NASHVILLE (BP) -- Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee are 2.57 percent above the year-to-date SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget projection and 2.09 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Frank S. Page. The year-to-date total represents money received by the Executive Committee by the close of the last business day of May and includes receipts from state conventions, churches and individuals for distribution, according to the 2014-15 SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. The $128,551,618.17 received by the Executive Committee for the first eight months of the fiscal year, Oct. 1 through May 31, for distribution through the Cooperative Program Allocation Budget represents 102.57 percent of the $125,333,333.33 year-to-date budgeted projection to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America. The total is $2,633,111.07 or 2.09 percent more than the $125,918,507.10 received through the end of May 2014. The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists' channel of … [Read more...]
Fred Luter named NAMB Ambassador
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The North American Mission Board has named former Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter as its new national African American ambassador. In that role, Luter will focus on involving more African American churches in the SBC and in church planting. "We still have a lot of lost souls out there who aren't in anyone's church," Luter said. "One of the primary messages I'll have for pastors is to encourage them to have compassion for the lost. If we're going to be successful in church planting, that has to happen." Luter will speak on behalf of NAMB throughout the year and represent the mission board at a variety of SBC events, sharing NAMB's goal to increase the number of African American churches in the convention from 4,000 to more than 5,000 in the next five years. Luter will continue to serve as senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. In 2012, he became the first African American to be elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention in its 167-year history. "I am overjoyed to learn of Dr. Fred Luter's appointment," said K. Marshall Williams, pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa., and president of the National African American Fellowship … [Read more...]
Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting 2015 schedule
COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention Committee on Order of Business has released this year's schedule for the annual meeting in Columbus. This year's annual meeting theme is "Great Awakening: Clear Agreement, Visible Union, Extraordinary Prayer," based on Romans 13:11. In addition to following the schedule, messengers can stay updated on this year's annual meeting with the 2015 SBC mobile app that is now available. The app can be downloaded on your mobile device by accessing the App Store or Google Play or selecting one of the options at sbcannualmeeting.net. This year's preferred Twitter hashtag will be #sbc15. SBC 2015 schedule TUESDAY MORNING, JUNE 16, 2015 8:15 Opening Worship -- Julio Arriola, Convention music director, global worship pastor, Cross Church, Springdale, Ark. 8:25 Welcome and Call to Order -- Ronnie Floyd, SBC president, senior pastor, Cross Church, Springdale, Ark. Announcement of Committee on Committees, Credentials Committee, Tellers Committee, and Resolutions Committee 8:30 Scripture -- Jordan Easley, senior pastor, Englewood Baptist Church, Jackson, Tenn. Prayer -- Daniel Cho, college pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, Mass., chaplain, Harvard … [Read more...]
Dakota farmer’s legacy lesson in giving
By Diana Chandler, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) -- A small-town grain and cattle farmer's estate and charitable gifts to Southern Baptist Convention entities is a prime example of how everyone can support Southern Baptists, said Warren Peek, president of the Southern Baptist Foundation. Merv Goehring, a lifelong South Dakota farmer who served briefly in the U.S. Army, left gifts totaling more than $550,000 to the SBF, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the SBC Cooperative Program upon his death at age 87 in 2014, Peek said. While Goehring served for many years as a church teacher and deacon, Peek noted the farmer's generous charitable annuities and estate gifts to Southern Baptist entities are remarkable. "This gentleman had modest income and modest wealth, lived in a small house, did not attend a Southern Baptist church, was not a Southern Baptist," Peek said. "Mr. Goehring stayed at home and watched 'the best preachers in America,' and realized they're Southern Baptists. And he had a picture of Adrian Rogers on his wall. Rogers, who died in 2005, was longtime pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., and served three terms as SBC president. "And later [Goehring] got the opportunity to hear Dr. Albert … [Read more...]
In Nepal, forgotten village receives food
By Susie Rain, Baptist Press NEPAL (BP) -- The Nepali man pulled brick after brick off a pile of rubble that was once his home. He passed along anything that was salvageable to his children to set aside. Finally, down in a hole, he found what he was looking for -- their food storage. The splintered, dusty woven basket held their entire harvest of rice. Before the April 25 earthquake in Nepal, this basket brimmed with white grains. Today, he pulled out one handful of red-stained rice. "It might taste like dirt now, but we can still eat it," he said. "It will fill our stomachs." He excitedly instructed the children to help sift through the rubble to find more food -- garlic, onions, peppers and rice -- in the remains of their home. Their tedious labor stopped abruptly when they heard shouting up the hill. A neighbor yelled down for everyone to come quick. Someone had brought food! For days on end, the villagers took turns sitting on the edge of the main road trying to get help. From the road, you couldn't even see their collapsed village up on the mountainside. They watched as big trucks of relief supplies passed them by, headed to larger towns down the road. Hope of receiving any kind of help began to die little by little -- … [Read more...]
