solomon Islands battle zone, he also was carrying several hundred five-gallon cans of gasoline. When a mortar round struck their craft, shrapnel pierced his neck and arm, and his pants were set afire, propelling him into the ocean. When he returned home from the war, Connelly never mentioned the injuries. Too many men like him -- 18 to 21-year-olds uprooted from their families and hometowns -- lost their lives and limbs that day. His suffering, by comparison, had been minor. Seventy-two years later, Connelly could still recite the names of … [Read more...]
Baylor fires head football coach, strips Ken Starr of presidency in sexual assault scandal
By Diane Chandler, Baptist Press WACO, Texas (BP) -- Baylor University stripped Ken Starr of his presidency and fired head football coach Art Briles today (May 26) after an independent investigation found "a fundamental failure" to protect students from sexual assault in a years-long scandal. The Baylor Board of Regents announced the personnel changes in a press release posted on its website, based on the findings of an investigation by the law firm Pepper Hamilton, LLP. "Key findings of the investigation reflect a fundamental failure by Baylor to implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA)," the board said. The board of the largest Baptist university in the world also created a new full-time position of chief compliance officer to report directly to the president's office, sanctioned and placed on probation athletic director Ian McCaw, fired additional but unnamed members of the administration and athletics programs, clarified the roles of several departmental staff members and committed to institute "robust training" before the fall 2016 semester. The Baylor sex scandal centered on the behavior of the university students, including … [Read more...]
13 incarcerated women receive milestone degrees
By Marilyn Stewart, Regional reporter NEW ORLEANS -- Having overcome a crisis of faith to complete her college degree, Brenda Thornton walked the chapel stage at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women. Thornton was one of 13 LCIW graduates in the first-ever awarding of bachelor degrees at the prison by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's Leavell College, marking a milestone for the program that began five years ago. "I'll be honest, I didn't think I would make it," said Thornton, who received a bachelor of Christian ministry degree with a minor in women's ministry May 18. Thornton credited Sandra Vandercook, NOBTS/Leavell College associate professor of English and education, with helping amid her spiritual storm, saying, "What helped me? My professor." NOBTS President Chuck Kelley challenged the LCIW graduating class to be ready for what God had planned next in their lives. "I don't know what God will do with you or through you, but I know He has plans," Kelley said. "Get ready. Get busy. God has something He wants to do." Drawing from the biblical account of Joseph, Kelley reminded listeners that those who sold Joseph into slavery meant him harm, but God in His sovereignty intended it for good and used it to … [Read more...]
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