By Chuck Kelley, President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary NEW ORLEANS (BP) - Let us be clear on this indisputable fact: The Lord is God. There is no glory greater than His glory. What He desires to do, He is able to do. We can look back in the story of our nation and see the Lord is able to pour out His Spirit with such power and effect that the whole nation is deeply stirred. We have names for such times: the Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening and, more recently, the Jesus Movement. Not that long ago ... I was there in the Jesus Movement and saw my college campus profoundly changed. The playlist of the nation's pop radio stations included songs about Jesus at the top of the list, not the bottom. There were record-setting numbers of conversions in churches of all sorts. Jesus was Time Magazine's Man of the Year. The Gospels inspired two hit Broadway musicals that are still touring today. My wife and I saw one of them ("Jesus Christ Superstar") again just a few months ago. Profound changes in worship were set in motion and are still creating ripples in today's churches. The chaos and upheaval of the '60s ended with a mighty movement of God in the'70s, making Jesus an unavoidable part of the … [Read more...]

By Randy Adams, Executive Director of Northwest Baptist Association An old saying goes like this: “Do as I say, not as I do.” Though many of us have said something like this to our children, we knew our parenting was weak when our lives betrayed our words of instruction. As I see it, the big issue in Baptist life today is that for too long, key leaders, and leaders at all levels, have been unable to say, “Do as I do,” or “Do as I did.” We are now seeing the fruit of this in the staff reduction at the International Mission Board (IMB). We are grieving the IMB announcement that our missionary force will be reduced by as many as 800. We are already down more than 800 field missionaries from our peak of over 5,600 in 2009. Still, with less than 4,800 field personnel, we have been unable to fund even these reduced numbers. An attempt to keep missionaries on the field led to huge deficit spending by the IMB, $210 million above income over the past six years. Obviously, this cannot continue, thus the staff reduction. Others will write and speak about how the financial crisis was and is being handled. My interest here is to address what I believe got us to where we are. As I see it, the trouble began over 30 years ago when … [Read more...]

By Dr. Kathy Eichelberger, Director, Granberry Counseling Center, Monroe The Ashley Madison website was launched in 2001 as a matchmaking site for married people seeking to have affairs. The site’s slogan was “Life is short. Have an affair.” In July, hackers stole the personal data of more than 30 million of the site’s users and released it online in August, according to media reports. Stories are being heard across the globe, as well as in our state, of families torn apart, of children who are afraid of what’s happening to their parents, and of the tragedy of suicide. Ministers have resigned from their churches. Others are struggling with the guilt and shame of hidden sin, hoping that no one will find them out. Churches, Christian organizations, and their leaders are grappling with how to deal with the aftermath of Ashley Madison with grace and truth. Christian leaders need to understand the extensive nature of the damage that can be done by extramarital affairs to both families and church congregations. It will take months, and in some cases, even years, for complete healing to occur. Many see this issue from only one perspective: it is a sin problem. And yes, it is a sin problem that requires confession, repentance and … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever, Retired Pastor/Author, New Orleans Editor’s Note: “Life is short. Have an affair.” That motto of the online adultery firm calling itself Ashley Madison has supposedly lured in nearly 40 million participants. The website promises “100 percent security.” It promises that registrants who pay the fee “will find someone within 3 months or we’ll refund your money.” Recently, hackers broke past the security wall and released the entire list. No one knows whether all the names are legitimate. We are learning that quite a few well-known political and religious leaders signed on to this amazingly bone-headed come-on. Many are running for cover. Others are into denial, some have gone public with their confession and repentance, and we have heard rumors of suicides as a result of this scandalous list. As a young minister, I said to a saintly older woman in the church, “You are the godliest person I know.” She said, “Oh, honey, if you just knew.” I’m the age of Marguerite Briscoe then. I know now what she knew then. There is none righteous, no, not one. We are all fallen creatures redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and in daily need of His grace and mercy. Oh no... I got caught up in the Ashley Madison scandal … [Read more...]

By Jeff Iorg, President of Golden Gate Seminary MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP) – Nathan Collier and his “wives” – Vicki and Christine – want to get married. Actually, Nathan and Vicki are already legally married but they live in a polygamous relationship with Christine. They recently went to the Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings, Mont., to apply for a marriage license under the Marriage Equality Act to become a legal three-some. After some consideration, they were denied by county officials. They then appealed to the Montana attorney general. They were similarly denied. After being denied, Nathan said, “All we want is legal legitimacy. We aren’t asking anybody for anything else. We just want to give our marriage and our family the legitimacy that it deserves.” Sounds familiar. The Colliers are making the same arguments the LGBT community made in their quest to redefine marriage. We will now see if President Obama can evolve on polygamous marriage and the Supreme Court can mysteriously find “equal dignity” for them in the Constitution. Failure to do so would be the height of ethical and legal hypocrisy. Failure to now recognize polygamous marriage will reveal the supposedly legal basis for permitting same-sex … [Read more...]

By Paul Dietzel II, member of Jefferson Baptist Church, Baton Rouge BATON ROUGE – One of the most regrettable legacies of the Millennial generation will be the forfeiture of many of the great institutions and traditions bequeathed to us in trust. To be sure, no man-made institution can emerge spotless from strict scrutiny. The institutions serving as agents or as a committee of the whole have been the mechanism whereby great advancements in history have taken flight. Yet, whether it was the Declaration of Independence drafted by perhaps one of the greatest subcommittees in world history (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston can hardly be described as “establishment”) or the means employed in the founding of many of our nation’s colleges and universities, institutions or funding mechanisms can wither over time and drift from their original purpose. As I walked around the Greater Columbus Convention Center for the 2015 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, I was struck by the overall focus and unity of a multi-generational group of people determined to make an impact. I inhabit the technology and political sectors and, for better or worse, conventions or … [Read more...]