ALEXANDRIA – Instead of flowers at the annual LBC women’s conference, the platform area at Calvary Baptist Church here was dominated by a full-size cross, bare except for the thorny vine that twined around its center. By Karen L. Willoughby Managing Editor ALEXANDRIA – Instead of flowers at the annual LBC women’s conference, the platform area at Calvary Baptist Church here was dominated by a full-size cross, bare except for the thorny vine that twined around its center. It was that kind of a “gets you in the gut” event, which included Carrie McDonnall’s gripping story of how a beautiful day in Iraq started with ministry and making new friends, and ended with the bullet-ridden death of three missionary friends as well as her new husband. “We did what God told us to do,” Cindy Townsend told the Message a few minutes after the conference was over. “This wasn’t a feel-good conference. It was more a challenge conference.” Townsend is director of the women’s missions and ministry team at the Louisiana Baptist Convention, which sponsored the day-long event. The challenge was for participants to influence their everyday world for Christ. “I’m going to do better about praying,” said Jennifer Bates … [Read more...]
Revival at a coffeehouse still fuels their ministry
WESTLAKE, La. (BP)--The revival that drew Larry Thompson to Christ as a 17-year-old continues to influence his ministry long after he left South Carolina for pastorates in four other states. By Ken Walker Baptist Press WESTLAKE, La. (BP)--The revival that drew Larry Thompson to Christ as a 17-year-old continues to influence his ministry long after he left South Carolina for pastorates in four other states. “These are the kind of things I have attempted all through my ministry,” the pastor of First Baptist Church in Westlake, La., said. “I’ve often said that I’ve based my ministry on teaching the principles of revival, just in case the Holy Spirit decides to do it again.” In particular, Thompson retains a strong desire to see others accept Christ. This spark was lit by his conversion in the early days of a revival that began in Easley, S.C., and a youth conference that summer sponsored by the South Carolina Baptist Convention. In addition to lessons from the conference on prayer and personal Bible study, Thompson attended sessions on how to share his faith. By Thursday of that week, he had led his first convert to Christ and by Sunday, two dozen more. And he wasn’t the only person from Easley … [Read more...]
Multitude of laypeople testify to revival’s lasting impact
EASLEY, S.C. (BP)--For layman Terry Ballenger, a gratifying result of the revival that broke out in Easley, S.C., in the early 1970s is hearing the preaching of those who were called into the ministry and how their spiritual gifts have developed over the years. By Ken Walker Baptist Press EASLEY, S.C. (BP)--For layman Terry Ballenger, a gratifying result of the revival that broke out in Easley, S.C., in the early 1970s is hearing the preaching of those who were called into the ministry and how their spiritual gifts have developed over the years. Ballenger, communications manager at Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, is equally pleased with the vast numbers now serving as deacons, Sunday School teachers and Christian influences in the workplace. After listing examples in nursing, accounting and the federal government, Ballenger said, “You’ve got folks like that I can name right and left who went into secular work like me. “In 1970 I saw myself going to seminary. I told my boss when I came here, ‘I’m giving you one year and if I feel the Lord calling me, I’ll have to go.’ But I never felt the Lord calling me.” Ballenger isn’t fond of the notion that God’s call refers primarily to becoming a pastor, … [Read more...]
NOBTS trustees elect new professors, promote faculty
NEW ORLEANS – Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary elected six professors to the faculty, promoted three faculty members and granted tenure to four professors during their meeting April 12. By Gary D. Myers New Orleans Seminary Public Relations NEW ORLEANS – Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary elected six professors to the faculty, promoted three faculty members and granted tenure to four professors during their meeting April 12. Benjamin Harlan, who served on the NOBTS faculty from 1989-95, was elected as professor of church music. He served at the seminary as a presidential appointment during the 2005-2006 school year. A respected composer/arranger and experienced music minister, Harlan served music professor and dean of the school of church music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas from 1995 to 2005. Harlan served six years as a church minister and his choral, keyboard and handbell works have been released by several major music publishers. “Adding Dr. Harlan enhances what we believe is one of the best church music programs in the country,” NOBTS Provost Steve Lemke said. “He is one of the most prolific composers in the … [Read more...]
Trustees set course for seminary’s future
NEW ORLEANS – Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary set a course for the seminary’s future by establishing two degree-granting extension centers, restructuring undergraduate and church music degrees and launching new doctoral specializations during their spring meeting April 12. By Gary D. Myers New Orleans Seminary Public Relations NEW ORLEANS – Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary set a course for the seminary’s future by establishing two degree-granting extension centers, restructuring undergraduate and church music degrees and launching new doctoral specializations during their spring meeting April 12. The meeting opened with an encouraging report from NOBTS President Chuck Kelley. In his remarks, Kelley presented a positive picture of the seminary’s recovery and future. He called attention to the assistance of Southern Baptists in the seminary’s recovery process. “We are very grateful for the difference the Cooperative Program made in the New Orleans Seminary Hurricane Katrina experience,” Kelley said. “Southern Baptists kept a challenge from becoming a crisis.” “We are no longer in survival mode. We are in growth and opportunity mode,” he said. “The SBC threw … [Read more...]
