By David Roach, Baptist Press ATLANTA (BP) - Agreements to "assume the best in one another" and that a "Gospel-above-all culture needs to prevail" in the Southern Baptist Convention were among the outcomes when SBC President J.D. Greear met Aug. 20 with 15 executive directors of Baptist state conventions. "The most basic principle in airline travel is that if you want someone there for the landing, they have to be there for the takeoff," Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., told Baptist Press in written comments. "These are the leaders who have been leading in the things before I became president and likely will be there leading after my term. I wanted to know how I could serve them, catalyze their efforts in evangelism and mobilization and bring cohesion to many of the wonderful things already going on throughout the SBC." Held at The Westin Atlanta Airport, the meeting included executive directors of conventions in the southeastern United States as well as SBC First Vice President A.B. Vines. Second Vice President Felix Cabrera was invited but could not attend. Greear will meet in the future with other state executive directors and leaders of churches, associations and SBC entities, according … [Read more...]

By Casey Watson, Baptist Global Response Staff Writer The Southern Baptist disaster relief and community development organization recently launched its first GoatFundMe Campaign, which encourages supporters to donate enough money to purchase 1,000 goats for people in need around the world. One goat costs roughly $75, so the organization has set a $75,000 goal for this campaign. CEO Jeff Palmer says GoatFundMe is particularly effective because it focuses on one, very useful animal to help improve life for a multitude of families. “Goats can produce healthy, nutritious milk for families, and in most cases, their milk is even recommended over cow’s milk because of its favorable protein composition,” he says. “Goats not only produce milk but they can also produce meat for the family as well as extra income through the selling of their offspring. Moreover, they are easy to raise, take up very little land area and are, for the most part, a hardy animal that can survive in a variety of climates.” BGR is encouraging entire churches to get involved in GoatFundMe and to donate as many animals as possible. The organization has published downloadable resources online to help individuals and congregations raise support for goat … [Read more...]