“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’” This was one of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples as he sent them into “every town and place where he was about to go.” “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’”  This was one of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples as he sent them into “every town and place where he was about to go.” One might conclude that the instructions in this text were merely reciting common courtesy, the modern equivalent of “Have a nice day” or “God bless you.”  But the references to the peace of God in the Bible, Old and New testaments, are too numerous to be understood as superficial niceties. The Greek word eirene is used more than 90 times in the New Testament.  It conveys much more than a fraternal greeting or the absence of conflict. It has the same meaning of the Hebrew shalom.  In fact, more than 250 times in the Septuagint (LXX), eirene translates the word shalom.  Shalom describes a state of general well-being that comes ultimately from God. The man who possesses the shalom of God is blessed, guarded, and treated graciously by God.  The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that the peace of God has been finally demonstrated, … [Read more...]

The day started out OK. The business trip to Atlanta with my friend and coworker had been planned for weeks. Our first hint of trouble occurred when I checked the news on my cellular telephone. The day started out OK. The business trip to Atlanta with my friend and coworker had been planned for weeks. Our first hint of trouble occurred when I checked the news on my cellular telephone. American Airlines had grounded more than 200 flights due to safety concerns. As the old saying goes, “Better safe than sorry.” Much to our delight, our flight was cleared for take-off. We arrived in Dallas in time to catch our connecting flight. Once nestled in, the captain announced our flight had been delayed, but we were allowed to de-plane and grab a bite. We were getting nowhere fast. Time passed quickly, but as we approached our gate, the lobby looked like a ghost town. Did the rapture occur? Had we been left behind? Only a few secondary lights were on and ticket agents were nowhere to be found. Our spirits sank. In our quest for food and fellowship, had we ignored the warnings for final boarding call? Just what had happened? We set out to find other human life forms. Eventually, a night guard directed us to activity on the other … [Read more...]

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – More than 23,000 Southern Baptist students – from teenage to college-age – will tackle roofing, drywall repairs, painting and landscaping in 96 World Changers projects this summer in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. By the time World Changers winds down operations in early August, the North American Mission Board’s initiative to renovate substandard housing expects to have donated $16.4 million in free labor in 80 American cities – including New Orleans and Baton Rouge – and reached 1,000 people for Christ. NAMB is a partnering agency with the 44,000-plus churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. “Continuing to work with Operation NOAH Rebuild, we’ll do five different rehab projects in New Orleans requiring 1,100 workers,” said John W. Bailey, NAMB’s leader for student volunteer mobilization. Now in its 19th year, World Changers is a pre-packaged mission experience sponsored and managed by NAMB, enabling students to donate a week (Saturday to Saturday) of their summer to rehabilitate some of the poorer neighborhoods of America – at no charge to the homeowner. The 96 projects kicked off May 30-June 7 in Indianapolis, a first-time World Changers site, where rehab work on 15 homes … [Read more...]

A 1-year-old girl died of pneumonia in May at a refugee camp on the grounds of Word of Faith Church in Limuru, northwest of Nairobi. LIMURU, Kenya (BP) – A 1-year-old girl died of pneumonia in May at a refugee camp on the grounds of Word of Faith Church in Limuru, northwest of Nairobi. Despite the shortage of firewood for heating and cooking, carpenter John Kimani* – himself a camp resident and survivor of the post-election violence in Kenya – built a coffin for the child. The small, rough-hewn box sat awaiting her body on a sunny afternoon as several Southern Baptist relief workers visited the IDP (“internally displaced persons”) camp. This child’s death made no headlines inside or outside Kenya. Months have passed since the disputed Kenyan presidential election on Dec. 27 unleashed weeks of frenzied political and tribal violence, killing more than 1,000 people and driving at least 300,000 from their homes. Other international crises have arisen since. Other disasters have claimed the world’s attention. The political powder keg that threatened to explode into civil war in once-stable Kenya was defused – at least for the moment – when President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga struck a power-sharing … [Read more...]

RENO, Nev. (BP) – A Southern Baptist church plant in Reno, Nev., has come up with a plan to counter the hateful messages touted by frequent protestor Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church group: Rent space on a billboard to proclaim God’s love for the people of Reno. “Out here, a lot of people are just kind of ignorant to the Gospel,” Mike Stewart, pastor of Discovery Fellowship, said, referring to a cultural lack of knowledge regarding true Christianity. “If they know anything about God, it’s either He’s indifferent or He’s angry or He hates women.” Stewart told Baptist Press that belief was reinforced when Phelps and his crew were in Reno earlier this year to protest at a soldier’s funeral. They found themselves the target of an anti-protest by a group of motorcyclists who rallied to show support for the soldier’s family, and the Westboro group from Kansas was angered. “They decided that they were going to make Reno a focus city,” Stewart said. “They said they were going to be here more often than not.” Around the same time, Reno was shaken by news that a local college student, 19-year-old Brianna Denison, had been kidnapped, raped and murdered. Her body was found in a field less than a mile from the … [Read more...]

