When a physical education teacher challenged her students to read the Bible, she had no idea the worldwide impact the challenge would have. When a physical education teacher challenged her students to read the Bible, she had no idea the worldwide impact the challenge would have.   Thirteen-year-old Bill Tolar liked a challenge. So, when his teacher said 99 percent of the people around the world never had completed reading the best-selling book in history, he began to read.   "I began to realize that if this book was right, then basically my life was wrong, because I was living without any serious regard for the God that the Scriptures were telling me about," Tolar recalls.   Sixty years later, the Louisiana native still is reading the book. And as he retires this summer from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after 36 years as a professor and administrator, he understands the important impact the Bible and teachers have had on his life.   That first through-the-Bible reading caused Scripture to begin "to make claims upon my life, and I realized I was going to have to dismiss them some way, discredit them or stop reading - or have to deal with it in a meaningful … [Read more...]

Recently, good friend Jim Ward retired from the local church pastorate after decades of service. Jim and wife Ruth raised a passel of kids. They had so much experience raising kids and surviving as a couple that Ruth has written eight books out of what they learned - and didn’t learn. Recently, good friend Jim Ward retired from the local church pastorate after decades of service. Jim and wife Ruth raised a passel of kids. They had so much experience raising kids and surviving as a couple that Ruth has written eight books out of what they learned - and didn’t learn.   At Jim’s retirement banquet, son Roger, a Ph.D. in philosophy and a prof at a Baptist university, stepped forward with his Top 10 List of "How to Know You Are a Retired Baptist Pastor."   10. You own two pairs of waders, and you have never been fishing.   9. You try to swear but can’t remember how.   8. You no longer classify new people you meet as tithers or non-tithers.   7. You watch the Superbowl Game from beginning to end.   6. You start to envy the Wal-Mart greeter.   5. The doctor diagnoses you with potato salad withdrawal.   4. It’s Saturday, you cannot find … [Read more...]

Churchgoers today seem to have misplaced the true meaning of worship, Robert Wagoner warned church leaders during a recent conference. Churchgoers today seem to have misplaced the true meaning of worship, Robert Wagoner warned church leaders during a recent conference.   "God is looking for people whose minds and hearts are bent toward him," said Wagoner, large church/worship consultant in the music ministries department at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.   "One reason I think Baptists have trouble worshiping is because they are afraid of what somebody else is going to think about them," Wagoner emphasized during a recent church music leadership conference.   "Real worship means I’m focused on Jesus. I’ve come into complete God consciousness and I’m praising him, not worrying what somebody else is thinking."   God is not seeking worship - he is seeking worshipers, explained Wagoner, noting that Satan is pretty good at distorting the true meaning of worship.   Some of the ways Satan distorts worship are through the traditions, words, persuasions and pleadings of men, Wagoner reminded conference participants.   "Satan … [Read more...]

By Lisa Sergent Illinois Baptist State Association Churches may face rough financial waters as the baby boom generation hit their retirement years, pollster George Barna predicted. The reason is simple. Churches may face rough financial waters as the baby boom generation hit their retirement years, pollster George Barna predicted. The reason is simple. The more than 76 million adults born between 1946 and 1964 have"tenuous ties to the church," Barna noted in an article posted on his Web site - www.barna.org. Baby boomers are becoming the wealthiest generation and the most self-absorbed as they age, Barna noted. "In days to come, I see them dropping out (of church) as their children continue leaving the home." Boomers now are between 37 and 55 years old and in their peak earning potential. As they adjust to more limited incomes in retirement - or if they start to drop out of churches as Barna foresees - they will be followed by the baby busters, a smaller segment of the population unlikely to amass the boomers’ collective financial strength. That will lead to financial woes for churches, including foreclosures - because the baby busters are not as inclined to give and are less inclined to attend church than … [Read more...]

The United States Supreme Court recently demonstrated that the laws of the land should not discriminate in favor of a particular religion or against religion. The United States Supreme Court recently demonstrated that the laws of the land should not discriminate in favor of a particular religion or against religion.   The case in point concerned the Good News Club in Milford, N.Y. Until September 1996, Milford’s club met at the Milford Center Community Bible Church. But problems developed with the bus service, so Pastor Steven Fournier asked permission for the club to meet once a week, after school hours, in the cafeteria of Milford Center School.   The district school superintendent denied the pastor’s application. He reasoned that meetings of the Good News Club would violate a state policy that says, in part, "School premises shall not be used by any individual or organization for religious purposes."   The church, with the aide of the Rutherford Institute of Charlottesville, Va., went into federal court where it lost in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.   The church, with the help of Rutherford, appealed further to the U.S. Supreme Court, where their view … [Read more...]

