Mount Zion Baptist Church of Canton, N.C., gives 20 percent of its undesignated offerings to missions through Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program for maximizing missions effectiveness. Member in 2006 also nearly tripled their Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal for international missions.         NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Mount Zion Baptist Church of Canton, N.C., gives 20 percent of its undesignated offerings to missions through Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program for maximizing missions effectiveness. Member in 2006 also nearly tripled their Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal for international missions.   But missions is more than dollars and cents, senior pastor Perry Brindley said as he led a team of 14 volunteers to New Orleans to work with Operation NOAH.   "Not only do we want to give, we want to go," Brindley said.   Steve Gahagan, construction manager for Operation NOAH, told the North Carolina volunteers that Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding left an estimated 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed in the greater New Orleans area. NOAH’s goal is to rebuild 1,000 homes, representing 1 percent of the number affected.   "We have a tremendous job to do," Gahagan said. "But if we can … [Read more...]

"The two main problems we [Baptists] have are obesity and divorce," observed Charles Lowery in an article titled A Box of Chocolates. He added, "Baptist marriages are so short that some people are throwing Minute Rice at weddings." With these being "two main problems," where is a main emphasis to counteract them, particularly divorce, since it heaps total devastation on marriages and families? Tom Elliff noted last year that there are 5,471 divorces daily in the U.S. How long will we sit by while brothers and sisters in Christ are permanently harmed before taking action?   Michael Reagan, in his book Twice Adopted, says "Divorce is where two adults take everything that matters to a child – the child’s home, family, security, and sense of being loved and protected – and they smash it all up, leave it in ruins on the floor, then walk out and leave the child to clean up the mess."   Society says "Get on with your life, just move on." Sadly, the church is now saying the same thing as it pronounces a sick marriage dead.   For the church to give up on sick marriages is to say that there is something which God cannot do or does not care to do.   Since God has said "I hate divorce," He will not arrange or … [Read more...]

The birth and record survival of a baby less than 22 weeks gestation could have, and should have, an impact on the perception and treatment of unborn human beings, pro-life bioethics commentators say.         WASHINGTON (BP) – The birth and record survival of a baby less than 22 weeks gestation could have, and should have, an impact on the perception and treatment of unborn human beings, pro-life bioethics commentators say.   Amillia Sonja Taylor, born at 21 weeks and six days, went home Feb. 21 weighing four pounds after a nearly four-month stay at Baptist Children’s Hospital in Miami, Fla. When she was born Oct. 24, she weighed less than 10 ounces and was only 9 1/2 inches long.   She is the first baby known to have survived after less than 23 weeks gestation, according to the hospital. Infants who go to full term are born between 37 and 40 weeks. The hospital reported the death rate for babies born at 23 weeks is 70 percent, according to the American Association of Pediatrics.   Amillia’s miraculous survival could affect public policy, said Southern Baptist physician Don Buckley.   "It’s back to the drawing board for lawmakers who would base the right to life upon the age of viability of a … [Read more...]

The president search committee of the North American Mission Board’s trustees recommended March 1 that Geoffrey A. Hammond become the Southern Baptist entity’s next president. Hammond is senior associate director of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia state convention. ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – The president search committee of the North American Mission Board’s trustees recommended March 1 that Geoffrey A. Hammond become the Southern Baptist entity’s next president. Hammond is senior associate director of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia state convention.   NAMB’s trustees will vote on the recommendation at a March 20-21 special meeting in Alpharetta, Ga. If approved, Hammond would become NAMB’s president-elect, officially beginning his duties at the May 8-9 board meeting and starting fulltime on May 22, search committee chairman Greg Faulls said.   "Dr. Hammond has proven himself to be a successful leader, strategist and practitioner in church planting missions and evangelism throughout his ministry career," Faulls said. "NAMB is a missions agency in need of a strong leader with the mind of a missiologist and with a vision to strategically mobilize an army of missionaries who will spread the Gospel and … [Read more...]

A group of at least 50 concerned citizens from Northern Rapides Parish met March 1 to respond to recent media reports that indicated Pineville's "dry" status could be threatened.     PINEVILLE – A group of concerned citizens from the Northern Rapides Parish met for the second time to do something to oppose the possible expansion of alcohol sales in their town. The group met March 1 at Louisiana College’s Granbury Conference Center at the invitation of Joe Aguillard, LC president, to respond to recent media reports that indicated Pineville’s "dry" status could be threatened. At least 50 people, including pastors, concerned laypeople, and current and former elected officials from Southern Baptist and other denominations attended the meeting. Aguillard called and led the meeting after receiving numerous requests from concerned citizens in the Pine-ville area, he said. Pineville Attorney Michael Johnson told the group the alcohol issue would ultimately wind up on the ballots of those areas north of the Red River once again. Because there is no absolute right to sell alcohol in the United States, alcohol sellers are licensed. The licensing of alcohol sales is a "local option" meaning that it is … [Read more...]

