Sensitivity to cultural issues has become an absolutely essential role in evangelism as it relates to church guests, Will McRaney told Southern Baptist church leaders recently. Sensitivity to cultural issues has become an absolutely essential role in evangelism as it relates to church guests, Will McRaney told Southern Baptist church leaders recently. A lack of guest sensitivity may mean guests will feel out of place and less likely to return, warned McRaney, associate professor of evangelism at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and co-founder of Ministry Enhancement Group. Also, a lack of sensitivity could mean that church members will be less inclined to invite friends, and new Christians may not understand what is taking place in a worship service, McRaney said. "New Christians sometimes fake an understanding of what is going on in the service, or they may quit coming to church altogether, thinking that they just dont get it," McRaney said. Welcoming guests without making them feel awkward or embarrassed and explaining insider church language can be sensitive gestures that make people want to return to church, he said. McRaney listed … [Read more...]
The Cooperative Program: tried and proven
"Baptists are their best when they cooperate." Who said that? Actually, this statement has been reflected by just about everyone who seriously studies the life and work of Baptists. "Baptists are their best when they cooperate." Who said that? Actually, this statement has been reflected by just about everyone who seriously studies the life and work of Baptists. Perhaps the student of Baptist history who most recently reflected this thought is Jimmy Draper who is President of Lifeway Christian Resources. He reached this conclusion personally as he considered the history of Baptists. Baptists cooperate because they want to cooperate. The nature of some other denominations includes church and denominational structures that make cooperation an essential requirement. For instance, there is no local Catholic church unless that church operates as an extension of the church in Rome and is ultimately ruled by Rome. Baptists, on the other hand, do not "have" to do anything structurally beyond their local church. No "higher-ups" can tell a Baptist church or Baptists what to do. Some say even God has difficulty telling some what to do! The emphasis in Baptist polity is upon the … [Read more...]
A stem-cell research debate primer
C. Lacy Thompson LBM Associate Editor Almost 25 years ago, an author visited Louisiana College in Pineville, to talk about the dangers of technological advances. His message was simple - the world was entering uncharted territory fraught with moral and ethical peril. Almost 25 years ago, an author visited Louisiana College in Pineville, to talk about the dangers of technological advances. His message was simple - the world was entering uncharted territory fraught with moral and ethical peril. In response, the time had come for researchers and others alike to stop and ask how far they should advance into the new land - and under what terms. "Just because we can do something does not mean we should," the author emphasized again and again. A quarter of a century later, his words could not be more relevant as the world faces the issue of stem-cell research. One would have to be a hermit almost not to know of the debate now underway regarding the stem-cell procedure. Should it be done? How should it be done? What are the other options? The debate is crossing all sorts of lines. It … [Read more...]
Louisianian entering whole new world – of hearing
Ice cubes clinking together in a tall glass, the fizz as a favorite can of soda opens, a bird cheerfully singing outside - all are common sounds most people do not even notice. Ice cubes clinking together in a tall glass, the fizz as a favorite can of soda opens, a bird cheerfully singing outside - all are common sounds most people do not even notice. However, for Allison Wilson, these sounds and many others cause her to praise God. After all, the Louisiana resident is hearing them clearly for the first time at the age of 23. Wilson has spent most of her life looking and listening but never really hearing. However, with the help of a cochlear implant in April, she has "heard" for the first time. Indeed, Wilson is being introduced to a whole new world of hearing as her brain adjusts to the stimuli of many different sounds during the next several months. "I feel so wonderfully excited and blessed each time I hear a sound or a word," she says. "It has been a highly emotional time, from the night before my surgery even to today as I hear new sounds. "Being able to hear has made me feel richly blessed," Wilson adds. "Each time I hear a new sound, I silently praise … [Read more...]
Child care center
I hope this message finds you and the "Baptist Message" doing well. I hope this message finds you and the "Baptist Message" doing well. I just read the article in your "Baptist Scene" section about the closing of Southeasterns child care center and wanted to bring you up to date on the situation at Southern Seminary in Louisville. Several months ago, Southern decided to keep our child care center open. We have invested about $100,000 to improve the playground equipment and to upgrade the fencing and other security features. The story you ran originated in the North Carolina Baptist newspaper and was later corrected but, unfortunately, not before it was picked up by other state papers. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Lawrence Smith Southern Baptist Seminary … [Read more...]
