Paramount Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video recently joined to honor what would have been John Wayne’s 100th birthday. Paramount Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video recently joined to honor what would have been John Wayne’s 100th birthday. The man who became the embodiment of the great American western hero was born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, on May 26, 1907. Years later, when the young actor got his first big break in 1930s The Big Trail, the head of Fox Studios rechristened him John Wayne. His legendary career went on to span five decades, boasting several classic performances, including the Oscar-winning Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. As a kid, I read True Grit by Charles Portis. Even then, I knew no one could play Marshal Rooster J. Cogburn, but John Wayne. And for years I have excitedly awaited the arrival of a “making-of” documentary. At last, it’s here. True Grit: Special Collector’s Edition includes an audio commentary and several fun featurettes. Now, I suspect an endorsement of John Wayne as my screen hero may not sit well with some. After all, he often ended conflict with guns or fisticuffs. But, as a kid, my views on character were reinforced by watching the … [Read more...]
Teenage girls invited to Blume
The stage is set in Kansas City, Mo., as thousands of girls prepare to gather for “Blume” – four powerful days of worship, interactive conferences, hands-on missions and ministry projects, concerts, fun nightly activities, and new friends. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The stage is set in Kansas City, Mo., as thousands of girls prepare to gather for “Blume” – four powerful days of worship, interactive conferences, hands-on missions and ministry projects, concerts, fun nightly activities, and new friends. On July 10-13, more than 6,000 girls from across the nation are expected to experience Blume, a missions event designed to challenge girls to recognize their gifts and encourage them to live out their God-given purpose. Blume is the German word for “flower” – representing growth, youth, and new life. The event is open to all girls ages 12 and up, including collegiate young women. “The purpose of Blume will be accomplished in our minds and hearts if girls leave empowered with the realization that God has a plan and purpose for their lives,” said Blume program coordinator Suzanne Reece. “They are each uniquely gifted, and God can use them even now to make a difference in the world and to accomplish His … [Read more...]
Interactive adventures await Blumers
This summer, the exhibition hall of the Kansas City Convention Center will be transformed into Blume, the national missions event for teenage girls and collegiate young women, set for July 10–13. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – This summer, the exhibition hall of the Kansas City Convention Center will be transformed into Blume, the national missions event for teenage girls and collegiate young women, set for July 10–13. “The interactive area, called ME, will offer the ultimate opportunity for participants to express themselves and to discover their unique, God-given talents,” said Blume program coordinator Kym Mitchell. “Here, girls will also be challenged physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and socially to look beyond themselves and ‘love their neighbors as themselves.’” Some of the activities to be featured in the interactive exhibit area include: missionary row with IMB and NAMB missionaries; a hair salon to donate hair to Locks of Love; scrapbooking; Hawaiian Christian hula; photojournalism with IMB missionaries; a café and coffee shop; a global marketplace; Christian music; writing letters of support to US troops; fun photo ops; a prayer labyrinth; and much more. In the prayer labyrinth, girls will … [Read more...]
Blume encourages ‘5 ways of giving’
Did you know that $1 can provide one African clean water for one year? BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Did you know that $1 can provide one African clean water for one year? Or that $200 can provide six months of rent at a safe apartment for a woman in Moldova who has been a victim of human trafficking? This summer, students will learn about a variety of opportunities such as these to share the love of Christ through the “5 Ways of Giving” at Blume, July 10–13, in Kansas City, Mo. Blume, a national missions event for teenage girls and collegiate young women, has partnered with five different ministries throughout the world that focus on children and women, including Arab Woman Today (AWT) in Jordan, Beginning of Life Foundation in Moldova, The Ricks Institute in Liberia, Blood:Water Mission in Africa, and Locks of Love. These ministries will be highlighted at Blume as part of the 5 Ways of Giving. According to Blume program coordinator Kym Mitchell, the 5 Ways of Giving is a new approach that expands the act of giving to an experience that will connect with all aspects of the Blume event. “We hope that students learn about each of the 5 Ways of Giving and plan to give to the ministry(ies) that they feel most … [Read more...]
Structures are necessary but people are what’s important
Even God seems to have His eye, and hand, on St. Tammany, the parish this association calls home. It’s no wonder: where there are people for whom the Savior died, God is undoubtedly interested. ST. TAMMANY BAPTIST ASSOCIATION — Even God seems to have His eye, and hand, on St. Tammany, the parish this association calls home. It’s no wonder: where there are people for whom the Savior died, God is undoubtedly interested. People are plentiful in St. Tammany Parish, the fifth largest parish in the state, and the fastest growing in the last four decades, nearly tripling it’s population since the 1970s, according to the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation--www.stedf.org/aboutsttammany. “Our population is poised to exceed 245,000 by 2009,” the foundation stated on its website. “Combine its growth rate with its number eleven ranking in the state for tourism-related revenue … and it’s easy to understand why St. Tammany is garnering so much attention.” Church planting, of course, is the focus of this association, said Lonnie Wascom, director of missions for this and two other associations on the North Shore. With no less than five church plants and the same number of missions, the 30 churches … [Read more...]
