By Staff, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Frank Page, vice president of evangelization for the North American Mission Board, is to be nominated as  the next president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, the chairman of that search team has announced.   Randall James, assistant pastor of First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., said he was thankful for strength and guidance from God in the completion of the assignment. [img_assist|nid=6352|title=Frank Page|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100]“Our search team of committed servants of the Lord, which includes six men and one woman, has worked and traveled many long hours since last September in search of God’s man for the job,” James told Baptist Press. “In the face of much lobbying, yet striving to be still and listen to the Holy Spirit, we are unified in our belief that God has indeed revealed to us His man to replace Dr. [Morris H.] Chapman.” A vote on Page’s nomination will be held June 14. If elected, he will succeed Chapman, who will retire Sept. 30 after 18 years in the post. Page told BP he was humbled to be named, and praying about his possible new role. “I’m honored to be considered for … [Read more...]

By Michael Foust, Baptist Press EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article is based on interviews with Paul Thompson, one of the 10 Baptists held in prison in Haiti. In its entirety, it’s about 4,000 words. Read it all as unrestricted content on the internetwww.baptistmessage.com. This article provides just one-quarter of the story. TWIN FALLS, Idaho (BP) – Paul Thompson reads the media accounts describing the journey of him and nine other jailed Baptist volunteers in Haiti who areall now free, and scratches his head. He was there. What he reads is not what he experienced. [img_assist|nid=6353|title=Members of the Baptist volunteer team are shown in hours after their arrest with a number of Haitian children.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=56] Thompson, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, was one of those 10 Baptist volunteers who went to Haiti in late January with the goal of taking orphans out of the earthquake-ravaged country and into an orphanage being started in the Dominican Republic. That trip took a disastrous turn Jan. 30 when the 10 were shocked to learn they were being charged with child kidnapping, with allegations swirling that the group had plans to sell the kids into … [Read more...]

By Joey Martin, Special to the Message VIDALIA – When Vidalia First Baptist Church Youth Minister Dusty Carson asked Megan Powell to come up with a drama skit for a church event in January, she had no idea it would lead to a production that would have congregations fixated at the beginning, crying in the middle and standing and cheering at the end. [img_assist|nid=6356|title=Megan Powell watches members of First Baptist Vidalia drama team perform a skit.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=66]“Dusty asked me to get some kids to do a couple of skits,” Powell said. “A lot of the kids were interested and excited about it and wanted to do some of the skits during church service and it grew from that. We’ve even got a lot of younger kids ready to take the place of the seniors who leave. There’s a lot of participation behind the scenes.” POWERFUL MESSAGE Powell is the wife of First Vidalia Associate Pastor of Worship and Creative Ministries Stephen Powell. “I did drama in high school and always enjoyed it,” Powell said. Powell said each member committed to the project and has honored that commitment. “They have really put everything they have into it and enjoy putting in the time to share the message through … [Read more...]

By Rodrick E. Conerly, DOM Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge [img_assist|nid=6359|title=Rodrick E. Conerly DOM Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=98]Monday morning found Pastor Red Brick in his pick-up on the way to the Association office. Red was puzzled by the Great Commission Task Force’s (GCRTF) report Penetrating the Lostness: Embracing a Vision for a Great Commission Resurgence among Southern Baptists. Red had followed the convention’s efforts to renew a burden for the un-churched and after reading the GCRTF report, he felt he needed to talk with Bro. Vision Nary at the Association office. As he turned into the drive at the Association office, Red found Bro. Nary sweeping the last pink crepe myrtle blooms off the walk in front of the office. After Bro. Nary retired the broom to the closet, he poured Red a cup of coffee. “Bro. Nary,” said Red, “I am not sure about this resurgence report. I realize that our churches could do better at reaching the un-churched, but is our denomination really in such bad shape?” “Red,” said Bro. Nary, “The majority of our churches focus on their membership and are ineffective at reaching the lost. Some 70 percent of … [Read more...]

By Robert White, Executive Director Georgia Baptist Convention Due to the great interest, discussion and questions related to the GCR Task Force report and recommendations to the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, I am going to use my column, prior to the convention, to speak to the report. There is a lot of misinformation circulating and no small amount of emotion wrapped up in current discussions. I would like to speak to clarify for you some of the most discussed issues in the report. First, please read the report for yourself rather than accept someone’s interpretation of the report. We have all been dismayed by politicians in D.C. voting on legislation when they never even read the bill. You can download the report at the GCR web site, www.Pray4GCR.com. Having read the report, go to the convention and vote your convictions. I have heard the discussion regarding the Cooperative Program. The task force went through some transitions to arrive at the recommendation. First of all, the name of the Cooperative Program does not change. As you read the report you find very strong statements of support for the Cooperative Program as the way Southern Baptists support mission work at home and across the … [Read more...]