‘Tidal wave’ of Chinese believers encouraged to persevere
By Caroline Anderson, Baptist Press EAST ASIA (BP) -- Chinese believers could be the next missions sending force, following the Western and Korean Christians who've gone before them. They pray, give and go, sacrificing everything to bring the message of Jesus Christ to the nations. But sacrifices come with costs. Chinese cross-cultural Christian workers say they struggle with discouragement and loneliness. Those in Southeast Asia welcomed encouragement and counsel from Southern Baptist workers Phil and Ruth Wardell,* who have provided training for believers. Zhao Chang Pu,* Zhao Hui Fang* and their two daughters moved from China to minister in Southeast Asia. They say it's the hardest thing they've ever done. Just like Westerners, Chinese workers experience culture shock and struggle to adapt to a new environment. The Zhaos have shared cultural stresses with the Wardells, who once served in Southeast Asia. The Wardells now serve in a different area of Asia and have led ministry training for Southeast Asian believers who partner with the Zhaos. The Zhaos told the Wardells they are adjusting to being away from family. But their parents don't understand why they took their granddaughters away. "Why did you choose this silly … [Read more...]
Procter retiring from Alaska convention
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (BP) -- Michael Procter is retiring effective May 2016 after more than five years as executive director/treasurer of the Alaska Baptist Convention and as executive director of the Alaska Baptist Foundation, he announced May 4. He has held the posts since January 2011 and has served in Southern Baptist ministry for 45 years, 30 of them in Alaska. "Over the 45 years the Lord has allowed me to serve Him in ministry, there have been so many blessings that they are innumerable but one that rises to the top is His blessing me with the privilege of serving Him in Alaska," Procter said in his resignation letter. "… Over the years, there have been challenges and disagreements however there has also been victories and blessings as we witnessed God working in our midst." Among the former posts Procter referenced in his letter are his "pastorate at Glacier Valley Baptist Church in Juneau and the church planting 'circuit riding' in Southeast Alaska, to moving to Anchorage to become the Director of Missions for the Chugach Baptist Association, to becoming a part of our State staff, first as the Director of Missions and Church Planting and, for the past 5 plus years, as your Executive Director-Treasurer." Procter will turn … [Read more...]
Page: Obama’s comments on poverty disappointing
By David Roach, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) -- President Obama's suggestion that evangelicals often devote more resources to fighting abortion than caring for the poor reflects ignorance concerning denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention, Frank S. Page said on a national radio broadcast. "We are involved" in fighting poverty, Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee said May 16 on the "Washington Watch" radio program's weekend edition hosted by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "So there was both arrogance and ignorance involved in his comments. It bothered me deeply. We care about people." Page was referencing comments made by Obama at a May 12 panel discussion on poverty hosted by Georgetown University. The president acknowledged that some conservatives "deeply care" about the poor and "exhibit that through their churches." But later, he said poverty relief "is oftentimes viewed" by churches "as 'nice to have' relative to an issue like abortion" in discussions of "the thing that is really going to capture the essence of who we are as Christians." Obama specifically referenced "the evangelical community" among the referents of his comments. Page said he has "met with President Obama … [Read more...]
Briefs: White House decries conversion therapy for homosexuals
WASHINGTON (BP) – The White House’s claim that so-called conversion therapy for homosexuals should be illegal has sparked replies from Christian ministers and counselors who say President Obama’s position is based on biased research and threatens religious liberty. “This is a tragic example of having a president who is fundamentally opposed to a Christian worldview and making statements that are really shaped more by the worldview of exclusive humanism,” said Eric Johnson, a Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor who serves as director of the Society for Christian Psychology. The White House’s statement “is reflective much more of the culture wars we’re in the midst of right now than it is based on good science.” In response to a petition that garnered 120,000 signatures, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett issued a statement April 8 asserting conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, is “neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm.” The statement affirmed laws in New Jersey, California and the District of Columbia banning state-licensed therapists from using conversion therapy on minors experiencing same-sex attraction and noted that similar legislation has been … [Read more...]
Colleges target adult learners with more options, flexibility
Many working adults are highly motivated to return to college. For job seekers a college education can mean the difference between getting hired or not. For those already employed a degree can lead to raises or promotions. The decision to add college classes to an already full schedule of family and work responsibilities is not an easy one, however. That’s why many institutions, including Baptist colleges and universities, now offer more flexible options geared especially toward nontraditional adult learners. Credit by examination is perhaps the most familiar way of earning college credit for prior knowledge. Most people are familiar with the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), developed by the College Board to test mastery of college-level material in 33 subjects including history, literature and math. In recent years other exams also have become widely accepted such as the Excelsior College Examination Program, offering 63 exams, and DSST Subject Standardized Tests aimed at students with military experience and offering 38 exams. Verifying information Education Portal, an online provider of study materials for credit exams, advises students who are considering credit by examination to first make sure their college … [Read more...]