Ask Ken Ward to evaluate the latest legislative session as far as moral and social issues are concerned, and he will offer a reality lesson in politics. Ask Ken Ward to evaluate the latest legislative session as far as moral and social issues are concerned, and he will offer a reality lesson in politics.   "You have to remember this was the second year of a four-year term for this group of legislators," noted Ward, executive director of the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation. "And to be honest, moral and social concerns usually take a beating in the second year of a term.   "The legislators do not have to run for re-election for another couple of years, and they figure people will have short memories by that time in terms of what they do.   "So, we usually face a tough time."   However, that was not the case this year.   Indeed, set within the context of such political reality, the recent session of the Louisiana Legislature does not look so bad, Ward suggested.   "We won a few, and we lost a few," he acknowledged. "Some good things passed - and some things that did not pass has to be considered with the good."   A review of key areas … [Read more...]

LBM Associate Editor   The two men met on an early spring day in San Francisco - they had arranged to have lunch together as one of them passed through town for a few hours. LBM Associate Editor   The two men met on an early spring day in San Francisco - they had arranged to have lunch together as one of them passed through town for a few hours.   However, it was more than a casual get together. It was lunch with a purpose.   As the two men ate, a briefcase filled with $100 bills - enough to total $400,000 - rested in a car trunk.   The briefcase would change hands at the end of the meal.   But for now, one of the men was asking the other how he planned to move the money through security after being dropped off at the airport with the briefcase.   "That’s not a problem," the man said, opening his thick plaid shirt to reveal a chest-high, double-layered money vest.   The money would go there.   After lunch, the two men headed back to the airport. There, former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. deposited his passenger, who was headed to Vail, Colo.   As DeBartolo drove away, former Louisiana Gov. … [Read more...]

I am writing this letter on behalf of the National Fellowship of Baptist Educators, to inform student youth groups and their leaders of an exciting missions opportunity coming this fall. I am writing this letter on behalf of the National Fellowship of Baptist Educators, to inform student youth groups and their leaders of an exciting missions opportunity coming this fall. Without leaving home they can help to plant seeds of the Gospel and in some instances share their faith with Chinese students who are taking English and who want American pen-pals.   Each year, during September and October, students in participating schools and colleges in China write letters addressed "To my American Friend," and their teachers send the letters to the International Book Project of Samford University. From there the Fellowship of Baptist Educators distributes them to Christian groups who will answer them. We are looking for Baptist youth groups, Sunday School classes, Acteens, Challengers, Baptist Student groups on college campuses, and Christian clubs such as First Priority who would like to participate. Students participating should be in college or in grades 7-12.   To obtain letters, along with guidelines … [Read more...]

RE: Yet another article on the Prayer of Jabez.   If this book or this prayer of Jabez is giving hope, encouragement or even increasing faith - then I can’t see why we should criticize it in any way or judge it to be wrong. RE: Yet another article on the Prayer of Jabez.   If this book or this prayer of Jabez is giving hope, encouragement or even increasing faith - then I can’t see why we should criticize it in any way or judge it to be wrong.   I have prayed the prayer of Jabez many years, before even hearing of this current interest in the book written by Bruce Wilkinson. I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and any portion is sacred. If anyone reads God’s Holy Word and tries to apply it to their own life, I say, "Praise the Lord." Let’s not try to analyze every move that another Christian makes - or what God is doing through them. Going to God should be encouraged. When God has blessed someone through His scripture, and that person shares it with others, we should appreciate the history of what that scripture has done for them. In sharing what they have learned, it gives others the courage to do the same thing. We can start to believe, as the song goes, "what He has … [Read more...]

Thank you for your wise and timely editorial on declining the offer of government money for faith-based ministries (July 26). Thank you for your wise and timely editorial on declining the offer of government money for faith-based ministries (July 26).   In it, you refer to the House Judiciary Committee’s amendment requiring organizations to segregate direct government grants from other contributions. There is another kind of segregation that even more effectively avoids many of the problems that arise from accepting government money. It is to segregate the ministry from a religious organization altogether by forming a 501(c)(3)legal corporation separate from the church.   For example, members of a Sunday School class might form a corporation for the purpose of providing food for the poor in the community. The corporation could then apply for government funding to buy the food, and the food could be dispensed by volunteers. It might even be possible to dispense the food from the church's building. What could not be done is to use occasion of dispensing food to evangelize people. Also, if the corporation needed to employ persons to distribute the food, it could not discriminate against … [Read more...]