By Staff, Baptist Press   NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Several fellowship groups and smaller “communities” of Southern Baptists meet in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting, which this year takes place June 19-20 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.   Up to 1,000 messengers may be in attendance for various sessions of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention June 16-20 in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting June 19-20, said President James Dixon, senior pastor of El-Bethel Baptist Church in Fort Washington, Md.   Pastor Fred Luter’s anticipated election would be a healthy moment for the SBC, Dixon said, helping dispel a myth that the SBC is not ethnically inclusive in leadership. Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, has accepted Dixon’s invitation to preach at NAAF’s annual banquet, Tuesday, June 19 from 6:30–9:30 p.m. in rooms 220-221 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Dixon will forgo the customary final presidential address in view of Luter’s sermon.   Jeffery Friend, pastor of Suburban Baptist Church, 10501 Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans and host of the NAAF worship and fellowship service at … [Read more...]

By Gary D. Meyers, NOBTS Communications   NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees approved three major curriculum initiatives – a doctor of philosophy degree in biblical interpretation, a master of arts degree in apologetics and a bachelor of arts in music degree with an emphasis in worship – during their spring meeting April 11.   Also approved was the expansion of the doctor of philosophy major in preaching by adding three areas of specialization that students can choose – biblical exposition, pastoral theology and homiletics, and two certificates in missions to assist International Mission Board apprentice missionaries to complete the theological requirements. In other actions, the board also approved a $21.6 million budget, other degree revisions and new teaching sites.   Rather than focusing on either the Old Testament or New Testament, like other Ph.D. majors in biblical studies, the new Ph.D. in biblical interpretation major emphasizes exposition of both testaments.   The new biblical interpretation major utilizes a modified scheduling/residency plan, making it possible for students to earn this rigorous, academic degree without relocating to campus. Lemke … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director   [img_assist|nid=8183|title=On Mission|desc=Two members of the BCM Ministry Team helps the Bowery Mission in New York City minister with food outside a park.|link=none|align=right|width=480|height=640]NEW YORK CITY – When school ended for the spring semester, Dena Ta Basco could hardly wait for her week-long trip to New York City.   Basco, who had signed up to participate in a missions trip to the city, admitted that while she was looking forward to hands-on ministry there, she was even more excited about seeing the sights the Big Apple had to offer.   But by the time the week of ministry ended recently, the senior at LSU-Alexandria had a different outlook on her purpose there.   “While there God worked in me and showed me that I really do have a heart for missions and helping those around me, no matter what they ask,” Basco said. “And yes, I have a heart for the city and was saddened to leave. What I learned on this mission trip was to be thankful for all of the little things and to not take anything for granted.”   Basco was one of 21 students from Baptist Collegiate Ministries at LSU-Alexandria, LSU-Shreveport and Southeastern … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor   [img_assist|nid=8185|title=Belarus|desc=The Republic of Belarus – also known as Bylorussia or Byelorussia – is bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk. More than 40 percent of its land area is forested.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=83]FOLSOM/COVINGTON – For quite some time, five Baptist churches in this part of the Northshore Baptist Association have gathered for joint Fifth Sunday evening services.   A desire to do direct missions together has developed from the growing bonds of fellowship, and people from at least seven area churches met May 30 to hear of the needs and opportunities in Belarus, also known as Bylorussia and as Byelorussia.   A mission trip has been planned for Oct. 2-12, during which short-term missionaries are to do outreach for local church planters by ministering in both private and public settings, including nursing homes, schools and orphanages.   “What an opportunity – for churches to join together in unity to minister in a country like Belarus,” said Pastor Clark Stewart of New Zion Baptist Church in Covington. … [Read more...]

By John Loudat and Art Toalston, Baptist Press   [img_assist|nid=8187|title=Glorieta Conference Center|desc=The LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center is being offered for $1 to the Baptist Convention of New Mexico.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=449]ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (BP) – The LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center is being offered for $1 to the Baptist Convention of New Mexico, according to both LifeWay and state convention leaders.   Jerry Rhyne, LifeWay’s chief financial officer, confirmed to Baptist Press April 26 that LifeWay has communicated to the New Mexico convention that it is “open to conveying the entire Glorieta campus to the state convention for one dollar. However, LifeWay has a responsibility to our trustees and all Southern Baptists that such action would be based on presentation of a financially stable, comprehensive plan.”   Last fall, LifeWay trustees agreed to pursue viable options for the conference center near Santa Fe due to changes in church practices, rising costs and a volatile economy. The center now offers only summer events for student groups, including Centrifuge camps and Collegiate Week.   The $1 offer was first noted during an April 12 gathering at the … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor   [img_assist|nid=8189|title=Embracing CP|desc=Rolando Castro, shown here with his wife Zulma, has stirred new life into Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Maryland, as interim pastor, by introducing it to Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program and its national and international outreach for the Gospel.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=480]HYATTSVILLE, Md. (BP) – “The beauty of the Cooperative Program,” as Rolando Castro sees it from a church’s perspective, “is that you can be involved no matter how big you are, no matter your location.”   Currently serving as interim pastor of a Hispanic congregation in the metro Washington area, Castro added, “You can be involved in reaching the world with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.”   Castro has led Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Maryland from giving zero to missions to 10 percent of their offerings through the Cooperative Program to fund missions and ministry by the state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention.   When a church extends itself beyond its neighborhood through the Cooperative Program, it can become involved in international missions and in planting churches across … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=8191|title=The Holy Bible|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=425|height=640]By Michael Foust, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – A group of current and former Southern Baptist leaders has signed a statement affirming what they call the “traditional Southern Baptist” understanding of the doctrine of salvation, with the goal of drawing a distinction with the beliefs of “New Calvinism.” The statement was posted May 31 at SBCToday.com and includes a preamble and 10 articles, along with signatures from two entity presidents (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Paige Patterson and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Chuck Kelley), five state executive directors (Georgia’s Bob White, Florida’s John Sullivan, Mississippi’s Jim Futral, Louisiana’s David Hankins, Alaska’s Mike Procter), and in addition to Patterson, five other former SBC presidents (Bailey Smith, Jimmy Draper, Jerry Vines, Morris Chapman and Bobby Welch). The document was titled, “A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation.” (Read the entire document at the bottom of this article.) “For the most part, Southern Baptists have been glad to relegate disagreements over Calvinism to … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=8193|title=Delivery boat|desc=June and Louis Charrier use an airboat, which is a common means of transportation in the meandering Louisiana swamp, for their S.W.A.M.P. (Serving Wholesome Appetizing Meals to all People) Ministry.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter   ATCHAFALAYA BASIN – Moss-draped Bald Cypress trees tower majestically in the bayous of the Atchafalaya Basin. A Pelican swoops down to rest on a stand of Cypress knees, as an alligator sidles by. Cloaked in legend and lore, the area is home to the Swamp People, folks who make their living from the Atchafalaya Basin. It is also the place where a new ministry has been started.   “We feel like if you feed a person, you sow a seed, and hope to harvest a soul. That’s what the S.W.A.M.P. ministry is all about. We want to touch people with the goal of harvesting souls,” said Louis Charrier, a pastor, church planter and director of the S.W.A.M.P. ministry.   The ministry’s acronym stands for “Serving  Wholesome Appetizing Meals to all People. The idea of the name came to Charrier one night as he was praying.   “The Lord put that name in my heart. I’m in the swamps and the … [Read more...]