Revivals that make a major impact on a nation aren’t always associated with great preachers like George Whitefield, D. L. Moody or Billy Graham. Sometimes God uses a relatively unknown person who is a committed follower of Christ to bring about change.         First in a two-part series NEW YORK CITY – Revivals that make a major impact on a nation aren’t always associated with great preachers like George Whitefield, D. L. Moody or Billy Graham. Sometimes God uses a relatively unknown person who is a committed follower of Christ to bring about change.   On September 23, 1857, one of those lesser-known figures, Jeremiah Lanphier, opened the doors to the Old North Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in New York City for prayer. In a matter of weeks, the Spirit of God was blowing the winds of revival out of the doors of one church to directly impact more than one million people in the United States, and, with media and word-of-mouth coverage, to spread world wide.   Jeremiah Lanphier wasn’t a great preacher. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t really a preacher at all. He was a small town boy who moved to New York to seek his fortune. For 20 years, he owned a mercantile, a retail shop.   The Old North … [Read more...]

Yes, the upcoming Prayer for Spiritual Awakening conference set for March 22-23 at Kingville Baptist Church in Pineville has nationally-known speakers on its program. PINEVILLE – Yes, the upcoming Prayer for Spiritual Awakening conference set for March 22-23 at Kingville Baptist Church in Pineville has nationally-known speakers on its program.   Roy Fish, longtime evangelism professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is to share the podium with John Avant, evangelism vice president at the North American Mission Board and international evangelist Sammy Tippit.   Yes, people from the entire state of Louisiana are invited to participate.   "This is not just something for central Louisiana," says Dick DeBusk, prayer strate-gtist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. "We’re hoping that everyone with an interest in world-changing prayer will be at Kingsville for this potentially world-shaking event."   And yes, prayer is to be the major component of the Prayer for Spiritual Awakening Conference. Much time is to be spent in prayer for a national awakening, DeBusk said.   "We have an urgent need for revival," said Wayne Jenkins, the LBC’s evangelism/church growth team leader, and co-host of the … [Read more...]

Southern Baptist missionary Kay Garvin, 56, was shot in the chest by robbers Feb. 23 near Moshi, Tanzania. After being taken to a local clinic to be treated, she was being airlifted to a hospital in Kenya late in the evening. MOSHI, Tanzania (BP) – Southern Baptist missionary Kay Garvin, 56, was shot in the chest by robbers Feb. 23 near Moshi, Tanzania. After being taken to a local clinic to be treated, she was being airlifted to a hospital in Kenya late in the evening.   Her wound was not thought to be life-threatening, according to reports.   Garvin’s husband Carl, 60, also was injured in the attack, but his condition is not serious. A trained nurse, he has emergency medical training and was able to aid his wife immediately following the shooting, according to an initial report. Kay Garvin was conscious, breathing and talking after the shooting.   The Garvins, first-term missionaries from Valley Springs, Ark., were attacked by robbers who entered their room in a hotel south of Moshi. The missionary couple was assisting three Southern Baptist volunteers visiting Tanzania to participate in a mission project. No one else was hurt in the attack, but one of the volunteers reportedly helped fight off the robbers.   The … [Read more...]

My wife recently purchased a digital scale and placed it in our bathroom. I recently mustered the courage to give it a try. I hopped on the scale and waited patiently. When I glanced down at the display, words appeared instead of numbers. "One at a time," the callous calibrator reported.         My wife recently purchased a digital scale and placed it in our bathroom. I recently mustered the courage to give it a try. I hopped on the scale and waited patiently. When I glanced down at the display, words appeared instead of numbers. "One at a time," the callous calibrator reported.   I knew I had gained some weight, but I never realized I had put on enough pounds to play linebacker in the NFL. "How," I wondered, "did this happen?"   I began to carefully review my eating patterns over the past several months. It did not take too long to note a recent addition to my diet.   The culprit that had caused me to become gravitationally challenged was ice cream. And not just any ice cream. It was a particular brand of the frozen treat – Blue Bell.   I added Blue Bell ice cream to my diet when my family moved to Louisiana from Oregon a year ago. The tasty Texas treat was not available in the Pacific … [Read more...]

If God is truly all-loving and all-powerful, why does He permit so much human suffering? If God is all-powerful, it is in His power to stop suffering. If He is all-loving, it would seem that He would care enough to stop suffering. So why doesn’t He stop suffering?         Why does God allow suffering? This question has been raised in every generation. People often ask why God would allow a natural disaster, a painful illness, or a tragic killing. If God is truly all-loving and all-powerful, why does He permit so much human suffering? If God is all-powerful, it is in His power to stop suffering. If He is all-loving, it would seem that He would care enough to stop suffering. So why doesn’t He stop suffering?   Sometimes believers raise this question, and sometimes unbelievers raise this issue as a challenge to the Christian faith. As believers, we are called to "give an answer" for questions like these and for the hope that is within us (1 Pet.3:15).   The Bible does not answer all our questions about suffering. It is quite possible that we would not be capable of understanding the complexities of this mystery even if God explained everything to us. But Scripture does not leave us without any … [Read more...]

