By Barbara Denman, Baptist Press   PHOENIX (BP) – Even as Southern Baptist Convention messengers considered a set of recommendations to increase the ethnic diversity of the convention’s leadership, they faced the choice between an African American pastor from Louisiana and a Chinese-American layperson from Phoenix for first vice president of the SBC.   Fred Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was elected first vice president over Rick Ong, a member of First Chinese Baptist Church in Phoenix.   Of the 2,012 ballots cast June 14 in Phoenix, Luter received 1,558 or 77 percent of the votes while Ong received 441 or 22 percent of the votes; 13 votes were disallowed.[img_assist|nid=7404|title=1st VP|desc=Fred Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was elected first vice president over Rick Ong, a member of First Chinese Baptist Church in Phoenix. Standing behind Luter is David Crosby, pastor of First New Orleans.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=444]   Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. nominated Luter, calling him “one of Southern Baptists’ most popular and beloved … [Read more...]

By Mark Kelly, Baptist Press   PHOENIX (BP) – Seven recommendations from the SBC Executive Committee were approved by messengers during the opening session of the SBC annual meeting June 14.   Four recommendations related to the “Great Commission Resurgence” report adopted at the 2010 annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.:   n Providing additional funding for international missions by reducing the Executive Committee’s share of Cooperative Program funding, and proportionately increasing International Mission Board funding. The proposal adopted by messengers calls for reducing the Executive Committee budget share from 3.4 percent to 3.2 percent in 2011-12, with a goal of over time reducing it to 2.4 percent.   [img_assist|nid=7406|title=Messengers|desc=Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting vote during the SBC Executive Committee report in the morning session June 14 at the Phoenix Convention Center. More than 4,700 messengers registered for the 158th annual meeting.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=398]n Adding a new Annual Church Profile reporting category called “Great Commission Giving” to highlight each church’s financial commitment to Southern Baptist mission … [Read more...]

By Tim Ellsworth, Baptist Press   PHOENIX (BP) – Pastors are responsible to lead their churches to engage the world’s unreached people groups with the Gospel, David Platt said in the convention sermon at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting June 15.   Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., noted that people groups by the thousands worldwide are unreached for Christ. “This is not a problem for the International Mission Board to address,” Platt said. “This is a problem for every local church in this convention to address.”   Platt emphasized that he was not advocating the neglect of local ministries and missions but added that “at the same time, global missions is tragically neglected.”   He pointed to an example from northern Yemen, which has a population of about 8 million people but only about 20 to 30 Christians.[img_assist|nid=7408|title=David Platt|desc=David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., gives the convention sermon “calling every pastor” to lead churches to reach unreached people groups with the Gospel. About 6,750 people groups around the world are unreached, he … [Read more...]

By J. Gerald Harris, Baptist Press   PHOENIX (BP) – The starting point for Southern Baptists is not the Great Commission, but “falling in love with Jesus once again,” Bryant Wright told messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 14.   Wright, president of the SBC and pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., likened Southern Baptists to the New Testament church of Ephesus that Jesus rebuked in the Book of Revelation for having abandoned its first love.   Like the church at Ephesus, Southern Baptists have resisted and exposed false doctrine, Wright said. “Unlike other mainline denominations that have chosen to take one pro-sin position after another, Southern Baptists have stood unapologetically upon the Word of God,” he declared.   Wright continued: “Southern Baptists years ago decided that we must be faithful to the perfectly true written Word of God. In our seminaries, it is unbelievable what has happened in the last 30 years. Seeing the sound doctrine and the passion for Christ, for missions and church planting among our faculty and students, is an absolute miracle.”   After Christ affirmed the church at Ephesus, Wright noted, He … [Read more...]

