Submitted by philip on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 01:00 Mission Trip: Villagers line up to meet members of the Baptist Medical and Dental Mission International team. First Baptist DeRidder sends a team of 70 members each summer to Honduras.   By Tammy Sharp, Special to the Message DERIDDER – Often the short-term missionary comes away with a wealth of blessings, however unanticipated, says Rod Pollard, who has been leading week-long mission trips to Honduras for about 14 years from First Baptist DeRidder.  Pollard serves as team captain for the 70 or so who visit Honduras each summer under the umbrella of Baptist Medical & Dental Mission International (BMDMI) in Hattiesburg, Miss. The whirlwind mission trip, one of dozens like it performed by similar teams all over the U.S., provides a multitude of services, not the least of which is sharing the gospel.  “My life is getting all of this ready to go,” Pollard said of the hundreds of boxes of shoes, medicines and other supplies that are collected and shipped to Honduras months before the short term missionaries ever arrive.  “My ministry is really to the team, to make sure they have everything they need,” he said. Pollard facilitates the provision of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 01:00 Sharing Christ   By Jon D. Wilke, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – When it comes to discipleship, those who regularly attend church struggle with sharing Christ with non-Christians, according to recent study of church going American Protestants. The study conducted by LifeWay Research found that 80 percent of those who attend church one or more times a month believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, but 61 percent have not told another person about how to become a Christian in the previous six months. These distressing results came from an extensive discipleship research project focused on measuring spiritual maturity in individuals. Overall, LifeWay Research found eight biblical attributes consistently evident in the lives of maturing believers. Of those eight, “Sharing Christ” has the lowest average score among Protestant church attendees. Three-quarters of churchgoers say they feel comfortable in their ability to effectively communicate the Gospel, while 12 percent say they don’t feel comfortable telling others about their faith. Despite a vast majority believing it’s their duty to share their faith and having the … [Read more...]

  By Staff, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – After a confidential two-year review, the Boy Scouts of America is upholding its policy to exclude homosexuals from membership and leadership posts in the group, despite activists’ cries for change. “The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their rights to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers, and at the appropriate time and in the right setting,” Bob Mazzuca, BSA chief scout executive, said in a BSA press release. “While a majority of our membership agrees with our policy, we fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society.” BSA also noted “that there will be no further action” on the matter. But that didn’t stop dismissed Ohio Scout den mother Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian, from taking to the BSN’s Irving, Texas, office a petition demanding her reinstatement. Tyrrell took to the office a Change.org petition reportedly with 300,000 signatures. “I hope to deliver the message that hundreds of thousands of people want this changed,” she told CNN affiliate WFAA July 17. “It’s not just me, it’s Scouts, former Scouts, Scout leaders, Scout masters, … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 01:00 Frank Page   By Art Toalston NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – An advisory team on the issue of Calvinism met “to listen, to learn and to hope,” SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page reported after the 16-member group met Aug. 29-30 in Nashville, Tenn. The goal for the meeting, Page said in an Aug. 31 statement to Baptist Press, “was not to argue theology or to try to change each other’s minds. ... I was greatly heartened by the civil tone that marked the meeting.” Page named the advisory team – “not an official committee” – in mid-August to develop, as he told Baptist Press at the time, “a strategy whereby people of various theological persuasions can purposely work together in missions and evangelism.” When he announced the advisory team, Page said at some point in the coming weeks and months he is hoping for “the crafting of a statement regarding the strategy on how we can work together.” The full statement issued Aug. 31 by Page after the advisory team’s initial meeting follows: “My goal for this initial meeting was not to argue theology or to try to change each other’s minds. It was to listen, to learn and to hope. My hope is that we as a … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 01:00 Cooking at First Covington: Henry Watts, a trained DR feeding unit member of Rolling Hills Ministries of Ruston, uses a large paddle to stir a vat filled with meat sauce for 300 people. He’s in the pavilion at First Baptist Church of Covington. DR stats as of 8 p.m. Sept. 5: four professions of faith; 106,264 meals; 344 volunteers; 306 assessments; child care: 24; mudouts: 133; chainsaw: 128; roofs: 39; showers: 2,476; laundry loads: 772; ministry contacts: 23,138.   By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor COVINGTON – Trained disaster relief volunteers from several states swarmed to southeast Louisiana within 48 hours of Hurricane Isaac, some reaching the area as soon as a day behind the storm as it inched its way up from the Gulf Coast. Rolling Hills Ministries of Ruston, La., was the first to arrive, setting up within 24 hours at First Baptist Church of Covington, one of several initial feeding sites. Others set up at Northshore Church, Slidell; Zoar Baptist Church, Central; Calvary Baptist Church, New Orleans; Coteau Baptist Church, Houma, and the Alario Center, Westwego. Longtime DR volunteer Joe Henard of Amarillo, Texas, coordinating logistics … [Read more...]

