By David Crosby, Pastor, First Baptist New Orleans Razor wire now stretches along a 110-mile Hungarian border. The razor wire protects the Christian culture of Hungary from the Muslims, according to Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Jesus is the Christ from whom the word “Christian” is derived. I doubt that Jesus himself would applaud Orban’s use of the word “Christian” to defend his treatment of these desperately poor and frightened neighbors lying at his gates. He would more likely condemn it. Labels like “Christian” or “Muslim” when applied to a nation-state are no longer primarily religious terms. The government and military leaders who use these terms seldom faithfully represent the religious labels they use any more than do their enemies. That makes little difference, though, to those who have captured the word “Christian” behind their razor-wired geographical territory. Cynical politicians know that the fastest way to whip any group into a frenzy is to say that their religion is being attacked. Leading the charge to protect religious belief is a sure road to popular acclaim. Thus do we replace Jesus crowned with thorns with Jesus protected by razor wire. The living Lord Jesus would surely be on the outside of … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: Why theology matters
By Matt Capps, Pastor, Fairview Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC RALEIGH, N.C. (BP) -- Have you ever heard someone in your church dismissively say, "Theology isn't for me" or "I don't think theology is important; we just need to love Jesus and love people"? While I understand the sentiment behind these statements, as a pastor it grieves me. Though many people in the church see theology as an abstract academic discipline with no bearing on the day-to-day Christian life, theology is inescapable. Simply put, every Christian is a theologian. Every Christian, by definition, knows God, thinks about God and makes statements about God. The very word "theology" means a word (logos) about God (theos). Christian theology is simply talking about God in a distinctly Christian way based on the Scriptures. And if everyone is a theologian, the central question becomes: Is his or her theology distinctly Christian? Recent findings give cause for concern. True theology points to God LifeWay Research recently studied the theological knowledge of 3,000 adult Americans. The study focused on key theological areas of the faith and revealed several areas where many Americans differ from historic, orthodox Christianity. Almost half (45 … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: An embarrassing prayer
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...]
GUEST EDITORIAL: Do as I do – The big issue for our Baptist family
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...]
How to deal with aftermath of Ashley Madison reveal
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...]
Ashley Madison – “It’s a different kind of Katrina”
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...]
Offering multisite as a strategy for church revitalization
By Ken Schroeder, Pastor, First Baptist Mandeville What I’m offering today may not set well with many, but I believe it must be said. I’m a pastor who is becoming increasingly frustrated. I’m not frustrated in my ministry. In fact, God has privileged me to serve in a gracious fellowship of believers that affords me the opportunities to preach and to lead the congregation to fulfill its particular mission in our community and beyond. So why am I frustrated? I am frustrated because all around me I hear of the increasing number of declining and dying churches that represent only a portion of the churches in the Southern Baptist Convention have stopped growing. To be sure, some churches will decline because the communities in which they are have declined in population. However, this is not the case for most of the ones I know. And if something does not change within these churches that they will continue to decline and will eventually cease to exist. This grieves our Lord, and it should grieve all believers. Recently our denomination has focused much attention on church revitalization, and I am glad that we have done so. However, some have the mistaken idea that if we can infuse a declining church with some financial aid, some … [Read more...]
To our readers there is Good News in Louisiana!
By Dr. Will Hall, Editor ALEXANDRIA – Great reports are coming in about the impact of the Good News across Louisiana. Baptist Message readers might have made note of George Warshaw in our last edition. He became a babe in Christ in July at the age of 101 years old! Warshaw has been a faithful attender for many years at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, and his wife Lou had been faithfully praying for his salvation since they married in 1991. Other churches, large and small, have shared great reports about the power of the Good News working in their communities as well. Pisgah Baptist in Forest Hill, which has about 70 worshippers Sunday mornings, reported baptizing 10 new believers this summer, 12 for the year (a marked increase over the 4 baptisms it averaged per year for the last decade or so). Likewise, First Bossier reported baptizing 22 born again disciples July 19, including 17 at Splash Kingdom, and has baptized 171 converts total through the first week of August. Meanwhile, Celebration Church in New Orleans baptized 92 during its “All In” weekend in July, bringing their total to 384 baptisms for the year and keeping them on pace to meet their goal of 520 baptisms by the end of the 2015. Louisiana Baptists’ … [Read more...]
As for me and my house…
By Diane DuBois Recent figures from a nationwide study show an alarming increase in a group of people now being referred to as the "nones". They describe themselves as atheists,agnostics or simply of no particular faith. This group has, between the years of 2007 and 2015, grown from 16 percent of the population to a near 23 percent. During this same time frame, the Christian numbers have dropped from 78 percent to just under 71 percent of the population. The Protestant faith which once made this country predominately Protestant now figures in at only 46.5 percent. The "nones" ,however, have grown at an alarming rate totaling 56 million. That makes them the second largest group trailing behind evangelicals who total in at 62 million. What does all that mean to us, as Christians? We, as the church, already know that religion is losing it's influence in public life. A recent Pew study confirmed that 72 percent of Americans believe that to be true as well. We see the demise reflected in the politics of our country. According to a Gallop poll, there is a striking difference between how the religious and non non-religious vote and the platforms they side with. The first group tends to be more conservative … [Read more...]
What’s next for America Polygamy?
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...]
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