Morningside Baptist Church had fallen on hard times. On paper, Morningside’s budget called for 10 percent of church members’ gifts to be channeled through the Cooperative Program, but often that check wasn’t written. Each month’s local expenses – water, electricity, telephone, mortgage and the like – were maxing out its income. YUMA, Ariz. (BP) –Morningside Baptist Church had fallen on hard times. On paper, Morningside’s budget called for 10 percent of church members’ gifts to be channeled through the Cooperative Program, but often that check wasn’t written. Each month’s local expenses – water, electricity, telephone, mortgage and the like – were maxing out its income. During one church business meeting, which was held in the fellowship hall to save money by not air conditioning the larger worship center in midweek, longtime church member Gladys Armbruster challenged the Yuma, Ariz., congregation. “Until the church puts missions giving first – like God wants us to tithe first – God is not going to bless the church financially,” Armbruster said. The church heeded her words and began sending in its Cooperative Program check first each week. “Our treasurer still does that today,” said pastor Gilbert Taeger … [Read more...]

Baptist Press will launch a news blog during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, allowing readers to stay updated on events throughout the two-day event in a timely manner. SAN ANTONIO (BP)--Baptist Press will launch a news blog during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, allowing readers to stay updated on events throughout the two-day event in a timely manner. Labeled "Instant News," the blog -- at www.bpnews.net/blog -- will provide updates within seconds or minutes of key events from the convention floor Tuesday and Wednesday in San Antonio. The blog will allow readers to know the nuts and bolts of news before Baptist Press posts more detailed full-length stories. "I am excited about giving our readers this resource for reliable and instant access to developments at the annual meeting," said Will Hall, executive editor of Baptist Press. The blog will begin its coverage of the annual meeting at 9 a.m. Eastern Tuesday and will report throughout the meeting on such news as: -- Vote totals for president, first vice president, second vice president and other officers. -- Results of votes on motions and resolutions. -- SBC President Frank Page's address. -- Quotes … [Read more...]

Houston Astros third baseman Morgan Ensberg vividly remembers a speaker he heard at the team’s Bible study a couple of years ago. EDITORS’ NOTE: BP Sports columnist Tim Ellsworth recently visited Florida to do a series of stories on spring training as baseball players get ready to begin the 2007 season. KISSIMMEE, Fla. (BP) – Houston Astros third baseman Morgan Ensberg vividly remembers a speaker he heard at the team’s Bible study a couple of years ago. Nanotechnologist Jim Tour gave his testimony to the team about becoming a Christian during college. “From that day on, he said he read the Bible every single day,” Ensberg said. “It really impacted me.” Tour said he had read his Bible daily for about 25 years. That commitment rubbed off on Ensberg. “From that day, about two and a half years ago, I said, ‘This is obviously a message from the Holy Spirit. I’m going to do this,’” Ensberg said. And he has. Every day, without fail, Ensberg carves out the time and makes sure he reads at least a little part of the Bible. It’s not like Ensberg had no biblical foundation in his life. His grandfathers were both Lutheran ministers, and his parents met while they were students at California Lutheran University. “I … [Read more...]

There is no such thing as retiring from the service of the Lord. SPENCER – There is no such thing as retiring from the service of the Lord. But the tradition in most Baptist churches is that as older members reach retirement age, younger members step in and take on leadership roles. At Spencer Baptist Church, the demographics of the membership and vitality of many older members have created a somewhat unusual situation. The church grew rapidly in the middle of the last century and many of those members still carry a big load. A downturn in membership during the past couple of decades contributed to the current situation, but young members Are now stepping forward as the church has begun to grow again. This small rural church located in Union Parish has a large number of members who are 70 or older, about 10 who are past their 80th birthday, and four who are more than 90 years old. Two of the church’s five deacons – Cona Spillers and Walter Thomas – are in their 90s. Spillers has served for many years as chairman of the deacon body. Spencer Baptist  Church was established Oct. 31, 1920. Its oldest member, 98-year-old Ida Mae Wilson, joined soon after the church was formed and was meeting in the Spencer Woodman … [Read more...]

Dale McLemore had just earned his degree in Christian ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and had been approved to become a Mission Service Corps MSC missionary for the North American Mission Board. DELAND, Fla. – Dale McLemore had just earned his degree in Christian ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and had been approved to become a Mission Service Corps MSC missionary for the North American Mission Board. MSC personnel are self-funded missionaries assigned by NAMB to strategic situations that have not been funded. McLemore was awaiting the final paperwork to assign him as a NAMB outreach missionary for extreme sports.  His job would have been to share Christ and help meet the spiritual needs of those involved in extreme sports – sky diving, snow skiing, deep sea diving, base jumping, rock-climbing, etc. The New Orleans resident – who would have turned 45 on June 16 – died on May 20 after a failed, high-speed competitive jump from an altitude of 5,000 feet in DeLand,Fla. “It was a sporting accident,” said Sgt. Jim Jusick of the DeLand Police Department.  Jusick said that according to eyewitness accounts, there was no equipment failure, that McLemore’s parachute had opened … [Read more...]