  By Joe Infranco, Attornery Alliance Defending Freedom With the Olympics fresh in our minds, we see yet again the connection between commitment and performance. Thinking about that connection reminded me of a scene from the Academy Award winning movie Chariots of Fire. There is a scene where the British Olympic Committee attempts to pressure the Scottish runner Eric Liddell to run on the Sabbath during the 1924 Olympics. Liddell, of course, will not do so as it would violate his principles and moral convictions. A compromise is finally reached in which the great runner switches events, thereby avoiding the Sabbath dilemma. In the aftermath, a committee member confides to another that it was fortunate they were not able to change Liddell’s mind. The committee member’s explanation to his puzzled friend is that Liddell’s commitment as a runner is an extension of who he is and what he believes; the attempt to sever him from the source of his greatness was both foolish and morally wrong. That’s an important lesson many on the left fail to learn as they blithely cast aside religious liberty and rights of conscience for others. Take for example Alliance Defending Freedom’s client, Hercules Industries, which recently … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 01:00 Editorial Cartoon   By Tim Patrick, DOM Beauregard Association Does your church have a parsonage? In many locations parsonages are becoming a thing of the past. However, in many rural areas they have served and continue to serve a worthy purpose. A parsonage can be a benefit to a rural church when seeking a new pastor because it provides adequate housing requiring no financial investment on the part of the minister. It can also benefit a  pastor because of the difficulty in finding housing in rural areas. However, there are some issues that need to be considered for the church that provides a parsonage to its pastor. By addressing these issues a church can minimize the burden of the parsonage and maximize the blessing for both the pastor and the church. 1.            If your parsonage is next door to the church, educate your people about proper etiquette. Encourage your people to respect the pastor’s privacy by not dropping by unannounced to ask for keys or, heaven forbid, by spying on his family life (oops – did I say that?). 2.            Remember, if you consider the parsonage to be a part of his salary package, do careful research to determine … [Read more...]

  By Ed Stetzer, Vice President of LifeWay Research and Ministry Development I am thankful that the recent shooting at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. was not worse than it was, thanks, in part, to the heroic actions of a security guard. We pray for the security guard, and his swift recovery. However, when an incident such as this occurs, we often find ourselves stepping back and trying to connect the dots. We wonder, “What led to this? How can people leap from debate across the chasm of civility to violence?” Regardless of the scenario or your side of the political fence, we need to consider these actions within two frameworks. The first framework is how the harsh rhetoric of our day sometimes overshadows the tragedies that have occurred. One example was the conversation just after the Tucson shooting in January 2011 where conservative commentators were quickly criticized for using perceived violent imagery like “targeting.” Rather than dealing with the motives and background of the attacker, the discourse – to use a very generous term – quickly turned accusatory toward people who did not pull the trigger. The second framework I suggest we consider is the silence of many in cases of the suicides of … [Read more...]

  By Rex Butler, NOBTS On January 21, 1525, George Blaurock asked Conrad Grebel to baptize him. Following his baptism, Blaurock proceeded to baptize the dozen or so men assembled at the home of Felix Manz in Zurich, Switzerland. This seemingly innocent event marked one of the most significant turning points in the history of the church and was considered so radical in its day that, in less than five years, all three men would be dead as a result of their doctrine of believer’s baptism. Zurich was the site of a major movement of the Reformation, paralleling the more famous one led by Martin Luther in Germany. In 1523, Ulrich Zwingli, pastor of Grössmunster (“the Great Church”) convinced the City Council to abolish Roman Catholicism and adopt his evangelical reforms, which included the authority of Scripture and the denunciation of the papacy, the priesthood, clerical celibacy, purgatory, and the use of images in worship. Zwingli had attracted the following of a group of young students, known as the Swiss Brethren. Included in this group were Conrad Grebel, a son of a Zurich councilman; Felix Manz, an illegitimate son of a priest; and George Blaurock, a former priest. Together, Zwingli and his disciples studied the Bible … [Read more...]

  By Archie England, NOBTS Question: How did the devil fall when he started out in heaven? NOBTS Professor Archie England responds: Ezekial 28:11-18 is the closest explanation that the OT gives as to how a once holy cherub fell: Coupled with Revelation 12:3-17, we can guess that with the fall of Satan, a third of the angelic host was cast with him. So, the short answer to your question is, “pride.” Satan wanted to be “God.” By tempting God’s creation to violate God’s ordinances, Satan believed God would destroy that very creation – and He did! What Satan did not foresee was the great love of God for His creation and, hence, the incarnation: Godhead humbling itself to do for creation what was otherwise unobtainable. Once Satan realized the redemptive plan of God he spared no cost to do away with God’s people or God’s Messiah: Jesus the Christ. At the cross, when Jesus died, Satan perhaps rejoiced at his victory at snuffing out the life of the “life-giver.” Evidently, he couldn’t see three days beyond to the resurrection. All Hell moaned as all creation rejoiced at the resurrection of God’s only Son – creation’s only hope! Until sentient beings (angels and humans) made wrong choices, there was no evil in the created … [Read more...]