Russia is the largest country on earth and full of natural resources, but it is dying. Its people cannot surmount the degradation of years of neglect and of rhetoric that promised so much, but delivered so little.         Russia is the largest country on earth and full of natural resources, but it is dying. Its people cannot surmount the degradation of years of neglect and of rhetoric that promised so much, but delivered so little.   The effect of decades of policies that were nothing more than words on paper and produced no action eventually brought down the former Soviet Union. Recovery remains hard for Russia as unlearning old ways in a new shot at life – even with vast resources at their disposal – is proving difficult.   Many Russians now publicly remark that Communism was easier, but not better. Knowing what to do with resources is far more important than merely possessing them.   In like manner, the Southern Baptist Convention possesses at its fingertips resources which cause Christians in other regions of the globe to gasp with astonishment. If, however, those resources are not guided and channeled in ways which give full obedience and passion to the glory of God, the SBC, a denomination … [Read more...]

Cameron, Calcasieu, and Jefferson Davis Parishes as well as a small, southern portion of Allen Parish comprise this Southern Baptist association, which ministers not only in the Festival Capital of Louisiana but also in an area that’s been destroyed by a hurricane.         CAREY ASSOCIATION – Cameron, Calcasieu, and Jefferson Davis Parishes as well as a small, southern portion of Allen Parish comprise this Southern Baptist association, which ministers not only in the Festival Capital of Louisiana but also in an area that’s been destroyed by a hurricane.   Area festivals involve tourists and natives alike, as everyone celebrates heritage, food, culture, music, and more. The more widely known festivals include Mardi Gras; the Black Heritage Festival; the Cajun French Music and Food Festival; the Cal-Ca-Chew Food Festival; DeQuincy’s Railroad Festival, Cameron’s Fur Festival, Iowa’s Rabbit Festival, and Lake Charles’ Contraband Days, an observance of the area’s legacy of piracy, which begins when "pirates," led by Jean Lafitte—his Contraband treasure is supposedly buried in the lake area—storm the city, conquer it, and, with swords drawn, kidnap the mayor whom they force to "walk the plank" into the … [Read more...]

J.P. Miles, Director of Missions here, is not one to let leaky baptismal boots get in the way of preaching a good sermon.         CAREY ASSOCIATION – J.P. Miles, Director of Missions here, is not one to let leaky baptismal boots get in the way of preaching a good sermon.   New to the church where he was baptizing a new believer, Miles had anticipated the church’s baptismal boots – similar to fisherman’s waders and worn by many pastors beneath baptismal robe and over street clothes – would be fine. They weren’t. As he prayed and then baptized the new believer, water rushed in around his feet and began to rise, soaking his socks and pants.   Lacking a change of clothing, he nevertheless persevered through the remaining service, preaching in shoes that squished and in pants that were soaked.   "Fortunately, I was behind the pulpit," he said, so not many noticed, except for the music minister who gave him an odd look. "I just went on and preached."   Born June 15, 1944, Miles has been DOM for the Carey Association going on 11 years and has been in the ministry for 41 years. He is married to Sheri; they have two grown sons, Jonathan who is married to Tamara, and Brian who is married to Jennifer. … [Read more...]

A social storm is impacting the nature of childhood in today’s culture, eroding what has been and leaving in its place a vacuum that robs children of both innocence and imagination.         Editor’s note: First printed in Beyond Ordinary Living, a Canadian Christian publication, this first-person article seemed a good start to our March focus on children, a five-week series that will look at school, play, parenting and teaching youngsters about God’s love for them. In October 1991 a storm stronger than any in recorded history hit the coast off of Gloucester, Massachusetts. This "Perfect Storm" – so called because it was three storms combined into one – created an almost apocalyptic situation in the Atlantic ocean, where boats encountered waves of 100 feet (30 meters) – the equivalent of a ten-story building. The event was memorialized as both a book and then a movie, both called The Perfect Storm. Another storm is gathering momentum, three forces coming together, each contributing to the degree of damage that is possible. It is a social storm that is impacting the nature of childhood in today’s culture, eroding what has been and leaving in its place a vacuum that robs children of both innocence … [Read more...]

It’s another early morning for Bill Barker in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. He leaves home earlier than usual in his brown Toyota minivan, which suddenly tops a mountain crest. He pulls off the road to talk to God. HURRICANE, W. VA. – It’s another early morning for Bill Barker in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. He leaves home earlier than usual in his brown Toyota minivan, which suddenly tops a mountain crest. He pulls off the road to talk to God.   "I look out across the mountains as the morning mist and fog begin to lift," he says. "You can still see the green valleys below filled with fog. It’s such a beautiful sight. I stand there and pray, ‘Lord, please send revival and fill these mountains again with Your glory even as You fill these valleys with the morning mist.’"   Born in Boone County, W. Va., Barker, a North American Mission Board missionary, grew up in the state’s rugged coal mining country but left in 1969 with plans to never return. But it was a Higher Calling – God Himself – who told Barker seven years ago that he should "go home" to West Virginia after a 32-year absence.   As a native Appalachian, Barker believes he is uniquely qualified for his current post, director of Appalachian … [Read more...]