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"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Frank Page announces retirement as EC president

By Art Toalston, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) -- Frank S. Page, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee since 2010, has announced his retirement. In a letter to EC members, Page wrote, "It has been my joy and honor to serve the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention for eight years. "Many months ago, my daughters shared their deep desire for Dayle and me to retire and move closer to them in South Carolina so that we might spend more time with them and their families -- especially our grandchildren. After much prayer and conversation, we have chosen to make this decision," Page, 65, wrote. He did not set a retirement date but stated to EC members, "Know that I am willing to assist in any way to make this transition efficient and smooth." Page was the 2006-2008 president of the SBC, elected to the post as pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C. Before being elected as Executive Committee president in 2010, Page was serving as vice president of evangelization for the North American Mission Board. Among the hallmarks of Page's tenure as EC president have been strong calls for personal evangelism, support for the Cooperative Program … [Read more...]

GuideStone, ministries it serves, receive permanent injunction, protecting from contraceptive mandate, penalties

By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS – An Oklahoma federal court issued a permanent injunction Thursday, March 15, prohibiting the federal government from enforcing the contraceptive mandate issued by the Obama Administration in 2013. The mandate, issued under the Affordable Care Act, would have forced certain ministries to provide abortion-causing drugs or devices or face potentially crippling fines. The permanent injunction protects the plaintiffs in the case — Reaching Souls International, an Oklahoma mission-sending entity, and Truett McConnell University, a Georgia Baptist institution — along with GuideStone. The permanent injunction also protects “all current and future participating employers in the GuideStone Plan, and any third-party administrators acting on behalf of these entities with respect to the GuideStone Plan.” Churches and closely held ministries were exempt from the mandate already. “The permanent injunction ensures that no ministry GuideStone serves is forced to choose between following its conscience or facing fines that may put its very existence at risk,” said Harold R. Loftin Jr., chief legal officer for GuideStone. “This is the very heart of why we have the Religious … [Read more...]