ABC Camp gets improvements EUNICE – Much work has been done and many improvements can be seen at Acadian Baptist Center. Both a new one-bedroom rustic family cabin – to be used mostly as a getaway by pastors – as well as a bathhouse near the pool, hopefully will be ready for use before July 1. “Probaby well before July 1,” said James Newsom, camp manager. A new lawnmower, new stove, new convection oven, commercial mixer, 250 new comfortable stacking chairs and additional air conditioning in the gym are among other improvements, according to the May issue of the ABC newsletter. Volunteers recently painted an underwater scene as a mural on the water tank. There’s a new gym floor, new pavement in front of the office, and new tile floor in Elliot and Westberry dorms, the cabins and the office. New program: For the first time ever, ABC is to offer two horseback riding camps this summer. These are in addition to their regular weeks of camp: youth camps, pre-teen camps, missions camp and day camp. New staff also has been added: Guy (wife Rebekah) Atkinson is to head ABC’s new Outdoor Education Center. Read more of this in an upcoming issue of the Message. The camp’s long-range planning committee and board of … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – A new study by LifeWay Research on the use of private prayer language indicates that half of Southern Baptist pastors believe the Holy Spirit gives some people a special language to pray to God. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – A new study by LifeWay Research on the use of private prayer language indicates that half of Southern Baptist pastors believe the Holy Spirit gives some people a special language to pray to God. The study also indicates the majority of Protestant senior pastors (63 percent) and laity (51 percent) believe in the gift of a private prayer language. The study was conducted by phone survey to 1,004 Protestant laity, 405 Southern Baptist (SBC) senior pastors and 600 non-SBC Protestant senior pastors in April-May 2007. In addition, the LifeWay report includes a study of SBC seminary graduates initially conducted by the North American Mission Board’s Center for Missional Research. All 1998-2004 master’s-level graduates from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary were invited to … [Read more...]

Like the lukewarm church at Laodicea that Jesus said in the Book of Revelation He was about to spew out of His mouth, The Barna Group in a recent study assessed American Christianity as neither hot nor cold.  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Like the lukewarm church at Laodicea that Jesus said in the Book of Revelation He was about to spew out of His mouth, The Barna Group in a recent study assessed American Christianity as neither hot nor cold.  “Most Americans do not have strong and clear beliefs, largely because they do not possess a coherent biblical worldview,” David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Group, said. “That is, they lack a consistent and holistic understanding of their faith. Millions of Americans say they are personally committed to Jesus Christ, but they believe He sinned while on earth.  “Many believers claim to trust what the Bible teaches, but they reject the notion of a real spiritual adversary or they feel that faith-sharing activities are optional,” Kinnaman added. “Millions feel personally committed to God, but they are renegotiating the definition of that deity.”  One reason beliefs fluctuate, Kinnaman said, is that most Americans hold few convictions about their faith and “have one foot in the biblical … [Read more...]

In a gathering of Koreans from both sides of the Pacific, a glimpse of the multicolored, multiethnic future of the international missionary force comes into view. ROCKVILLE, Va. (BP) – In a gathering of Koreans from both sides of the Pacific, a glimpse of the multicolored, multiethnic future of the international missionary force comes into view. More than 70 South Korean and Korean-American Baptist pastors and mission leaders met with International Mission Board colleagues during a Korean Global Mission Summit at the mission board’s International Learning Center in Rockville, Va. It’s not the first such meeting. But this one focused on nuts-and-bolts strategies and commitments for mobilizing Korean churches in America and South Korea to reach people groups around the world who remain untouched by the Gospel. “We’ve spent years building a relationship and establishing a growing trust and partnership,” said IMB President Jerry Rankin, who helped initiate the annual consultations. “This year was intended to be practical training for personalized, effective mission strategies and engagement of unreached people groups. The response to the final challenge was a powerful experience. Everyone [got] on their faces, literally, … [Read more...]

Because of logistical problems, the annual meeting of the Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches in America is to take place this year in Houston. SAN ANTONIO, Texas (BP) – Because of logistical problems, the annual meeting of the Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches in America is to take place this year in Houston. The gathering of about 600 Korean Southern Baptists usually takes place concurrently with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, with time planned in the Korean-language schedule to participate in some of the SBC English-language sessions. This year, though, the Korean gathering is set for June 18-20 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Bush Intercontinental Airport. “I went to San Antonio and checked hotel; every hotel too expensive,” said Timothy Tae Hwan Park, executive director of the Korean Council. “Also, San Antonio three Korean [Southern Baptist] churches. Too difficult for them to host such big gathering.” Call it the ‘food barrier.’ Many of the pastors and lay leaders in the 760 or more Korean Southern Baptist churches across the United States speak Korean as their first language. They preach in Korean, pray in Korean, counsel, lead and listen in Korean. They also eat … [Read more...]