By Savannah Cyree, WMU Communications   [img_assist|nid=7549|title=New coordinators|desc=Cathy and George Chinn as new regional coordinators for the 20-year-old Mississippi River Ministry are seeking to get more churches and associations involved in the ministry.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]MISSISSIPPI RIVER – In January, Mississippi River Ministry (MRM) announced their newest regional coordinators, George and Cathy Chinn.   For the past several months, the two have traveled and established relationships within the ministry’s eight state region. MRM serves to impact lostness by ministering to those in poverty and connecting them with churches.   “There is a great need out there,” George Chinn said. “We find that there is not only a large percent of lostness in poverty, but a lot of lostness in general.”   The Chinns say only God alone could qualify them for such a task. With a heart for missions and having collectively been involved in more than 30 international missions trips and countless domestic efforts, they believe their commitment to missions and sincerity comes through. The couple has spent the last several months using that sincerity while familiarizing themselves … [Read more...]

By Mark Kelly, Baptist Press   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP) – Rebuild Haiti, the joint Southern Baptist disaster relief initiative launched in the aftermath of the massive Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, will have built 1,982 houses by the end of November and has 560 more in the pipeline before the scheduled exit date in March 2012.   “Southern Baptists should heartily celebrate what has been accomplished in Haiti,” said Jeff Palmer, executive director of Baptist Global Response, one of the key partners in the Rebuild Haiti alliance. “It is amazing what has happened in such a short period of time, but there are still thousands of people living in tents and much to be done.”[img_assist|nid=7551|title=Homes needed|desc=Even before the massive Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, many Haitian families lived in substandard housing – and many are still living in tents. Southern Baptists’ Rebuild Haiti initiative is not only building new houses, it’s also helping Haitians rebuild their lives and communities.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=480]   “Rebuild Haiti” is a cooperative venture that also involves Haitian Baptists, the International Mission Board, the Florida Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist … [Read more...]

By Diana Chandler, Regional Reporter   NEW ORLEANS (BP) – African American pastors in the New Orleans Baptist Association say the election of Fred Luter as the Southern Baptist Convention’s first vice president is important evidence that the SBC has departed from the racial exclusion of its past.   [img_assist|nid=7553|title=Fred Luter|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=56|height=100]They say the SBC has worked diligently to embrace African Americans and other ethnic groups, especially since the convention’s 1995 public apology for its past support of slavery. However, they regard Luter’s election as a result of his intelligence, integrity, gifts and leadership skills, not his race. Yet Luter’s election, they add, can only enhance the SBC’s appeal to ethnic minorities.   “I think the Southern Baptist Convention is making a monumental statement. This is indeed a win-win move,” said Kenneth Foy, vice president of the African American Fellowship in New Orleans and pastor of the local church New Life Ministry.   “This might just be one of the best moves the SBC has done in years. It makes me feel a lot better about being a part of an organization that recognizes the importance and value of … [Read more...]

By Erich Bridges, Baptist Press   [img_assist|nid=7555|title=Remembering 911|desc=Joseph Rose (name changed) studies a historical display of front-page reactions to 9/11. His own reaction led him from indifference to passionate commitment. "If it weren't for 9/11, I might not be where I am today," he says. "God used this tragic event to call me out of the darkness of apathy and ignorance toward Muslims into the light of service and presence among this vast people." (BP) PHOTO|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=427]RICHMOND, Va. (BP)  – When the jets slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field a decade ago, the life of Joseph Rose (name changed for security) began to change.   A Christian college student, he knew little about Islam. He didn’t know a single Muslim personally. His mother called and warned him to shave off his full beard, fearing “hate attacks” by angry people mistaking him for a Muslim.   “I left the beard. No one attacked me,” Rose recalled.   As the initial shock of 9/11 wore off, something inside him spurred Rose to understand the forces shaking the world. “I began to read about Islam,” he … [Read more...]

