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...]
2050’s biggest challenges – from risk to friendship
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – The number of Muslims in the world will nearly match the number of Christians by 2050. That’s the main headline from “The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050,” a Pew Research Center study released this month. If current population trends continue, the report says, Muslim ranks will increase by 73 percent (to 2.8 billion) – more than twice the growth rate of Christians, who will expand by 35 percent, to 2.9 billion. Total world population is projected to reach 9.3 billion by mid-century. Other projections for 2050: n Hindus will increase by 34 percent to nearly 1.4 billion. n Four of every 10 Christians will live in sub-Saharan Africa. n India, although remaining majority Hindu, will become home to more Muslims than any other country, topping Indonesia. n Atheists, agnostics and others who affiliate with no particular religion will decline as a share of the world population, even as they increase in numbers and influence in North America and Europe. It’s important to keep two things in mind about this study (and others like it). First, it’s more a demographic survey than a religious one. Muslims are increasing primarily because of fertility rates and young populations in … [Read more...]
Moore: Racial reconciliation a matter of spiritual warfare
NEW ORLEANS – In the turbulent wake of racial tensions from recent situations like Ferguson, Mo., Russell Moore, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president, said at a one-day preaching event in New Orleans that it is not enough for Christians of different races to simply get along for the sake of missions and evangelism, though both are vital. Racial reconciliation must be a matter of spiritual warfare, Moore said. Moore spoke at a recent Preach the Word conference, hosted by Franklin Avenue Baptist Church and presented by the New Orleans Baptist Association, on kingdom, culture, and mission, and addressed how pastors can effectively and faithfully preach the gospel in light of each. “What Dr. Moore talked about today was incredible, it was on time, it is needed, it was convicting, but it was also inspirational,” said Fred Luter, Jr., Franklin Avenue Baptist Church pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention president. “It gave me hope that racial reconciliation is possible within the body of Christ.” Neither achievement nor heritage is enough to bring someone into God’s kingdom, Moore told a full room of African-American, white and Latino pastors, and their wives, at a dinner concluding the event. Moore drew from … [Read more...]
Survey: Americans see value in church attendance
NASHVILLE (BP) – The overwhelming majority of Americans say they find value in attending church, a new LifeWay Research study shows. Two-thirds of Americans think attendance is admirable; only 11 percent consider church useless. Even among nonreligious people, 80 percent believe church attendance is acceptable, and 43 percent label it admirable. Just 29 percent call it useless. But despite their professed fondness for church, Americans are more likely to believe attendance is declining (55 percent) or the church is dying (42 percent) than growing (36 percent) or thriving (38 percent), according to the LifeWay survey of 1,000 Americans from Sept. 19-28 of last year. “Americans have a much more optimistic view of the people and practice of attending church than they do of the health of the church,” said Scott McConnell vice president of the Nashville-based LifeWay Research. “Church attendance is much like regular exercise and driving the speed limit. People do not live out everything they admire.” Confirming McConnell’s assertion that Americans’ churchgoing is at odds with their behavior, even on Easter, traditionally the best-attended Sunday of the year, large segments of the population say they don’t plan to attend, previous … [Read more...]
Arkansas governor urges changes to religious objection bill
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he wants to see changes to a religious liberty law legislators passed March 31, after previously saying he planned to sign the bill. But it’s similar to a new law causing an uproar in Indiana, where Gov. Mike Pence is said to be reviewing modifications to assuage concerns from the gay community. The changes in Indiana would state specifically the bill could not be used by businesses to deny services to people based on sexual orientation. It’s not clear how that might affect Christians in the wedding industry who don’t want to participate in same-sex weddings. Arkansas’s best-known corporate citizen, Walmart, opposes that state’s legislation. Doug McMillon, the company’s CEO called on Hutchinson to veto a bill he said would “undermine the spirit of inclusion” in the state. Several other states, including North Carolina and Georgia, are considering similar legislation. Republican presidential hopefuls, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, have voiced support for the bills. Nigerian Christians watch and pray after historic … [Read more...]
Lane’s senior project helps impact her life, lives in community
PINEVILLE – When Lexi Lane* initially began brainstorming the topic of her senior high school project at Pineville High School, she knew her focus would center on orphans in another country*. She never dreamed how this project would impact her life and many lives around the community. What she received in the process was a return to her roots overseas and seeing first-hand the love of Christ on display through the lives of special needs orphans in the country. Lane said she wanted to go back to see her birthplace, to understand more about the culture, but also to help an orphanage in some way. Lane's life began in a rural area in the country. Adopted at 14 months old, Lane has no memory of what life was like as a baby. When the time came for Lane to choose the topic of her senior project – which is required for graduation – she thought of her desire to give back to her country in doing something for orphans there. Lane’s mom, Pam, started the process by contacting an organization that helps unite families with orphans from around the world. Sean and Pam Keith adopted Lane. Lane was then directed to a childhood advocacy organization. Starting in May 2014, she began raising funds for a trip to work in the orphanage and … [Read more...]
SBC leaders say diversity is still needed
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention’s progress in racial reconciliation will fall short of what is needed if it is measured by the one-time election of an African-American president, speakers said at a leadership summit. A panel of Southern Baptist leaders commented on the status of race relations in the convention during a March 27 discussion at “The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation,” a two-day meeting sponsored by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in Nashville. Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, replayed briefly for attendees his 2012 election as the first black president of a convention that was started in 1845 by a breakaway group of Baptists who supported the appointment of slave owners as missionaries. He recalled a conversation he had with Charles Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, when no other nominees had surfaced to challenge him in the race a month before the annual SBC meeting. “Fred, I just think our convention feels that it’s time,” Luter quoted Kelley as saying. Luter’s election by acclamation was greeted by an emotional, standing ovation. “It was one of the greatest hours in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention,” … [Read more...]
