The media is bristling with political banter. The media is bristling with political banter. Most of us already are sick of all the talk and posturing. However, in a little more than 16 months, Americans will go to the polls and cast their votes for a new president. Will he or she represent our biblical values? Next year’s presidential election could be the most strategic one since the 1960 race between Kennedy and Nixon. Perhaps the most ominous issue for the election is the reality that the next president will select as many as three new Supreme Court justices. This court makes decisions that impact our lives, and, consequently, responsible Christians must look past the war in Iraq and the state of the economy, and vote their values on who will become the next leader of the most powerful, most economically blessed nation in history. If things hold true as they have in the past, prior to the election, pastors across America will received a letter from a pseudo-authoritative source for church and state issues. Americans United (AU) touts itself as the last word on First Amendment rights. The letter will use scare tactic claims such as “your church will lose its tax exempt status” if you speak-out  on political … [Read more...]

I believe the greatest doctrinal issue confronting the church today is the exclusivity of the gospel, or the belief that salvation is possible only through a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. I believe the greatest doctrinal issue confronting the church today is the exclusivity of the gospel, or the belief that salvation is possible only through a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. It is incredible to think that the most fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith could be called into question or debated among people who call themselves Christians, but that is precisely what is taking place in our world today. From a Christian viewpoint, the very idea that there are many ways to heaven is unreasonable, unscriptural and offensive. If there are many ways – or even two ways – to God, Jesus Christ was a deceiver. For Jesus avowed more than once that he is the only way to heaven.He declared, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). However, there are those who do not believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven as emphatically declared in John 14:6. For example, a reporter of the Edmonton Journal in Edmonton, Alberta, … [Read more...]

Some Americans assume that there is something unseemly about making laws based on moral standards. Such a notion is absurd. “You can’t legislate morality.” You hear it all the time in Washington, D.C. Some Americans assume that there is something unseemly about making laws based on moral standards. Such a notion is absurd. All laws are based on someone’s moral standards. Nevertheless, there is a vocal element that insists that morality and law should be completely separate. These radical separationists are the first to say, “I didn’t break any laws” when they are caught in a scandal. If accused of dubious business practices, they defend by saying, “It’s not against the law.” If caught committing adultery in a seedy hotel room they plead, “It’s not against the law.” If criticized for treating human embryos as raw material to be manipulated and destroyed, they intone, “It’s not against the law.” Applications of new technologies can give rise to profound legal and ethical dilemmas. This is especially true in the field of biotechnology where the law-morality dichotomy is proving to be an enormous problem. Many scientists believe that, so long as it is legal, there should be no limit on what they can do in their laboratories. … [Read more...]

Recently I learned why the most depressing sound on earth to me is the sound of CBS News’ 60 Minutes stopwatch. Recently I learned why the most depressing sound on earth to me is the sound of CBS News’ 60 Minutes stopwatch. As a child and a teenager, Sundays were a blur of activity. Sunday school assembly at 9:30 a.m., Sunday school at 9:45, worship service at 11, Training Union (then Church Training, then Discipleship Training, then whatever they called it next) at 6, worship service at 7, and then some kind of youth group activity after the service. Often I was running late for Training Union and would catch, as I was leaving the house, the intro to 60 Minutes with that stopwatch ticking away. To this day, I cringe when I hear that sound. Recently, while guest-hosting the “Albert Mohler Program,” I invited historian Craig Harline on the program to talk about his new book, Sunday: A History of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl (Doubleday). Harline spoke of something called “Sunday neurosis,” a sense of profound sadness that comes over some people on Sunday. It’s the type of melancholy one hears in Kris Kristofferson’s song “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down.” Because the routine is disrupted, one falls into … [Read more...]

Later this month, young adults from across America will unite to pray, not only for their generation, but for the still-beleaguered city of New Orleans. NEW ORLEANS – Later this month, young adults from across America will unite to pray, not only for their generation, but for the still-beleaguered city of New Orleans. Out of Range, a prayer initiative that began in 2005, continues Aug. 24 and 25 on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The conference features former NOBTS faculty member David Platt, senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala.; the progressive Christian rock band and Grammy-award nominee Leeland, as well as local artists including the Andrew Ogea Band. The two-day event is sponsored by a joint partnership – Ignite Mission and the NOBTS Providence Learning Center and Mission Lab. A passion for prayer led NOBTS students to gather in the spring of 2005, planting seeds for the first event in Pass Christian, Miss., the weekend before Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast. In 2006, 100 people gathered in the Crescent City for prayer and worship. There, organizers say, God’s spirit moved in a mighty way. The first two events were men only, but the 2007 … [Read more...]

