By Michael Foust, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Frank Page has announced the members of an advisory team who will help him craft a strategic plan to bring together various groups within the convention who hold different opinions on the issue of Calvinism. The 16-member group is conducting its first meeting Aug. 29-30 in Nashville, Tenn. “My goal is to develop a strategy whereby people of various theological persuasions can purposely work together in missions and evangelism,” Page told Baptist Press. The list was announced Aug. 15. At some point in the coming weeks and months, Page said, “most likely there will be the crafting of a statement regarding the strategy on how we can work together.” “I want to be very clear: This is not an attempt to redo the   theological consensus that we have in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000,” Page said. “It is practical in nature, not doctrinal.” Page emphasized that the group is “not an official committee” of the convention. He also said additional names could be added to the group. “It’s a group of helpers helping Frank Page come up with some sort of strategy document,” he said. David Dockery, president … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 01:00 The Pulpit & Politics   By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor On Sunday, October 7, pastors across the United States have indicated they will participate in Pulpit Freedom Sunday, when they plan to endorse or oppose political candidates from their pulpits during worship services. The aforementioned coordinated effort was started in 2008 by Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) and is designed to call attention to and also violate an IRS statute that forbids pastors from stumping for candidates from their pulpits. Alliance Defending Freedom is described on the organization’s web site as: “… a servant ministry building an alliance to keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel by transforming the legal system and advocating for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.” One of the purposes of the pulpit politicking is an overt attempt to force the IRS’s hand. Pastors who participate are asked to make a video of their sermons and mail them to the IRS. The hope is that the U.S. taxing authority will seek to punish one, or more, of the churches led by the law-breaking pastors. The goal is to … [Read more...]

  By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor It is commonly held that elections in America are decided by a majority of the people. This is not true. Elections in the United States are decided by a majority of those who participate. Unfortunately, too many evangelicals ignore the responsibility to be active and educated in our political process, so America suffers from moral decay. How can we as Christian citizens expect God to restore righteous leadership through us if we are unwilling to get involved?  Citizenship in a free country is a blessing from God! Voter registration drives are something churches are allowed to conduct. Given the dismal record of evangelical participation in recent elections, it is something that many churches should seriously consider conducting. It is estimated that there are approximately 60 million evangelicals in the United States. Of that number it is estimated that between 40 and 50 percent are not even registered to vote. In the most recent general election approximately 20 million evangelicals actually voted, which is only 30 percent of those who were eligible to vote.  “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” observed 18th century British statesman … [Read more...]

  By Richard Land, President of the ERLC This election year, 2012, more Americans than usual feel that the country is at a crossroads and that it is in the midst of making an election decision as important to the future direction of the country as has been made in any election since 1860. I can imagine no better way to be prepared to exercise our God-given freedom to vote for the person God would have serve as our congressman, senator, governor or president than to follow the 40/40 prayer guide. The guide begins with seven days of prayer for “personal” revival, followed by six days of prayer for “church” revival and five days for revival among the church’s “leadership.” After starting with individual repentance and holiness, we move on to the church and to the nation and its need for spiritual repentance, revival, renewal and reformation. Then, as commanded by God, we pray for all public officers in the sure and certain trust that the heart of the king is “in the hand of the Lord” and that God “turneth it whithersoever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). Then we pray for “discernment” and “wisdom” to elect the best officials to serve the nation in public office. How better to prepare ourselves to exercise that discernment than … [Read more...]

By Keith Manuel, LBC Evangelism Strategist The theme of Awaken is resonating in the hearts of Louisiana Baptists and the Gospel is piercing the hearts of the unsaved. For almost a year, we’ve been praying, pleading and preparing – asking God to do a mighty work in us. Sometimes we are seeing the evidence of that work in individual lives. At other times, God is moving in churches and communities. I recently saw the miracle of awakening in Buddy Calhoun’s life. A friend of his had witnessed and ministered to Buddy during a period of personal crisis.  Through these events, he was emotionally and spiritually broken. I had the privilege of sitting with Buddy as he called out to God for salvation. Part of his prayer went something like this: “God, I’m all in. I’m done. I’m tired of living like this. I want to live for you.” While we cry out for God to bring His great salvation to the hearts and lives of our neighbors and the world, we have to remember our part. Like the Apostle Paul, we must embrace the role of an ambassador for Christ, “certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God’ (2 Corinthians 5:16, HCSB). To embrace the role of ambassador, we have to surrender our … [Read more...]

