International Mission Board trustees heard a challenge to speed up the sluggish growth of Southern Baptists’ global mission force and appointed 43 new missionaries during their Jan. 29-31 meeting in Ontario, Calif. ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) – International Mission Board trustees heard a challenge to speed up the sluggish growth of Southern Baptists’ global mission force and appointed 43 new missionaries during their Jan. 29-31 meeting in Ontario, Calif. Trustees and executive staff members also responded to a motion, made by IMB trustee Wade Burleson during last year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting and referred to the trustee board, calling for investigation of alleged improprieties by trustees. In his report to trustees, IMB President Jerry Rankin appealed for a "new resolve" among Southern Baptists to counteract a slowdown in the growth of the international mission force -– especially in short-term missionary categories. "I really believe what we have seen God doing in the first six years of this century exceeds even the previous decade in fulfilling the Great Commission," Rankin said. "It’s evident God is using the volatile events around the world to turn the hearts of people to spiritual answers that only Jesus can … [Read more...]

President George W. Bush received a Southern Baptist award for his advocacy of religious freedom in a Jan. 29 presentation at the White House.     WASHINGTON (BP) – President George W. Bush received a Southern Baptist award for his advocacy of religious freedom in a Jan. 29 presentation at the White House.   Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, presented the entity’s 2006 John Leland Religious Liberty Award to Bush in the Oval Office. The ERLC gave the award to the president for "courageously defending the right of all people to exercise freely their religious faith," according to the framed citation.   "I can’t think of another president in my lifetime who has done more to promote religious liberty specifically as a fundamental human right around the world than" Bush, Land told Baptist Press.   The award, which was presented for the 15th consecutive year by the ERLC, is named in memory of a Baptist preacher of the late 1700s and early 1800s who strongly advocated for religious freedom. Leland worked with James Madison, often described as the Father of the Constitution, to gain support for the First Amendment’s guarantees of no government establishment of religion and no … [Read more...]

National WMU received an inaugural grant from the Joy Fund of $35,000 from its partner, the WMU Foundation.     BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – National WMU received an inaugural grant from the Joy Fund of $35,000 from its partner, the WMU Foundation.   Announced at its 2007 January Board Meeting at Shocco Springs Conference Center in Talladega, Ala., the grant will enable WMU to make much-needed technology upgrades to its national office.   "We are overjoyed to have this gift from the Joy Fund that will enable us at the national office to purchase new computers and other technological equipment," said Wanda S. Lee, executive director/treasurer of national WMU. "This generous gift from the WMU Foundation will greatly enhance our work and create time efficiencies as we seek to engage even more churches in missions education and involvement. We are grateful for the partnership of David George as WMU Foundation president and his board members who whole-heartedly support the mission of WMU."   Members of the WMU Foundation Board of Trustees traveled to Shocco Springs in support of their partnership with WMU. They presented the check to Kaye Miller, national WMU president, and Lee before a standing ovation by WMU’s Board of … [Read more...]

"It would not be possible for a church our size to put a missionary in Brazil or West Africa; the start-up costs would be prohibitive," pastor Mike Moody says. "But when we collectively work with 16 million Southern Baptists, we can do it."     HONEA PATH, S.C. (BP) – "It would not be possible for a church our size to put a missionary in Brazil or West Africa; the start-up costs would be prohibitive," pastor Mike Moody says. "But when we collectively work with 16 million Southern Baptists, we can do it."   Moody is pastor of First Baptist Church in Honea Path, S.C., where about 400 people attend Sunday worship services.   By giving through the Cooperative Program, Moody noted that First Baptist is assisting more than 5,000 missionaries who are working to share the Gospel among some 1,200 people groups around the world. In North America, he added, the church’s CP gifts are helping start some 1,700 new churches each year at a time when, as Moody put it, "the world has come to us. You don’t have to go far to find Hispanic communities, Asian communities, African communities [in need of the Gospel].   "The Great Commission basically tells us to go and make disciples," Moody said, noting that "the Cooperative Program … [Read more...]

Chain saw units from around the state quickly responded to the recent ice and snow storms that blanketed the Plains and Southern regions of the United States.     LONGVILLE — Chain saw units from around the state quickly responded to the recent ice and snow storms that blanketed the Plains and Southern regions of the United States.   One such eight-man unit was staffed by four different churches. Olin Earl, Ronnie Lee, and Clyde Dennis from Magnolia Baptist; Steve Homan from First Longville; Jerry Johnson, Brad Johnson and Bill Coleman from Beauregard Memorial; and Steve Stokes from Harmony Baptist returned home Jan. 28 from Neosho, Mo., in the Southwest corner of the state, after logging 291 man hours and completing 49 work orders.   "Most of the work orders my team did was senior citizens, widows and widowers who wouldn’t have been able to do it themselves, either physically or financially," said Jerry Johnson, pastor of Beauregard Memorial Baptist and the blue hat and chaplain for this chain saw unit.   "Most important I think was sharing the love of Jesus with them," he continued. "If they were not Christians, we shared the gospel with them and gave them tracts and gave the follow up to [Calvary Church in … [Read more...]

