Ten-year-old Rachael Mosley smiled as she walked out of the newly opened Creation Museum, equipped with the answers about the Bible, evolution and science she had been seeking. PETERSBURG, Ky. (BP)--Ten-year-old Rachael Mosley smiled as she walked out of the newly opened Creation Museum, equipped with the answers about the Bible, evolution and science she had been seeking. Her parents had brought her and her two siblings to the museum located just outside of Cincinnati on opening week. On this particular day, the Mosleys, from Bloomington, Ind., were part of the 1,000-plus people who passed through the gates of the museum that sets forth a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation account. It opened Memorial Day with more than 4,000 visitors and cars from more than 30 states in the parking lot and is the largest museum of its kind in the world. “We thought it was fantastic,” her mother, Chere, said. “[Rachael’s] going into the sixth grade and there’s a lot of talk about evolution. … She gets mad when she watches the videos and they say ‘millions of years ago.’ She wanted to have more facts.” It’s that type of reaction museum officials are wanting. The $27 million, 60,000-square-foot museum -- … [Read more...]

Genady Krechin preaches with quiet earnestness to the 20 worshippers crowded into his cramped third-floor apartment. MOSCOW (BP) – Genady Krechin preaches with quiet earnestness to the 20 worshippers crowded into his cramped third-floor apartment. His voice fills the room with God’s Word. His eyes flash with intensity and soften with warmth as he appeals to his listeners to follow Christ. Why would a hard-charging businessman in his prime trade wealth, influence and ownership of several companies for this humble pulpit? “I wanted to buy happiness, but true joy is only received as a gift from God,” says Krechin, 48, hugging his young children after the service. Besides, now he has a greater calling than making money: God has led him to spread the Gospel among the 85,000 people of the Golovinski area in Moscow’s Northern Administrative District. Krechin started out as an ambitious, idealistic young man. He never completely lost his ideals, but the free-for-all capitalism that flooded Russia as communism collapsed in the early 1990s led him astray. “As the Bible would say, I decided that I would serve mammon as the ruler of my life,” he recalls. “I would be rich.” Thus began a rise to power – and a … [Read more...]

After committing his life to missions in Mozambique, Brian Harrell learned that his grandparents also had a heart for the African country. RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – After committing his life to missions in Mozambique, Brian Harrell learned that his grandparents also had a heart for the African country. In 1941, however, a German warship sank his grandparents’ plans to serve there as missionaries. Harrell, a third-generation missionary, was appointed with his wife Becky through the International Mission Board to Mozambique in 2004. Before leaving for the field, he discovered that his grandparents, Irl and Florence “Flo” McAllister, had planned to serve there with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM). German forces and bad timing, though, kept that from happening. His grandmother told him, “You will go for us,” Harrell remembers. “It was just a confirmation for us that our grandparents had tried to get in, [and] two generations later God is sending her grandson.” It was just before the United States entered World War II, and the McAllisters were aboard a ship with more than 200 passengers –- many of whom, like them, were missionaries -– headed for Africa. However, a German raider (auxiliary cruiser … [Read more...]

When the phone rang in the director’s office of the Winn Association back in October, the message was not good. DODSON – When the phone rang in the director’s office of the Winn Association back in October, the message was not good. Dodson Baptist Church which has been an active house of God, providing services to its members and the community since its start in 1894, was going through difficult times.  “The basic message was that unless they got some help, they’d have to close their doors,” said Dr. Clovis Sturdivant.  “They just didn’t have the people to keep it open.” Times had changed over those 117 years for the congregation and the town they call home. After the turn of the century when the timber boom was at its peak, Dodson enjoyed the benefits of timber mills.  They had a thriving business community with a bank, a newspaper and a population that rivaled Winnfield, the parish seat. (In fact, in those days of prosperity, Dodson made a bid to become Winn’s parish seat but that effort failed to gain legislative support at the time). As was the case of mill towns across the South, once all the timber had been cut that could be hauled efficiently to the local mills, those mills closed down, taking with them … [Read more...]

“Giving birth,” observed Carol Burnett, “is like taking your lower lip and trying to force it over your head.” My wife assures me the famed comedian’s description is quite accurate. “Giving birth,” observed Carol Burnett, “is like taking your lower lip and trying to force it over your head.” My wife assures me the famed comedian’s description is quite accurate. I have only been a witness to the birthing process. What I have observed is a process that is painful, exhausting and messy. But the end result is a new life full of wonderful potential. And the vast majority of moms would agree that the product, a precious child, is well worth the effort.  Wednesday, July 4, we will celebrate the 231st birthday of our nation. And similar to the biological process that produces new life, the United States experienced a period of gestation and labor before it was birthed as an independent and free country. Years of unjust treatment at the hands of King George III caused colonist leaders to conceive the idea of independence. Over time the embryo of liberty matured. Events such as the Boston Massacre and the subsequent Boston Tea Party served to cultivate the concept of independence. Labor pains began in earnest the spring of … [Read more...]