DOM launches life into God’s will
Lonnie Wascom, Director of Missions for the St. Tammany Baptist Association, isn’t one to shrug off God’s calling. HAMMOND – Lonnie Wascom, Director of Missions for the St. Tammany Baptist Association, isn’t one to shrug off God’s calling. Weeks after marrying deacon’s daughter Linda Fay LaCoste – just as devoted to God’s call as her new husband – the couple struck out for California from Louisiana with their few belongings packed in a trailer behind an old Chevrolet. “With no hope of jobs and no money in our pockets, we really believed it was God’s will,” Wascom said. “We had no other thing to go on except that it was God’s will.” It was the summer of 1970, and the couple, through a series of circumstances that had occurred throughout the previous year, felt led to attend Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, despite the nay-saying of friends and relatives, Wascom said. That choice was confirmed when the dean of students, not long after the Wascoms arrived on campus, stopped Lonnie and offered him two tickets to a Giants game. The Giants were Wascom’s boyhood favorite. “God has a way of confirming things in our hearts that others might not understand,” Wascom said. More … [Read more...]
Cottage living helps prepare youngsters for life
It’s almost a ‘Leave it to Beaver’ life, and the youngsters who live in the cottages of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home recognize it’s a special place. MONROE – It’s almost a ‘Leave it to Beaver’ life, and the youngsters who live in the cottages of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home recognize it’s a special place. But long after the youngsters become accustomed to sleeping safely every night in their own bed, and to having three meals a day, and to riding their very own bicycle, deep-seated pain lingers in their eyes. One resident was sexually abused by her father, and blamed for it by her mother. She was put in a “support” group, but all the other girls in the group had been abused by stepfathers. How could her very own, real life father do that to her? How could her mother blame her for seven years of abuse that started when she was 5? She grappled with these questions at the same time that she learned about forgiveness, learned about making choices that benefitted – rather than hurt – her, and learned to love this Jesus who was loving her through the LBCH family and her church family. One young man cared for his two younger brothers. They’re all at the Children’s Home now, but he still … [Read more...]
When no one’s watching
What do you do when no one is watching? Are you different alone than when you are in the presence of others? It has been said that true character is who you are when no one is looking. What do you do when no one is watching? Are you different alone than when you are in the presence of others? It has been said that true character is who you are when no one is looking. I recently sat in a parking lot waiting on my wife as she attended to business at a local women’s boutique. As I waited, I noticed a family friend making her way to her car. She was not aware of my presence. Before I knew it, she was crawling on the hood of her SUV, across the windshield and onto the roof of the vehicle. I was overcome with total amazement as my friend performed never-before-seen parking lot acrobats before my very eyes. It was as good, if not better, than any Barnum and Bailey circus act. This definitely qualified for Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Next thing I knew, she shimmied, twisted and squeezed her way through the sun roof like Santa Claus down a tight chimney. As if that weren’t enough of a surprise, what happened next really caught my attention. Once successfully inside the car, she didn’t drive away. No, with … [Read more...]
Filling the pulpit or filling the pew?
There is much symbolism in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The two ordinances of the Baptist church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are beautifully symbolic. The cross that is displayed in so many churches is emblematic of the atoning death of our blessed Redeemer. The church spire originated in the 12th century as a symbol of heavenly aspiration. There is much symbolism in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The two ordinances of the Baptist church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are beautifully symbolic. The cross that is displayed in so many churches is emblematic of the atoning death of our blessed Redeemer. The church spire originated in the 12th century as a symbol of heavenly aspiration. For years the pulpit has been placed in the center of the platform of Baptist churches to symbolize the centrality and priority of preaching the gospel. Years ago, during a pastor’s conference sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, a well-known pastor proclaimed, “If the church is alive, it’s because the pulpit is alive – and if the church is dead, it’s because the pulpit is dead!” Today many churches are flirting with death, because there is a greater focus on filling the pew than filling the … [Read more...]
Telling the story of Jesus: then and now
First-century evangelists had a short life expectancy –- and no shortage of enemies. First-century evangelists had a short life expectancy –- and no shortage of enemies. “Endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,” the Apostle Paul wrote in a letter to his young disciple Timothy. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the aged apostle boiled the missionary task down to its rugged essence (2 Timothy 4:5). Threats, persecution, beatings and probable martyrdom were all part of the job description. Paul and Timothy preached the Gospel in a violent, decadent and pagan world. The Roman emperors demanded submission and even worship. Roman and Greek idols captured the gentile imagination –- and local economies –- in Roman-ruled cities like Ephesus in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). The political/religious/economic power structure didn’t take kindly to competition, as Paul discovered when he ran afoul of the Ephesian merchants who made a good living off the cult of the goddess Artemis (Acts 19). Paul eventually died at the hands of the Romans. Years later, according to church tradition, Timothy was dragged through the streets of Ephesus and stoned to death after trying to stop a pagan procession and … [Read more...]
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