By Mark Kelly, Baptist Press   PHOENIX (BP) – If Southern Baptists are going to fulfill their God-given mission in a lost world, they must deal with fragmentation and self-centeredness and recommit themselves to gratitude, trust, unified ministry and honesty, messengers were told during the opening session of the SBC annual meeting June 14.   “We have been headed in the wrong direction, in several ways,” said Frank Page, SBC Executive Committee president, during the EC’s report to the convention. “Our convention is fracturing into various groups, some theological, most methodological. Sometimes there is an honest difference of opinion, but often there is self-centeredness that frequently mirrors our own culture.   “Christ-like selflessness is our only hope.”   While many have lamented a decline in giving through the SBC’s Cooperative Program missions channel, Page cited statistics that showed total mission expenditures in Southern Baptist churches also have declined over the past 20 years. In 1989, Southern Baptist congregations allocated 16.5 percent of their total receipts to missions, but by 2009 that had declined to 12.32 percent.   “Our cooperating churches have not just … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, Baptist Press   PHOENIX (BP) – A pastor, a seminary student and Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, delivered a challenge for renewed commitment to unified ministry through the SBC’s Cooperative Program.   The pastor and seminary student were part of the Executive Committee report to the SBC annual meeting in which Page urged Southern Baptist churches to magnify their impact nationally and internationally by even a 1 percent-of-budget increase in support for CP.   Kevin White, pastor of First Baptist Church in Longview, Wash., thanked Southern Baptists “for giving so sacrificially so that my family might know Jesus Christ. I am the product of your sacrifice and your giving to the Cooperative Program.”[img_assist|nid=7412|title=Frank Page|desc=Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, gives the Executive Committee report during a morning session of the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=66]   White was 4 years old, living in a mining town of 80 people in northern Nevada, when a CP-funded missionary began visiting and repeatedly witnessing to White’s … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message   ALEXANDRIA – The Louisiana Baptist Golf Fellowship held its spring tournament May 23-24.   Co-sponsored by the Louisiana Baptist Foundation and the Baptist Message, the semi-annual tournament drew more than a hundred golfers to the Links On The Bayou golf course in Alexandria.   Monday’s play entailed medal play as well as team competition. Golfers competed in four flights and were divided into minister and laymen groups. Seven church teams entered to vie for a team trophy.   [img_assist|nid=7414|title=Unique Parking|desc=Baptist Message Editor Kelly Boggs surveys the removal of a golf cart from a water hazard after the cart went over an embankment and fell six feet into the water.|link=none|align=left|width=427|height=640]The team championship was won by First Baptist of DeRidder. The team successfully defended the championship it won during the fall tournament. Members of the winning team were: Frank Nihart, Tony Branham, Dennis Milsap, and Diz Smith.   Tuesday’s play was a scramble. Four-person teams were assembled based on scores from Monday’s medal play. The winning team was made up by Heath Williams, Craig James, Sam Perry and Tony Branham. … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message   [img_assist|nid=7416|title=A Helping Hand|desc=From left, Jeanette Thompson of Pine First Baptist Church, and, Ricky Davis, Sherrie Bumstead and Debbie Mims, all missionaries in Africa, stand with one of the boxes of diapers and baby blankets that will be shipped to Zimbabwe, Africa, to aid in Bumstead’s missions work.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=88]PINE – Pine First Baptist in 2006 started supporting the faith missionary work of Sherrie Bumstead, a former neo-natal nurse at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans.   Bumstead reported in 2009 on a visit to the church that at a women’s clinic in Zimbabwe, Africa, she learned newborn babies and their moms were being discharged without any diapers or blankets.   “This need so moved the ladies of Pine First Baptist Church that they started a diaper and blanket mission,” reported Jeanette Thompson. “As of this time [in early June], the ladies have made more than 9,000 diapers and 1,000 baby blankets.   “The ladies feel they have received much more spiritually than they have given,” Thompson continued. “If you are willing to do the mission work, God will provide!”   Donations of thread and material … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message   COMINGS & GOINGS   n John Yeats, new as transitional pastor at McClendon West Monroe.   n Jason (wife Martha) Mercer, new as children’s minister at First Winnfield. Pastor: Stephen Laughlin.   n Ken Fryer new as pastor at College Place Monroe from First Greenwood.   n Randy Ray, new as pastor at Saint Rest Baptist in Dubach.   n Pam Smith resigns as Early Learning Center director at Grace Memorial Slidell, to serve in Nigeria. Bob Heustess is pastor.   n Venita Richards, new as Early Learning Center director at Grace Memorial Slidell. Bob Heustess is pastor.   n Barry Dunlap, new as pastor at Agape Denham Springs.   n Tom McLaughlin, new as minister of music and youth at First Marthaville, from music minister at Calvary Denham Springs.   n Sondra McLaughlin resigned as youth director at Calvary Denham Springs. Rhett Major is pastor.   n Charles Ray Smith, new as pastor at New Beginnings Denham Springs.   n Glyn Nale, new as pastor at Meridian Marion; being ordained to gospel ministry at 2 p.m. June 12 at the church.   n Weston (wife Lindsay) Brown, new as … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message   ALEXANDRIA – Good news was the theme at the spring meeting of the board of trustees for the Baptist Message.   With a strong support from Cooperative Program, and increased advertising sales, the financial picture looks better than it did a year ago, Editor Kelly Boggs told board members at the May 10 meeting.   “Last year was a tough year financially,” Boggs said. “Things are really looking up thus far this year.”   The meeting agenda included reports from the policy, personnel, finance and nominating committees, as well as reports from Boggs and Managing Editor Karen Willoughby.   The policy had no new or revised policies to consider, thus the committee reported most its meeting time was spent in orientation for new board members.   Personnel Committee Chairman James Still reported, “Everything is going well, and everyone is happy.” Editor Boggs commended the staff members on their performance, and singled out Rhonda Havens for the additional responsibilities she has assumed since the retirement Dec. 31 of Joanne Brechtel, who had served the paper for 27 years.   “Violet Adams is doing a tremendous job in advertising,” Boggs … [Read more...]