Rodrick E. Conerly, DOM Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge Monday morning found Pastor Red Brick in his pick-up on the way to the Association office. Red was puzzled by the Great Commission Task Force’s (GCRTF) report Penetrating the Lostness: Embracing a Vision for a Great Commission Resurgence among Southern Baptists. Red had followed the convention’s efforts to renew a burden for the un-churched and after reading the GCRTF report, he felt he needed to talk with Bro. Vision Nary at the Association office. [img_assist|nid=6359|title=Rodrick E. Conerly DOM Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=98]As he turned into the drive at the Association office, Red found Bro. Nary sweeping the last pink crepe myrtle blooms off the walk in front of the office. After Bro. Nary retired the broom to the closet, he poured Red a cup of coffee. “Bro. Nary,” said Red, “I am not sure about this resurgence report. I realize that our churches could do better at reaching the un-churched, but is our denomination really in such bad shape?” “Red,” said Bro. Nary, “The majority of our churches focus on their membership and are ineffective at reaching the lost. Some 70 percent of our … [Read more...]

Robert White, Executive Director Georgia Baptist Convention God creating new movement to penetrate the lostness? Due to the great interest, discussion and questions related to the GCR Task Force report and recommendations to the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, I am going to use my column, prior to the convention, to speak to the report. There is a lot of misinformation circulating and no small amount of emotion wrapped up in current discussions. I would like to speak to clarify for you some of the most discussed issues in the report. First, please read the report for yourself rather than accept someone’s interpretation of the report. We have all been dismayed by politicians in D.C. voting on legislation when they never even read the bill. You can download the report at the GCR web site, www.Pray4GCR.com. Having read the report, go to the convention and vote your convictions. I have heard the discussion regarding the Cooperative Program. The task force went through some transitions to arrive at the recommendation. First of all, the name of the Cooperative Program does not change. As you read the report you find very strong statements of support for the Cooperative Program as the way Southern Baptists … [Read more...]

By Steve Lemke, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Provost PART TWO of five Can you lose your salvation? This is the second in a series of five articles exploring the biblical teaching that once you are genuinely saved, you are saved forever. In the last issue, we saw that we cannot lose our salvation because salvation is simply not ours to lose. [img_assist|nid=6339|title=Steve Lemke, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Provost|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100] God took the initiative in our salvation and He accomplished our salvation, not we ourselves. We did not earn or deserve our salvation; God provided it for us. The second reason that we can be assured in our salvation is that it is based upon a life-changing experience with God. In Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul is talking about God choosing us from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and predestining us (Ephesians 1:5, 11). Just a few verses later, however, he also speaks of the role of a believer’s faith response to God. Paul speaks first of his own life-changing conversion experience and that of the other early Christians. It was in response to God’s initiative in salvation that we who first trusted in Christ should … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, Ph.D., NOBTS Professor of New Testament and Greek Question: Why does James say faith and works are both required, but Paul says only faith is required? Bill Warren Responds: On the surface, some have seen James and Paul’s statements as contradictory. James says, “a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (2:24). Paul, on the other hand, says, “by means of grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God, not from works, so that no one might boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). When statements such as these are read, they do indeed look to be contradictory. But let’s look deeper than just at the surface level of these statements. Many overlook the differences in the ministry contexts for James and Paul. James writes to an audience that is almost if not totally Jewish Christian. His ministry challenge is not at all the same as what Paul is facing. James is battling against what I would label “cultural religion,” a problem that tends to minimize the Gospel’s call for holy living and social concern. For some of his recipients, simply being part of the dominant religious culture was enough, so the idea of a transformation of their behavior and character was not … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE – Here are the winners of the 2010 Youth and High school Bible drill, Xtreme Bible Challenge and Speakers’ Tournament held at Louisiana College on May 1. The event is sponsored by the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Evangelism and Church Growth Department. Linda Aguillard is Louisiana’s Bible drill coordinator. 7TH GRADE BIBLE DRILL There were eight people recognized as winners in four 7th grade groups. They were: Jim Wallace- Parkview, Alexandria;Carlo Sciara-Lakeside, Lake Providence; Thomas Gamble- FBC, Gonzales; Teresa Sharp-FBC, Slidell; Sarah Haines-Heritage, Shreveport; Zachary Araki-Grace Memorial, Slidell; Sadye Dudley-FBC, Lafayette; Abbi Wilson-FBC, Lafayette. 8TH GRADE BIBLE DRILL There were six people recognized as winners in three 8th grade groups. They were: James Daniel Schopp-Fellowship of Central, Greenwell Springs; Andrew Wilks-Trinity, Pineville; John Sledge-FBC, Youngsville; Emily Hinson-FBC, Gonzales; Kristin Grissom- FBC, Lafayette; Samantha Hoover- Grace Memorial, Slidell. 9TH GRADE BIBLE DRILL The first and second place winners of each of the two, 9th grade Bible Drill groups were: Rachel Haines –Heritage Baptist Church, Shreveport; Savanna Whitten- Lakeshore, … [Read more...]