Baptists hoping to reach Mormons during Olympics
Three years after the Southern Baptist Convention met in Salt Lake City, the eyes of the world focus on the Utah city as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in about six months. Three years after the Southern Baptist Convention met in Salt Lake City, the eyes of the world focus on the Utah city as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in about six months. And as they did in 1998, Baptists and Mormons both see the event as an opportunity for evangelism in the hometown of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With strong family values, an emphasis on Jesus Christ and a massive public-relations campaign, Mormons appear to have a lot to offer. Their continuing growth bears out the appeal of their message. Indeed, there are about 5 million Mormons in the United States and 11 million worldwide. Mormons contend their doctrine is Christian and a restoration of the original church established by Jesus Christ. In turn, Baptist leaders warn of deception and a doctrine that is lacking. On any Sunday, visitors to a Mormon ward - or what is referred to as a meetinghouse - likely will find plenty of families and friendly people to greet … [Read more...]
Keep worship music tied to Scripture, prof stresses
Music used in corporate church worship should not seek to amuse, entertain or manipulate congregations, Ken Puls stressed recently. Music used in corporate church worship should not seek to amuse, entertain or manipulate congregations, Ken Puls stressed recently. Instead, every text and tune should be carefully and thoughtfully informed by Scripture, said Puls, who teaches church music at Dallas Baptist University and serves as music director at Heritage Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas. "I know of no other ministry in the church that has so great a potential to help or to hinder the pastoral ministry of teaching and preaching in the church than music," Puls said in an address at the recent 2001 Southern Baptist Founders Conference. Music often competes with preaching and teaching for supremacy in the contemporary church - when it should serve as an underpinning for the proclamation of Gods Word, Puls explained. "The music in your church has the potential to become an obstacle to worship (by) amusing, distracting, entertaining the people and, as a result, minimizing and trivializing the preaching of the Word of God, or worse, contradicting the pastor who is … [Read more...]
Why do churches allow replays of this ‘fire the pastor’ tragedy?
Seldom a week passes without word of another Louisiana Baptist church experiencing conflict. It seems every report is different, and every report is the same. Usually, the pastor or church staff member is at the center of the church conflict. Seldom a week passes without word of another Louisiana Baptist church experiencing conflict. It seems every report is different, and every report is the same. Usually, the pastor or church staff member is at the center of the church conflict. Certainly, there are other controversies in churches, but time and time again the churchs minister is the focus. Occasionally, incidents of ministerial immorality or documented malfeasance are involved in the conflict. Thankfully, such incidents are rare although by all the attention they receive and because of the Baptist gossip circuit, there seem to be more than there actually are. The vast majority of church-pastor conflicts have an all too familiar pattern. A group of members of the church will decide the pastor "needs to go" and set about to see that he does. If the truth is known, most of the time the problem the members have with the pastor is this: They do not like him - for whatever … [Read more...]
LifeWay Christian Resources
Strong-willed kids get a bad rap these days, author, speaker and self-acknowledged strong-willed adult Cynthia Tobias insisted recently. Strong-willed kids get a bad rap these days, author, speaker and self-acknowledged strong-willed adult Cynthia Tobias insisted recently. "Sometimes when were dealing with a stubborn, mule-headed kid, its hard to believe that a strong will is not automatically a negative trait," Tobias told preschool and childrens music leaders attending a recent gathering sponsored by the LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. "But its definitely not a negative trait. You want your kids to have a good dose of strong will. Thats how a kid holds up and makes it through life," said the founder of Apple St. (Applied Learning Styles), Sumner, Wash., and author of "You Cant Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded): Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong-Willed Child." Strong-willed kids have been called bad kids all their lives because they do not automatically do as they are told, she said. "But God has a lot of respect for what he built in us in the first place," Tobias maintained. "Being streetwise, edgy and having a quick wit are okay if those things can bring … [Read more...]
Author: Incarceration ‘experiment’ has failed in the United States
High incarceration rates have failed to decrease crime in the United States or address justice for victims, author Marc Mauer charged. High incarceration rates have failed to decrease crime in the United States or address justice for victims, author Marc Mauer charged. Mauer said the growing use of prisons in recent United States history "has all the hallmarks of a social experiment in crime control," said Mauer, author of "Race to Incarcerate." That experiment has failed, he told a recent gathering of American Baptists. Indeed, some 2 million Americans are now behind bars, Mauer noted. Two-thirds of those taking up cells are African Americans and Latinos. Last year, the United States passed Russia to become the worlds leader in prison use. The criminal-justice system has become hotly politicized in the last 30 years, and prisoners are now viewed as "commodities," said Mauer, assistant director of The Sentencing Project and a member of the American Bar Associations Committee on Race and the Criminal Justice System. The private-prison industry is "flaming the fire," he said, citing one brochure that touts the private-prison system as a way for investors to "grow … [Read more...]
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