Competing in the youth Bible drill at Tulip Grove Baptist Church were three seventh-graders, one-eighth grader and a doctoral candidate. OLD HICKORY, Tenn. (BP) – Competing in the youth Bible drill at Tulip Grove Baptist Church were three seventh-graders, one-eighth grader and a doctoral candidate. Tulip Grove’s participants included minister to students Alec Cort, who has been practicing every Sunday since Jan. 7 alongside the seventh- and eighth-graders. Pam Reasonover, who led Bible drill practices on Sunday afternoons at the Old Hickory, Tenn., congregation with Rosie McClurkan, was impressed that Cort accepted the challenge. For 25 years, she has taught the importance of Bible drill and Scripture memorization, but Cort, 34, is the only adult who has stepped up to participate. “I never extended an invitation to Alec. It was his idea to participate,” Reasonover said, adding, “I let him participate in the church drill, but he’s not going on to the associational drill” sponsored by the Nashville Baptist Association. Cort, who plans to graduate with a doctorate in philosophy and education from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., in December, was joined in the Bible drill by seventh-graders … [Read more...]

Louisiana College trustees at their spring board meeting okayed tuition and fees increases effective with the Fall 2007 term, and changed a long-standing policy that froze a student’s tuition for four years. PINEVILLE – Louisiana College trustees at their spring board meeting okayed tuition and fees increases effective with the Fall 2007 term, and changed a long-standing policy that froze a student’s tuition for four years. The increases reflected a budget that increased about $1.2 million because of increased costs. Tuition increased from $325 to $340 a semester hour; about a 4 percent hike, which is lower than the 5 to 7 percent national average increase. The matriculation fee grew from $430 to $530 per semester. This fee began in 2000 as a replacement for a former structure in which there were 13 separate fees, such as a technology fee and publications fee. Meal plans were increased by 2.2 percent, even though the food services provider, ARAMARK, increased its fees by 3 percent to the college, a campus spokesman said. The most popular meal plan – 19 meals a week – is to increase from $1,126 to $1,150/semester. The college’s operating budget increased about $1.2 million – to $17,593,744 from … [Read more...]

Retired and semi-retired ministers and their wives as well as widows of deceased ministers are to be honored Thursday, May, 10 at Clara Springs Baptist Encampment here by District Eight Baptist Convention. PLEASANT HILL – Retired and semi-retired ministers and their wives as well as widows of deceased ministers are to be honored Thursday, May, 10 at Clara Springs Baptist Encampment here by District Eight Baptist Convention.  The event is set to begin at 10 a.m. and go through lunch, said Lee Dickson, Director of Missions for the five associations – DeSoto, Natchitoches, North Sabine, Sabine and Red River – that together are known as District Eight.  “Arnold Nelson is the center of this focus,” Dickson said, explaining that Nelson, 96, was the first area missionary for the district – a position then known as ‘field secretary’ and now ‘director of missions.’ Nelson served the people and churches of the district for 15 years before he retired in <>.  A member at First Baptist Mansfield, Nelson continues to fill pulpits and serve as interim pastor even in retirement, said First Mansfield pastor Thumper Miller. “Dr. Nelson has given us incredible leadership in the past and continues to lead by example of integrity … [Read more...]

John Avant, vice president of evangelization at the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, accepted a call April 22 to be pastor of First Baptist Church in West Monroe. WEST MONROE – John Avant, vice president of evangelization at the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, accepted a call April 22 to be pastor of First Baptist Church in West Monroe. More than 3,500 people attended the Sunday morning service in which Avant preached a trial sermon and was voted on “overwhelmingly” by members to be their pastor, said Sue Green, pastor’s secretary for 27 years and a longtime member of the church. “There was lots and lots of excitement in the crowd,” Green said. “We called him; he’s accepted.” Married to Donna Duniven Avant since 1980 and father to two daughters and a son, Avant was licensed to the gospel ministry at First Baptist Hendersonville, N.C. He graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with an MDiv degree in 1986 and a Ph.D. degree in evangelism and missiology in 1990. Avant’s earliest vocational ministry experience was as an associate pastor at First Baptist, Lancaster, Ohio. During seminary years he pastored in Gatesville, Cleburne and Richardson, all … [Read more...]

Evangelist Troy N. Terrell has agreed to allow his name to be placed in nomination as a candidate for the 2007 presidency of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. HAUGHTON – Evangelist Troy N. Terrell has agreed to allow his name to be placed in nomination as a candidate for the 2007 presidency of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Terrell and his wife Amber and daughter Lexie are active members of First Baptist Church in Haughton, Northwest Baptist Association. “I believe Troy would bring to the LBC a fresh and exciting vision for evangelism by exposing unchurched people groups to our LBC churches,” wrote Carl Carrigan of Fill-more, a member of Fillmore Baptist in Princeton, in presenting Terrell to the Baptist Message readers. Terrell was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1993 and has been senior pastor of four Southern Baptist churches, all in Louisiana. He founded and directs Harvest Outreach Ministries) which includes Dynamite Basketball – basketball camps for inner city youth – and HOPE – Harvest Outreach Prison Evangelism. Terrell is an active board member of the Louisiana Prison Chapel Foundation and has for the last ten years, often been camp pastor for youth camps at Dry Creek Baptist Camp. According to the … [Read more...]

Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary elected four professors to the faculty at their spring meeting April 11. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary elected four professors to the faculty at their spring meeting April 11. The board elected Mark Tolbert to serve as associate professor of evangelism and pastoral ministry, Dennis Phelps as professor of preaching, Rex Butler as associate professor of church history and patristics (early church fathers), and Tony Merida as assistant professor of preaching.\ Mark Tolbert Tolbert, who also was appointed as director of the doctor of ministry program, has served in ministry for 33 years. During 24 years as a pastor, he led churches in Decatur, Ala., Pine Bluff, Wynne, Little Rock and Pocahontas, Ark., and Santo, Texas. Tolbert also has served as a minister of evangelism and a collegiate minister. Tolbert holds a master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and a bachelor of science degree from Georgia State University. Tolbert has served as a trustee for GuideStone Financial Resources and on the SBC Tellers Committee. In 2000, Tolbert taught as … [Read more...]

In a foreign land a Southern Baptist missionary enters a territory which is known to be hostile to the Gospel. Upon entering a mountainous village, he is able to speak to some of the villagers about eternal matters. In a foreign land a Southern Baptist missionary enters a territory which is known to be hostile to the Gospel. Upon entering a mountainous village, he is able to speak to some of the villagers about eternal matters. They are uninhibited about their faith, although reticent to accept any other opinion. This missionary quickly gains a cursory understanding of their god. He is an all-powerful being who blesses both the just and the unjust. He reveals himself through miracles. Additionally, these villagers believe that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. In fact, these villagers believe that their god has a son and that this son was once dead and now has come to life! Can this missionary assume that the god the villagers are describing is the same God the Scripture reveals? If your answer is yes, you have fallen prey to a choice tactic of the devil. He plays upon the attributes of God and places them upon another, even himself. Ironically, the situation above is not foreign to … [Read more...]

Spring is a celebration of new life. I’ve been pruning old dead branches in order to get ready for the new life that is coming. Spring is a celebration of new life. I’ve been pruning old dead branches in order to get ready for the new life that is coming. Lately, I’ve been inspecting my plants trying to decide if I should pour my resources and time into them in an attempt to revive them. I am not sure if  I should give up on the old plants and simply go with new ones. Some of my old plants have roots that are so tangled, hard and lifeless that I probably just need to remove them, pour in fresh soil, and plant something new. Wow! I think I may have just figured out some of Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom and the Church. Perhaps we are pouring a lot of time, effort, and resources into some old programs, classes, and activities that will never be productive. We may need to honestly consider starting something new and fresh so that growth has an opportunity to occur. At a recent Director of Missions meeting, we were considering the fact that possibly as high as 80% of our churches in our state are plateaued, declining, or dying. Within a decade or so, if there is not a major turn around, we as Southern Baptists … [Read more...]

My heart was broken as I read the April 17 report about the decline of baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention. Many of the other statistics we track looked healthy, which caused me to wonder about the issue of priorities. My heart was broken as I read the April 17 report about the decline of baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention. Many of the other statistics we track looked healthy, which caused me to wonder about the issue of priorities. Since the number of church plants are up, does this mean that we are planting churches without evangelism in their DNA? Are we increasing in size and decreasing in concern? Do we care that our lost friends and neighbors will die and go to hell? Does it embarrass us to talk about hell? But this report challenged me at a more fundamental level. Am I looking daily for evangelistic opportunities? Do I seize these divine appointments? I am afraid that I must confess that I am often very lax when it comes to sharing the greatest news that has ever been told. Why? What am I lacking and what are we lacking? I think Roy Fish, in his comments, certainly went to the core of our problem as he talked about the need for spiritual awakening. We need revival and a sweeping move of the Holy … [Read more...]

China’s economy expands, bringing new jobs to your town -– or taking them away. The Japanese yen soars in value, sending world financial markets into a tailspin overnight -– along with your 401k. China’s economy expands, bringing new jobs to your town -– or taking them away. The Japanese yen soars in value, sending world financial markets into a tailspin overnight -– along with your 401k. At home, your kids are playing computer games online with teens living on the other side of the planet -– the same teens they’ll be competing with for careers in the global economy. Globalization is no longer a grand theory. It’s a daily reality. We can either deal with it or deny it, but it isn’t going away. The new global reality is exciting and frightening. Societies, cultures and economies have always mingled or clashed, but never so instantaneously. History is accelerating in ways humanity has never experienced, and we don’t know where it will take us. But God does and He bends history to His purposes. One of His purposes is the globalization of the church. We are seeing it become a reality in our day. “The map of global Christianity that our grandparents knew has been turned upside down,” reported Christopher J.H. Wright in … [Read more...]