Although the Prayer Revival of 1857 had a less than overwhelming start, Jeremiah Lanphier and the six men who prayed with him at lunchtime in downtown New York City decided to meet again the following Wednesday, Sept. 30.         Second of two articles Although the Prayer Revival of 1857 had a less than overwhelming start, Jeremiah Lanphier and the six men who prayed with him at lunchtime in downtown New York City decided to meet again the following Wednesday, Sept. 30.   This time 20 men showed up to pray, the following week 30 or 40 filled the third floor. During that third meeting, the group determined a daily prayer time was in order rather than a weekly meeting.   The gathering began to increase in numbers so fast that by the end of the second month three large rooms were filled. Many unsaved people came and fell under conviction of sin. Within six months, 50,000 people were gathering in prayer meetings all over New York City.   The Prayer Revival couldn’t have come at a better time, because a national crisis loomed on the horizon. The time of great economic prosperity was about to succumb to the grip of panic. In his work, When Heaven Touched Earth, Roy Fish wrote, "The immediate era … [Read more...]

The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board has appointed six missionaries with ties to Louisiana.         ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board has appointed six missionaries with ties to Louisiana.   Michele Bruss is serving as a Baptist center missionary in New Orleans, where she will work at the Baptist Friendship House, a transitional housing program for homeless women with children.   Michele, who considers Summit, Miss. as her hometown, is completing work on her masters in social work at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala. She will graduate in May 2007. She also earned her bachelors degree in social work at the University of Alabama. She has served as a summer missionary in Arizona and Louisiana, and has interned with WMU.   Erika Holt, a native of Holt, Fla., is serving in New Orleans, where she has been appointed as a US/C-2 missionary at the Carver House, another Southern Baptist center. She will be assisting children in an after-school program, as well as teens and the homeless.   Erika attended the University of West Florida in Pensacola, and recently earned a B.A. degree in Christian counseling at the Baptist … [Read more...]

A woman hefting a fold-up wheelchair out of the back of a vehicle stopped what she was doing to direct me into that Sunday’s worship center one recent week. PINEVILLE - A woman hefting a fold-up wheelchair out of the back of a vehicle stopped what she was doing to direct me into that Sunday’s worship center one recent week. I was impressed that busy as she was, this kind woman stopped to make sure I knew where church was happening.   Just as I stepped through the doors to the church’s recreation center – the worship center was in the middle of getting a new heating and air conditioning unit, I learned later – a man in the pulpit started praying. I bowed my head and most unexpectedly (after all, I wasn’t a foot inside the doorway, and not prepared mentally for a prayer) I received the covering of God’s love. That praying person spoke to every single need and thought in my life! Later I found out the person who had been praying was the pastor, Greg Carroll. A church with a pastor that connected to God is blessed indeed.   After the prayer a greeter smiled a silent welcome at me, and an usher unobtrusively directed me to an available chair; both made me feel cared about.   Pineville Park asks its members to each give a dollar … [Read more...]

On March 4, a On March 4, a "documentary" aired on the Discovery Channel that claimed archaeologists have discovered the family tomb of Jesus of Nazareth.   I have had an opportunity to read the related book by filmmakers Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino titled The Jesus Family Tomb. The book describes the discovery and investigation of ten ossuaries (bone boxes) that were discovered in the Talpiot tomb in Jerusalem in 1980. Because several of the ossuaries contain names associated with the Jesus of the New Testament Gospels, the authors argue that the tomb is undoubtedly the family tomb of Jesus. The ossuaries purportedly bear such inscriptions as "Jesus, son of Joseph," "Judah, son of Jesus," "Matthew," "Mary the master," "Mary," and "Jose" (a diminutive form of Joseph).   The Jesus Family Tomb is written in the fashion of the Da Vinci Code. This book, however, is intended for the history and religion sections of bookstores rather than the fiction section. That alone will give the book more credibility in the eyes of many readers. Despite the overstatements and leaps to conclusions unwarranted by the data, many readers will view the claims as fact. Although a detailed and carefully researched response to … [Read more...]

Movie director James Cameron, film documentarian Simcha Jacobovici recently announced that they have identified a tomb in East Talpiot, just south of the old city of Jerusalem, which they believe contained the skeletal remains of Jesus Christ.         Movie director James Cameron, film documentarian Simcha Jacobovici recently announced that they have identified a tomb in East Talpiot, just south of the old city of Jerusalem, which they believe contained the skeletal remains of Jesus Christ.   Supposedly, in the tomb also were found the remains of his family, including his mother Mary, his "wife" Mary Magdalene, his "son" Judah, his brother Joses and another possible family member named Matthew. The remains were found in burial boxes called ossuaries.   A book called The Jesus Family Tomb was released Feb. 27, and a corresponding documentary on the tomb aired on The Discovery Channel March 4. If the tomb really does contain the remains of Jesus and His family, the ramifications would be devastating to Christianity. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." In the original Greek, Paul literally wrote … [Read more...]