  By Richard Land, President of the ERLC This election year, 2012, more Americans than usual feel that the country is at a crossroads and that it is in the midst of making an election decision as important to the future direction of the country as has been made in any election since 1860. I can imagine no better way to be prepared to exercise our God-given freedom to vote for the person God would have serve as our congressman, senator, governor or president than to follow the 40/40 prayer guide. The guide begins with seven days of prayer for “personal” revival, followed by six days of prayer for “church” revival and five days for revival among the church’s “leadership.” After starting with individual repentance and holiness, we move on to the church and to the nation and its need for spiritual repentance, revival, renewal and reformation. Then, as commanded by God, we pray for all public officers in the sure and certain trust that the heart of the king is “in the hand of the Lord” and that God “turneth it whithersoever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). Then we pray for “discernment” and “wisdom” to elect the best officials to serve the nation in public office. How better to prepare ourselves to exercise that discernment than … [Read more...]

To the EditorI read with interest the article “Thousands Show Support” (Baptist Message, August 16). It reminded me of a conversation I had a few years ago.My wife and I were visiting my cousin in Maryland. On Sunday morning he and his wife picked us up at our motel and he took us to dinner. On the way we passed a Chick-fil-A. My cousin said “I really admire the owner of that store because he doesn’t open on Sunday. He sticks to his religious beliefs.” I replied, “What about us, Bob”? He wanted to know what I meant.I said, “We are going to eat lunch, so someone is not able to attend church services this morning because of us and those like us.”How many of the thousands of people that showed up to support Mr. Cathy will leave church next Sunday and go to a restaurant, Wal-Mart, a gas station, or some other business to shop for nonessential items. All of these will claim to be Christians, but that are in fact stumbling blocks to many who may want to attend church.I also wonder how many do not attend, nor allow their children to attend, PG-13 or R rated movies, or watch the filth that is shown on TV today under the guise of entertainment.I agree with Mr. Miller’s letter to the editor concerning marriages (Baptist Message, August … [Read more...]

  By Charles L. Quarles, Dean of the Caskey School of Divinity at Louisiana College John Newton wrote the hymn Amazing Grace in 1779. His hymn was more than a theological reflection on the grace that he found described in Scripture; it was a profound expression of thanksgiving for the grace that he had personally experienced. Newton knew that his salvation was entirely a tribute to God’s astonishing grace. Newton expressed this conviction in the title of his autobiography, An Authentic Narrative of Some Remarkable Particulars in the Life of *******. The previous sentence is not a typo. Newton refused to use his name in the title of his own autobiography. In fact, he went to considerable pains to preserve his anonymity in telling his life story. Newton wanted to state loudly and clearly that the amazing account he penned was not designed to promote his reputation, but to prompt others to praise God for His great grace. A comparison of the hymn Amazing Grace with Newton’s autobiography shows conclusively that the hymn is likewise autobiographical. I have previously highlighted the connection of the first and second verses of the hymn to Newton’s personal testimony. The third verse of the hymn is also a description of … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, NOBTS Question: Why were people in the area north of Samaria not hated like the Samaritans in the New Testament period? NOBTS Professor Bill Warren responds: The division between the Jews and Samaritans is rooted in the time when Solomon’s son Rehoboam heavily taxed the northern Israelite tribes and treated them disrespectfully, resulting in them seceding with Jereboam as their king and thereby creating the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. As told in 2 Kings 17, when Israel was conquered in 721 B.C., the Assyrians sent people to the Samaria region (the area of the two tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, mainly) who intermarried with the Israelites, thereby creating a people later considered “half-Jews” by those of Judah. The resulting group came to be called Samaritans, with their name deriving either from the city of Samaria or a word that means “observer of the law,” as Samaritans defined it. The Samaritans opposed the rebuilding of a temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 4), a beginning point for conflict between Jews and Samaritans. The result was that the Samaritans worshipped in their temple on Mt. Gerizim, while the Jews worshipped at the Jerusalem temple, with theological, ethnic, and political differences … [Read more...]

  By Marc Eichelberger, LBCH Communications MONROE – The Fall Food Roundup for the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home was started in the early 1950s under the leadership of then-superintendent D.C. Black. Black came to the Children’s Home from serving as Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Monroe. A veteran of World War I, he had been a manager for the American Railway Express and a manager of an automobile repair business before entering the ministry. With his previous leadership experience, Superintendent Black was a good manager of the Home’s resources. He served LBCH from 1946 to 1962. Establishing the Fall Food Roundup was only one of many of Black’s significant accomplishments. Another occurred in 1955, when the Louisiana Baptist Convention Cooperative Program was expanded to include the Children’s Home. Black certainly understood the importance of cooperation. He knew then, what Southern Baptists still know today: Churches working together can accomplish so much more that what one church can accomplish alone. This year’s Fall Food Roundup is a great example.  In just 14 days starting Sept. 10, LBCH cottage dads and staff will drive across the state, stopping at 450 collection points, and picking up … [Read more...]