Hamilton recalls Katrina memories
NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary alumnus and current trustee Mitch Hamilton saw his beloved seminary campus at its worst when he helped students, professors and staff members sift through their belongings following Hurricane Katrina. By Gary D. Myers New Orleans Seminary Public Relations NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary alumnus and current trustee Mitch Hamilton saw his beloved seminary campus at its worst when he helped students, professors and staff members sift through their belongings following Hurricane Katrina. “My memories are all in black and white … they are all gray with cloudy skies … [and everything] is covered with a gray sludge,” Hamilton said of those five difficult days on campus. That was October 2005 – just five weeks after levee failure inundated the campus with water. During a recent trip to campus in April, Hamilton encounter a renewed campus, filled with new life and hope. “There is green grass, the grayness of the sludge is gone and the buildings are being rebuilt,” he said. Hamilton recalled walking up and down the gray streets back in October. Everywhere he turned he saw the broken pieces of homes and personal items – ruined … [Read more...]
CP missions is their calling
HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (BP) – Planting churches and giving to the Cooperative Program are two sides of the same coin, pastor Ron Mitchell said. By Karen L. Willoughby Managing Editor HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (BP) – Planting churches and giving to the Cooperative Program are two sides of the same coin, pastor Ron Mitchell said. “We’ve become focused on planting churches, but we’ve done this with a firm commitment that we not reduce our CP giving,” Mitchell said of First Baptist Church of Huber Heights’ support for Southern Baptists’ worldwide missions and ministry. “And now we’re in a building program that’s costly for us but we’re also not going to reduce our missions giving because of it. “We go on mission trips,” he said. “We’ve gone to Brazil, Uganda, Russia, the United Kingdom and Romania since I’ve been pastor here, but the only way to fulfill the Great Commission – to go into all the world – is through the Cooperative Program. “We’re partnering together with other Southern Baptists and extending our mission throughout the world with CP Missions, and we can do that without taking special offerings,” Mitchell said. “When we bring our tithes and offerings every Sunday, that makes us part of a … [Read more...]
New Orleans remains a city on its knees
In the early church worship services, one would come with a song, another comes with a message from the Lord, another a testimony, and so on. [That’s the way our Wednesday pastors’ gatherings are.] By Joe McKeever BAGNO Director of Misssions Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from Dr. McKeever’s blog. If you’re interested in a running commentary on New Orleans, check out www.joemckeever.com. It’s updated sometimes daily. In the early church worship services, one would come with a song, another comes with a message from the Lord, another a testimony, and so on. [That’s the way our Wednesday pastors’ gatherings are.] Freddie Arnold [BAGNO’s disaster relief coordinator] reports to outsiders that the SBC disaster relief teams which descended on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after the hurricane established a high reputation here for integrity, that they helped to create a spiritual environment that enhanced the Billy & Franklin Graham crusades, and that provided a ray of hope in a dark, dark situation all across this area. Freddie reported that in last week’s Arlington meeting, a representative of the International Mission Board presented a check for $800 from a small group of Muslims … [Read more...]
Disaster relief workers lauded for their efforts
ARLINGTON, Texas (BP) – “It’s good to be odd for God.” By Tammi Ledbetter Southern Baptist Texan ARLINGTON, Texas (BP) – “It’s good to be odd for God.” That’s what Jim Burton, director of volunteer mobilization at the North American Mission Board, told yellow-shirted disaster relief leaders at the annual Disaster Relief Roundtable, April 25-27 at Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. Burton quoted 1 Peter 2:9, which describes Christians as “a peculiar people” set apart to do God’s will. Disaster relief volunteers exhibit abnormal behavior as they travel hundreds of miles in crowded vehicles – often with strangers – to volunteer, he said. “It’s not normal to choose to sleep on a floor or shower in a trailer that has wheels on it. It’s not normal to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning – if you even get to sleep at all – to cook thousands of meals, often in high heat and high humidity,” Burton said. Carrying chainsaws to other states to remove debris from the houses of strangers, packing up materials to care for children they’ve not yet met, and risking health by shoveling mud and muck out of flooded homes are other indicators that Southern Baptist volunteers don’t lead normal … [Read more...]
SBC briefs
Week of May 8, 2006 Broadman & Holman changes name NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Broadman & Holman Publishers, the trade publishing division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, announced April 27 plans to change its name to B&H Publishing Group, effective June 1. B&H Publishing Group will serve as an umbrella for areas that include academic, children, educational, Spanish and trade books; church supply products; and Bibles and Bible-related products. John Thompson, senior vice president of marketing, said the name change is a result of the desire for greater flexibility in how the organization manages its various products and imprints. Broadman & Holman produces books, Bibles, church supplies and multimedia products. The company’s Holman Bible Publishers division developed the new Holman Christian Standard Bible translation and also is the largest publisher of Spanish-language Bibles in the United States. Visit www.broadmanholman.com for more information. ‘United 93’ viewpoint MACON, Ga. (BP) – The first major film about the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, “United 93,” hit theaters April 28, and commentators across the spectrum are debating it from … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 543
- 544
- 545
- 546
- 547
- …
- 808
- Next Page »