Christian writer Philip Yancey recently wrote a timely article about the relationship between political leaders and church leaders (“A Tale of Five Herods,” Christianity Today, January 2007.) It is timely because of the political electioneering we all will be facing over the next several months. Editor’s note: This column first appeared in the March 1 issue of the Baptist Message. It appears, by popular demand, again in this patriotic issue. Christian writer Philip Yancey recently wrote a timely article about the relationship between political leaders and church leaders (“A Tale of Five Herods,” Christianity Today, January 2007.) It is timely because of the political electioneering we all will be facing over the next  several months. Yancey noted the temptation among some Christians to “long for access to political power.” He reminds us of the “relative” importance of politics when compared to eternal matters and provides us a warning against too much jostling for a place at the political table. The article illustrates the point by outlining the role of the five Herodian rulers in New Testament events, from Herod the Great to Herod Agrippa II. None of them turned out to be a friend of the gospel. Yancey rightly … [Read more...]

”Make Thee An Ark.” So instructs the Lord God in Genesis 6:14. ”Make Thee An Ark.” So instructs the Lord God in Genesis 6:14. Though I’m sure the Lord Jehovah performed daily miracles, can you imagine the Herculean task Noah had to undertake once he began building that boat? In the “Bruce Almighty” sequel, Evan Almighty, which opened June 22,  the new Noah quickly learns that we shouldn’t ask God to help us change the world unless we’re willing to take on the mission. It’s a movie and is meant to entertain – not instruct, proselytize, or signal the end is near. Indeed, according to star Steve Carell, “Evan Almighty is simply meant to be funny.” But one of director Tom Shadyac’s strengths as a comic filmmaker (Bruce Almighty, Liar, Liar) is that he realizes the best way to ridicule man’s folly is by setting man’s goals alongside biblical principles and principals. Carell reprises his role of newscaster Evan Baxter, but now the self-involved news anchor has become a freshman congressman and moved his family to suburban Virginia. Having lived a selfish life where he expresses who he is through possessions and position, Evan suddenly realizes that there is more to life than his little world. It dawns on him … [Read more...]

Recent polls from Cornell University and Barna Research note that only one out of 10 children keep the faith and values of their parents. Recent polls from Cornell University and Barna Research note that only one out of 10 children keep the faith and values of their parents.  Other studies have shown that it is because parents are not engaged in teaching their children cultural wisdom. The mass media is teaching children their values, and even when these values are not inflaming lust, greed, violence, ambivalence and envy, they are undermining Christian values. And, too often, the church and its associates such as Christian magazines, radio and television are promoting media that undermines true faith and values. Much has been said about post-Christian culture. Europe is a sad example. There are more Muslims in Europe than there are Protestant Christians. Why does this matter? If we truly love our neighbor, then we do not want him or her lost forever. According to surveys, fewer and fewer children understand this. Although we don’t want to be hard on the film characters Bruce and Evan, it is clear that the view of salvation and the view of God presented in the movies Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty do not … [Read more...]

God’s Word cautions us to serve the Lord “from the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” (Galatians 6:5-6) God’s Word cautions us to serve the Lord “from the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” (Galatians 6:5-6) Something about His servants being “men-pleasers” is repugnant to our Lord. “No man can serve two masters,” as Jesus said in Matthew 6:24. This may be what got me out of the bed in the middle of the night recently to jot down the makings of a cartoon. Since I frequently pray for the Holy Spirit to lead me regarding the cartoons – giving me ideas, blessing the execution, guiding in the way they are received and how they are distributed – this one, I believe, was directly from the throne. It’s as pointed and on the mark as any I’ve ever done. – From www.joemckeever.com Read “One Church In 10” for entire message The pastor is at his desk, addressing a group of stern-faced official-looking church members in his office. He says, “I’m sorry to hear that the church is unhappy with my … [Read more...]

When President George W. Bush vetoed a bill June 20 that would have provided federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, Mike and Nicole Bell of Traverse City, Mich., were among those Americans rejoicing. TRAVERSE CITY Mich. (BP) – When President George W. Bush vetoed a bill June 20 that would have provided federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, Mike and Nicole Bell of Traverse City, Mich., were among those Americans rejoicing. The Bells have two children, 17-month-old twins Michael and Paige, born via a relatively new method called embryo adoption. Michael and Paige once were so-called leftover embryos, stored frozen in a lab – the same type of embryos many scientists want to use for research. They very well could still be there, if not for Mike and Nicole. “They were orphans in a different sense of the word,” Nicole, 35, told Baptist Press. “Embryos are not just cells. They’re little people. “We are opposed to embryonic stem cell research but we are in favor of other types of stem cell research – adult stem cells, [umbilical] cord blood stem cells. I wish the general public would understand that more, and that’s part of why we are involved in this, trying to get the word out.” The Bells adopted … [Read more...]