East Bayou Baptist Church in Lafayette recently was named “Healthy Church of the Month” by the Leavell Center for Evangelism and Church Health and the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. NEW ORLEANS – East Bayou Baptist Church in Lafayette recently was named “Healthy Church of the Month” by the Leavell Center for Evangelism and Church Health and the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. East Bayou received the honor in May. The joint initiative highlights growing churches at a time when 89 percent of Southern Baptist churches are plateaued or declining. East Bayou Baptist has enjoyed consistent growth since pastor Mike Walker came to the church 23 years ago. However, over the past decade, the church has witnessed its greatest growth.  Sunday morning worship nearly quadrupled from 427 in 1996 to 1,576 last year. Over the same period, membership has more than doubled, from 866 to 1,757; baptisms from 59 to 112; undesignated receipts from $830,000 to $2,794,000; total receipts from $958,000 to $5,138,000 and Cooperative Program giving from $54,000 to $225,000. East Bayou recently agreed to host the Southwest … [Read more...]

Former First Lady Barbara Bush is to read the Christmas story Dec. 1 at Louisiana College. PINEVILLE – Former First Lady Barbara Bush is to read the Christmas story Dec. 1 at Louisiana College. LC administrators recently announced the college’s first annual “Follow the Star – a Louisiana College Christmas,” with a special guest appearance by Mrs. Bush. She is to read the Christmas story as an integral part of a performance of Handel’s Messiah at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, in Guinn Auditorium on the LC campus. This event is part of a three-day Christmas celebration that is to kick off on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 29 and continue through Saturday, Dec. 1. During this time the LC campus is to have special Christmas lighting displays, community choirs will perform, children’s activities will abound, and much more. Mrs. Bush is traveling to the campus of Louisiana College to help raise funds for Louisiana College student scholarships. On the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 1, Mrs. Bush also is to participate in an afternoon high tea in the Granberry Conference Center. This also is a fundraising event for student scholarships. More details about “Follow the Star – A Louisiana College Christmas” are to be released … [Read more...]

The first Baptist association in America will mark its 300th anniversary in September. PHILADELPHIA – The first Baptist association in America will mark its 300th anniversary in September. Founded in 1707, the Philadelphia Baptist Association has assisted countless churches in starting, developing, growing, and extending the Gospel through a unified message and effort. Today, however, the constituency that the Philadelphia association reaches is vastly different. They are no longer mostly white and scattered across the countryside as they were in the Colonial era. The Philadelphia Baptist Association today represents 128 churches in its region, but in its line of descendants are more than 1,200 Southern Baptist associations representing more than 43,000 churches with 16.4 million members around the country. And Southern Baptists have learned a great deal from the history of their progenitor, especially in the area of cooperative missions and church planting. The first association in America proved at a time when being Baptist was not popular that “churches can do far more by working together than any size church can do working alone,” Tom Biles, president of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors … [Read more...]

“If you just give Christian people a structure to express their Christianity, they will jump on it,” Pastor Stephen Davis says. DARDANELLE, Ark. (BP) – “If you just give Christian people a structure to express their Christianity, they will jump on it,” Pastor Stephen Davis says. He was speaking of the flood of believers from a variety of denominations who have volunteered to meet needs and share the love of Christ with people in need at the River Valley Christian Clinic, a free medical, dental and vision clinic that opened on Jan. 11 this year. So far, the clinic has been able to provide more than $246,000 worth of healthcare services and medication free of charge to people who meet federal poverty guidelines, who are without insurance and who cannot yet qualify for Medicare/Medicaid. More than 70 churches across various denominations in Pope County, Ark., and about 650 volunteers, some medical and some non-medical, have united for the purpose of demonstrating and sharing the Gospel. Over a year ago, two separate groups began to explore the possibility of meeting the healthcare needs of the county’s poor. Davis, pastor of First Baptist in Russellville, said the church had had a vision for a couple of years to do … [Read more...]

Volunteers at the River Valley Christian Clinic often hear Dr. James Carter cite the story of the Good Samaritan to keep them mindful to treat each patient who comes through the clinic with dignity and respect. DARDANELLE, Ark. (BP) – Volunteers at the River Valley Christian Clinic often hear Dr. James Carter cite the story of the Good Samaritan to keep them mindful to treat each patient who comes through the clinic with dignity and respect. A semi-retired family practice physician, Carter is the head of the free clinic’s board of directors, whose vision, and whose passion for people and for Christ, has helped to ignite an army of about 650 volunteers with the same vision and passion. Carter’s heart for people and missions has been demonstrated at First Baptist Church in Russellville since 1987, including numerous short-term mission trips to Brazil. Health concerns limited his ability to travel, but he said the River Valley Christian Clinic in Dardanelle, Ark., has brought him an opportunity to give back, as it has for many others. Optometrist Jim Lieblong became involved because of Carter’s passion. “He was our family physician – he was our pediatrician who took care of our son when he was born. He asked me to become … [Read more...]