Author Judy Burford’s original plan was to collect 60 to 70 stories from Louisiana parents of missionaries sent out by the International Mission Board, but the states grew over time to include Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Florida. A Special Touch of Grace: Stories from Missionary Parents about their Missionary Children, by Judy Burford. Published in 2007 by Pleasant Word, a division of Wine Press Publishing, Enumclaw, Wash. Author Judy Burford’s original plan was to collect 60 to 70 stories from Louisiana parents of missionaries sent out by the International Mission Board, but the states grew over time to include Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Florida. “You won’t find the  names of the authors of these stories on the prayer calendar,” Burford writes in the foreward. “As parents of IMB missionaries, most of us remain anonymous – but without us, there would be no missionaries.” The 35 stories in this compilation span the gamut of emotions expressed by the parents of missionaries – joy, acceptance, sorrow – for the personal cost to parents whose children answer God’s call to international missionary service. Excerpt: I personally dedicated our first-born child, a daughter, to God before she was a week old. … [Read more...]

The Birthday Rose tells the story of one of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, one of the overcomers.   The Birthday Rose: What Katrina Could Not Destroy, by Gwen “Miss Chocolate” Williams. Privately published in 2007 and reprinted in 2008 by Gwen Williams, Picayune, Miss. Available via email:chocolatelavern@aol.com The Birthday Rose tells the story of one of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, one of the overcomers. It’s as powerful a retelling of the Katrina story as you’re likely to read anywhere, because it’s written by and about an insider – a longtime New Orleans resident: Gwen “Miss Chocolate” Williams. Williams starts her story in the years before the storm, ministering to children and seniors – and trying with little success to get members of her church involved in mission projects. Then came Katrina, and Miss Chocolate helps us understand the misery of New Orleanians in the first days, weeks and months after the storm. One probably unintended consequence of The Birthday Rose is that it will be a good book for volunteers to read when the next communal disaster takes place. Reading this book is a great way to absorb a real understanding and, therefore, true empathy for a tragedy’s victims. The title … [Read more...]

In this collection of 80 succinct stories he writes, clear, visually-compelling “parables,” as he calls them, which are designed to show Christians ways they can be “lights along the shore” for travelers along life’s journey. Lights Along the Shore by G.L. Dighton, published in 2006 by Pleasant Word, an imprint of WinePress Publishing, Enumclaw, Wash. G.L. Dighton, a deacon for 25 years at Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, penned two books before this one. Maybe that’s why the writing is so professional. In this collection of 80 succinct stories he writes, clear, visually-compelling “parables,” as he calls them, which are designed to show Christians ways they can be “lights along the shore” for travelers along life’s journey. He writes of a duck that found its way to the local pond, and the way it was pecked from one group of ducks to another as he sought a way to fit in, until he finally gave up and now is nowhere to be found. Dighton likened that duck to the stranger who might come into a local church. He writes of picking up a cone from a cypress, harvesting the seed inside, and planting them, only to be surprised by 43 baby cypress overrunning his patio. Excerpt: Small beginnings give no indication of … [Read more...]

Callie’s Redemption is an inspiration/suspense novel set in South Florida in the 1990s.   Callie’s Redemption, by Rebekah Kasey. Published April 2008 by Xlibris, Philadelphia. Available at Amazon.com Callie’s Redemption is an inspiration/suspense novel set in South Florida in the 1990s. In this novel, 24-year-old Callie MaCraw blames herself for the death of her 8-year-old nephew, Bobby Neddleton, in a car crash on a foggy street late one night in Venice, Calif. Devastated and unable to cope, Callie leaves her home in Venice and travels to North Florida, then Central Florida, and finally settling in South Florida. In a period of less than six months, Callie goes from a non-drinker to a hard-core alcoholic. She learns what life on the streets of South Florida is all about. Callie’s Redemption is a novel about one woman’s triumph over misfortune and the unique circumstances that bring God into her life. Each chapter includes a related Scripture passage. “No matter where you are in your Christian walk, this novel has something for you,” Author Rebekah Kasey says. “There is a message that can be taken away and used in everyday life.” Kasey, who lives in Deville, is a member at Holloway Baptist … [Read more...]

What is it like being in the belly of a whale? Well, it’s downright scary, according to a description of the book.   When You Find Yourself in the Belly of a Whale, by Beth C. Whittington. Published in May 2008 by Xulon Press. What is it like being in the belly of a whale? Well, it’s downright scary, according to a description of the book that’s on www.xulonpress.com. And the surroundings are rather depressing. However, it is quiet. You have time to think – and pray. Singing sounds really good, much like being in the shower. You begin to explore the possibility of climbing out and taming the very thing that has consumed you. Beth Cantrell Whittington, a member at Calvary Baptist Alexandria, used humor, honesty, a battle with cancer, criminal justice career experiences, and down-to-earth devotional thoughts when she wrote When You Find Yourself .... Her point was to get readers to focus on the big picture – looking at the surprising blows and storms of life through God’s eyes. Jesus was never diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. He was never laid off because his company was downsizing. He never had family problems or experienced a mid-life crisis. But he was falsely accused, mocked, spat upon, beaten, and … [Read more...]