In recent years, leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention and the broader evangelical world have sounded the alarm that churches are becoming less and less effective in evangelism. Baptisms among Southern Baptist churches have numbered less than 400,000 each of the last five years, and 2005 saw the lowest total since 1993.     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In recent years, leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention and the broader evangelical world have sounded the alarm that churches are becoming less and less effective in evangelism. Baptisms among Southern Baptist churches have numbered less than 400,000 each of the last five years, and 2005 saw the lowest total since 1993.   With that in mind, LifeWay Research made it a priority to investigate Southern Baptist churches that are effective in reaching people for Christ.   With input from LifeWay Christian Resources President Thom S. Rainer, LifeWay Research determined to look at churches that met the following criteria: baptized at least 26 people per year for 10 consecutive years; had overall worship attendance growth during the same 10 years; and had a membership-to-baptism ratio of no more than 20-to-1.   Out of more than 43,000 churches in the SBC, 22 met the … [Read more...]

As families were uprooted when Hurricane Katrina hit, Southern Baptist churches in the New Orleans area saw key leaders relocate. The remaining leaders, meanwhile, are overwhelmed and overworked at a time of great evangelistic harvest, finding it difficult to train and assimilate new believers.     NEW ORLEANS (BP) – As families were uprooted when Hurricane Katrina hit, Southern Baptist churches in the New Orleans area saw key leaders relocate. The remaining leaders, meanwhile, are overwhelmed and overworked at a time of great evangelistic harvest, finding it difficult to train and assimilate new believers.   Organizers of "Unlimited Partnerships New Orleans" are seeking to fill the void through an initiative that will match students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with area churches that need assistance in the area of Christian education.   The project is a joint effort of the North American Mission Board, the Louisiana Baptist Convention, the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans and New Orleans Seminary. Funding for the paid positions will come from sponsoring churches throughout the Southern Baptist Convention.   Students selected for Unlimited Partnerships New Orleans will serve in local … [Read more...]

Being pastor is very much like being part of a high wire act because there is no way to look, sound or dress like an "ordinary Joe" while walking a tightrope suspended in mid-air.     Being pastor is very much like being part of a high wire act because there is no way to look, sound or dress like an "ordinary Joe" while walking a tightrope suspended in mid-air.   Every day a pastor must traverse a wonderful line stretched between heaven and earth. There are some people that walk with the pastor on this high wire. There are even those that are ahead of him. However, many more are seated in the grandstands content to watch and admire his walk in holy air.   If the pastor’s walk is inspirational, the Lord can use him to help the spectators leave their seats and embark on their own spiritual tightrope journey. When that happens the pastor is filled with joy.   Most people appreciate the difficulty of the pastor’s walk and express that appreciation in lovely, gracious ways. However, there are people that fail to understand the preacher’s plight. These, and thank goodness they are few, will even throw things at a pastor making it difficult for him to keep his balance. Most people that hinder the pastor do so without … [Read more...]

Marcion, an early church heretic, was expelled from the church in Rome around AD 144. The early church leaders disapproved of his rejection of the Old Testament, which he based on supposed contradictions between it and the New Testament.     Marcion, an early church heretic, was expelled from the church in Rome around AD 144. The early church leaders disapproved of his rejection of the Old Testament, which he based on supposed contradictions between it and the New Testament.   Many Christians are still struggling with what to do with the Old Testament. And yet the Old Testament was the Bible for the first Christians, a fact made clear by examining the number of times the New Testament authors quoted from, or alluded to, the Old Testament. The Book of Hebrews contains at least 35 direct quotations from the Old Testament and approximately twice that number of allusions to Old Testament passages, events, and persons.   For too long, scholars have treated the New Testament authors’ use of the Old Testament as extreme examples of proof-texting that ignored the Old Testament context in order to make a particular point. In order to explain why the New Testament writers could ignore sound principles of interpretation, but … [Read more...]

The "Christian Revolutionaries" want to revitalize the church, not abandon it – and they definitely want to participate in missions.     The "Christian Revolutionaries" want to revitalize the church, not abandon it – and they definitely want to participate in missions.   At least, those are two messages I got from self-described "Revolutionaries" and others who responded to my last column, "Here comes the (Christian) Revolution," released Jan. 11.   In that column, I summarized some of Christian pollster George Barna’s most significant research findings for 2006.   Barna reported some discouraging trends in American church life: Only 15 percent of regular churchgoers rank their relationship with God as their top priority. Most adults related to a church youth group in their teens had dropped out of church altogether during their 20s. Many Christians experience spiritual growth haphazardly (or not at all).   But Barna also identified a growing movement of what he calls "Christian Revolutionaries" – believers who demonstrate much higher commitment to group worship, personal spiritual growth, Bible study and biblical beliefs, community ministry, evangelism and financial investment in Christian work.   However, … [Read more...]