Baptist Press Archive

Monday, July 15, 2019

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  • FIRST-PERSON: Earthly fireworks, heaven's splendor
    by Keith Shorter, posted Monday, July 15, 2019 (2 years ago)

    Recounting a mother's description of fireworks to her blind daughter, Keith Shorter ponders seeing Jesus in heaven, when "all the earthly descriptions we have heard of Him will pale in comparison to the reality before us." Read More

  • Amid hurricane's onslaught, churches tap technology
    by Brian Blackwell/Baptist Message, posted Monday, July 15, 2019 (2 years ago)

    www.facebook.com/FirstBaptistChurchPineville/ screen capture
    ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- Louisiana pastors employed social media to reach out to congregations they had urged stay home out of safety concerns in the face of Hurricane Barry -- with dining room tables, home offices and vacant worship centers serving as pulpits.

    Stewart Holloway, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Pineville, said this was the first time in 25 years as a minister he has cancelled a Sunday morning worship service. Read More

  • Judy put aside her Kindle to speak life to Hector
    by Erin Roach, posted Monday, July 15, 2019 (2 years ago)

    Photo submitted
    HUNTLEY, Mont. (BP) -- Judy Seiwert had been visiting her grandchildren and was flying home to Montana, eager to pass the time with a book on her new Kindle. Seated next to Hector Esquivel, however, she was stirred to begin a conversation.

    Esquivel was returning from his mother's funeral that week in 2011, and he had been annoyed by a group of Christians praying over him at her wake, he told Baptist Press. In obligatory small talk with Seiwert on the plane, he mentioned his mother's death and said she was in a better place. Read More

  • Title X abortion rule remains amid legal challenge
    by Tom Strode, posted Monday, July 15, 2019 (2 years ago)

    iStock photo
    SAN FRANCISCO (BP) -- Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore and other pro-life leaders have commended a federal appeals court's latest action to permit the Trump administration's Protect Life Rule to remain in effect while it undergoes a legal challenge.

    The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in a 7-4 decision July 11 the administration can enforce a regulation that eliminates federal family planning funds for organizations that perform or promote abortions. Meeting "en banc" or as a full court, the Ninth Circuit upheld a three-judge panel in ruling against injunctions to block the rule's enforcement. Read More

  • Biblical marriage, gender views cited in 2 ousters
    by Diana Chandler, posted Monday, July 15, 2019 (2 years ago)

    The Village Church photo
    DALLAS (BP) -- A Southern Baptist church employee in Texas and a Maryland Christian school have been dropped from public programs, accused of discrimination for promoting Bible-based views of marriage and gender.

    In the most recent case David Roark, communications and resources director of the Plano, Texas campus of The Village Church, was dropped as a speaker at a communications conference in Dallas. Roark was dropped from the lineup of the Circles Conference in September because his employer, The Village Church, teaches Bible-based views regarding gender. Read More

  • Johnson Ferry announces senior pastor candidate
    by Christian Index staff, posted Monday, July 15, 2019 (2 years ago)

    Photo submitted
    MARIETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The search team for Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Marietta, Ga., announced Sunday (July 14) that North Carolina pastor Clay Smith will preach in view of a call on Aug. 4 to occupy the pulpit previously filled by former Southern Baptist Convention President Bryant Wright.

    Smith, who currently serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Matthews, N.C., is an M.Div. graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Currently he is pursuing his doctorate from Southwestern. Read More

  • Deaf Thai 'ladyboy' learns to be a man of God
    by Nicole Leigh, posted Monday, July 15, 2019 (2 years ago)

    IMB photo
    THAILAND (BP) -- Aroon* was once a ladyboy. In Thai culture, little boys age 2 or 3 who show any inkling toward femininity are often labeled a "ladyboy" and raised to believe that even though their outside gender is male, their spirit is female.

    Ladyboys are rarely given a choice to be who they want to be. They often struggle to find jobs, and are often treated as less than other men and women. Aroon is also Deaf, which further separates him from the mainstream culture. Read More