By Diana Davis, Author, Speaker   It was 5 a.m. on the first anniversary of 9/11, and I was in New York as a victim chaplain to minister to family members at the memorial service.[img_assist|nid=7558|title=America remembers 911|desc=On the fifth anniversary of 9/11, high-wattage spotlights pierce the darkness from Ground Zero in New York, symbolizing a determination not to retreat in the face of fear. That's the spirit the church needs in the post-9/11 era. "Following God's will may not appear to many to be the safest thing to do. It is most certainly the right thing to do," says one international worker. "And that is where I want to be." (U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO) by Denise Gould|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=424]   Standing in the darkness overlooking the gaping hole left by the disaster, I overheard a man nearby mumbling, “I was standing right here that day.” After a long pause, he continued, “I haven’t even been back until now. I still can’t believe it happened.” Suddenly I realized that he was talking to me.   As I listened to the gentleman’s devastating story of friends who died and his personal terror that day, he sobbed … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Editor Louisiana Baptist Message   Catholic University made headlines recently when officials announced the school was abandoning coed dormitories. The school, located in Washington, D.C., plans to start phasing in single-sex residence halls with incoming freshman this fall.   The reason given by the president for returning to the traditional mode of housing was an effort to combat binge drinking and promiscuous sex – both of which are rampant on many college campuses.   I admit I was taken aback to learn a Catholic institution of higher learning allowed coeducational housing. That said, I applaud school officials for their willingness to change course and swim against the tide of popular culture and its tacit acceptance of irresponsible drinking and casual hookups.   At least one person does not appreciate Catholic University’s effort toward cultivating a more moral environment.   John Banzhaf, professor of public interest law at George Washington University, has filed a complaint with the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights against the university that accuses the school of practicing sexual discrimination because it is eliminating coed living … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, Professor of New Testament and Greek at NOBTS   Question: As we come to the 10-year mark from 9/11, I was wondering about what the Bible teaches about such evil acts?  And how does God figure into this?   Bill Warren responds: Let’s begin by distinguishing between two types of events that are quite different when thinking about evil, namely natural disasters versus man-made disasters. Hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, floods, and such are classified as natural disasters.   We humans are impacted by these events, but they are beyond our control. While God could have made the world to function differently, these events are actually less destructive than would be the case if the earth’s energy was not released periodically but rather allowed to build up to more explosive levels.   So we give thanks that God made the world such that this energy is released in smaller natural events even if sometimes they become what we call natural disasters.   We don’t blame God for these since the scale of such disasters is only as small as it is due to God’s foresight in creation.   On the other hand, 9/11 was a man-made disaster. Indeed, people are at fault for most … [Read more...]

By Ed Steele, Professor of Music at Leavell College NOBTS   The phrase that is sometimes heard among those leading worship is that we must come and “minister to the Lord,” and since the word “minister” can bring to our minds the idea of “meeting needs,” we need to think seriously what we are saying.   This is particularly interesting since God is self-sufficient and needs nothing.   The following found its spark from discussions in our Bible Study last Sunday, as well as a follow-up conversation with my wife, Kathy.   Let’s look at an example, then list some other references that deal with ministering to the Lord as well as ministering before the Lord, which is similar.   The goal here is not to provide commentary for each passage, but to see the common elements that exist.       Old Testament:       “My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me.”   – Psalm 101:6   Some similar passages are as follows: Isaiah 56:6, Judges 20:28, 1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Chronicles 16:1, Jeremiah 33:21, Numbers 18:2, 1 Samuel 2:30, 1 Samuel 2:35, 1 … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message STATEWIDE – Six Louisiana Baptists returned Aug. 26 from Japan, where they had served for 10 days in ministry to people still floundering after a March 11 undersea earthquake and the resultant tsunami devastated the northeastern coast. Read the next issue of the Baptist Message to learn what they experienced in disaster relief efforts by Southern Baptists five months after the event. Four Disaster Relief-trained chaplains from Louisiana are onsite in Minot, N.D., ministering to people who endured massive flooding on June 22. More are needed for mud-out ministry – which DR veterans term the hardest, nastiest, smelliest of all DR options – but so appreciated by Dakotans who are facing the possibility of snow by September, and below-freezing temperatures by October. Countless numbers of Louisiana Baptist church members have ministered since January 2010 in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in Haiti. Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins and LBC Executive Assistant Wayne Sheppard traveled to Haiti in May. Led by Jay Johnston, DR coordinator for Haiti, they explored the Bon Repos area of Haiti, looking at ways of partnering with the Florida Baptist Convention – which leads … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=7564|title=Georgia Barnette State Offering|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=458] … [Read more...]