Baptist Press Archive

Friday, March 10, 2017

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  • WEEK OF PRAYER: Maine church cracks hard soil, sees explosive growth
    by Jim Burton, posted Friday, March 10, 2017 (5 years ago)

    Photo by John Swain/NAMB
    AUGUSTA, Maine (BP) -- When Jeremy Snowman first attended Kennebec Community Church (KCC), he entered the premises with deep apprehension. His boyfriend was already attending and felt comfortable there. Snowman wanted a church and was willing to risk rejection and judgment.

    His parents attended church when he was a child, but that ended around age 10. He had begun having feelings about being different from other children who tagged him as gay because of his feminine characteristics. In middle school and high school Snowman was the target of bullying, so he built an emotional shell for protection. Read More

  • Mitchell: Tech recasting 'what it means to be human'
    by S. Craig Sanders, posted Friday, March 10, 2017 (5 years ago)

    SBTS photo
    LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Theological reflection must counteract an uncritical approach to technological advancements that threaten human existence, bioethicist C. Ben Mitchell said in a lecture series at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

    "We have to reject uncritical consumeristic adoption of digital technologies," said Mitchell, provost, vice president for academic affairs and Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Read More

  • Graham extols unity at NOBTS amid CP debate
    by Gary D. Myers, posted Friday, March 10, 2017 (5 years ago)

    NOBTS Photo
    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Amid debate over a decision by Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church to escrow Cooperative Program funds, Prestonwood pastor Jack Graham told a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary chapel audience Jesus must be the focus of every congregation.

    The church "is not about us -- my church, your church. It's all about Jesus," Graham said March 7. Read More

  • Anti-Semitism said to demand Christian response
    by David Roach, posted Friday, March 10, 2017 (5 years ago)

    Image: iStock/License purchase required
    NASHVILLE (BP) -- A wave of anti-Semitism that has drawn responses from government leaders and Jewish groups presents what the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship's president calls a "powerful opportunity" for Christians to share the love of Christ with Jewish neighbors.

    Organizations focused on Jewish evangelism "are getting together," SBMF president Ric Worshill told Baptist Press, "and they're trying to find ways to encourage the local church and the local communities to actually let the Jewish people know that [anti-Semitic] conduct is not accepted." Read More

  • Disciple-making task force to work additional year
    by Diana Chandler, posted Friday, March 10, 2017 (5 years ago)

    Photo by Rebecca Wolford
    NASHVILLE (BP) -- A group tasked with encouraging and teaching disciple-making among Southern Baptist churches will extend its work an additional year, task force chairman Robby Gallaty told Baptist Press.

    Gallaty, hosting a task force meeting in Nashville Thursday (March 9), said the group will not issue a report at the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix. The task force will instead seek an additional year to evaluate discipleship and strategize. They plan to give their report at the 2018 SBC annual meeting in Dallas. Read More

  • FIRST-PERSON: Staggered & humbled
    by Jonathan Akin, posted Friday, March 10, 2017 (5 years ago)

    Jonathan Akin, a young Baptist leader and pastor, recounts being "staggered" and "humbled" in an exchange with Georgia Baptist leader J. Robert White, who has led the state convention for 20-plus years. Read More

  • EDITORIAL: El Riesgo del Liderazgo
    by Gustavo V. Suarez, posted Friday, March 10, 2017 (5 years ago)

    La Biblia muestra ejemplos de buenos líderes. Entre ellos encontramos a Moisés, Nehemías y Jesucristo, el líder por excelencia. Es difícil en el espacio de este artículo hacer una presentación amplia de este tema. Sin embargo, trataré de presentar algunas ideas prácticas que puedas implementar en tu ministerio. Read More