Baptist Press Archive

Friday, August 31, 2018

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  • LABOR DAY: Owen Cooper's faith keyed array of ventures
    by Tim Tune, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    BP file photo
    YAZOO CITY, Miss. (BP) -- On Labor Day, Americans will celebrate U.S. workers who have built and shaped the nation and influenced the world.

    One of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 20th century in Mississippi was also one of Southern Baptists' most influential laymen. The late Owen Cooper, who died Nov. 8, 1986, worked tirelessly in both arenas.

    The year before Cooper's death, the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board named him Layman of the Century. He was the second of only two laypeople ever elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, serving two terms, 1972-1974. Many who knew him say his commitment to Christ and Christ-like ministry inspired his vision for bold endeavors. Read More

  • Along Harvey's path, churches reflect on 1-year mark
    by Morgan Collier & Jane Rodgers/Southern Baptist TEXAN, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    Photo by Morgan Collier
    SOUTHEAST TEXAS (BP) -- Hurricane Harvey swept disaster across the Texas Gulf Coast one year ago, first pummeling Rockport and Port Aransas with destructive winds, then stalling over Houston for three days before moving to the Golden Triangle with rainfall of up to 60 inches. Dozens were killed and thousands were displaced.

    Separate gatherings marking the anniversary of the disaster were held at Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches the final weekend in August, the order of the three commemorations tracking Harvey's path through Rockport, Humble and Beaumont.

    Each event featured hot dogs, snow cones, outdoor games, music and speakers, SBTC Disaster Relief (DR) associate Wally Leverle said in describing the block parties. Read More

  • SWBTS pres. search team to focus 1st meeting on prayer
    by SWBTS & BP Staff, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- The first meeting of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's presidential search team, slated for Sept. 10-11, will focus on prayer, according to an Aug. 31 news release from the group's chairman Danny Roberts.

    "On behalf of the entire presidential search team of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, we ask you to partner with us in prayer," said Roberts, executive pastor of North Richland Hills (Texas) Baptist Church.

    Roberts offered a prayer in the release. "Mighty Father, lead us to the man You have chosen for Your great school. Give us wisdom and clarity to recognize Your will and follow it in the process," he prayed, "We ask that, as a result of this calling, You will use this man to train and encourage many men and women to 'Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Matthew 28:19)." Read More

  • LABOR DAY: 4 who exemplify laboring for the Lord

    by Stephen Douglas Wilson, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    PIPPA PASSES, Ky. (BP) -- On Sept. 3, Americans will celebrate Labor Day. Congress created the holiday in 1894 to honor all those who labor, designating the first Monday in September for its official observance. The federal Labor Day actually was preceded by more than 30 states that had already sanctioned the holiday.

    It is interesting to think about some important Christian leaders who performed extraordinary feats of labor in their lifetime ministries; here are four who met that high standard.

    The dedication and work ethic of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, Annie Armstrong and Billy Graham easily exceed most of the labor that contemporary Christians perform for their faith, though these short accounts are not meant as complete biographies. Read More

  • Young or old, many pastors lack a will, survey finds
    by Leigh Anne Bowick, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    iStock
    NASHVILLE (BP) -- Passport? Check. Airline ticket? Check. Hotel reservation? Check. After careful planning, you're ready for vacation!

    But have you taken more time preparing for a vacation than your estate plan?

    A new survey conducted by LifeWay Research for the Southern Baptist Foundation found more than half of Southern Baptist pastors, overall, do not have a will, trust, living will, electronic will, legacy story or durable power of attorney with health care directives. Read More

  • 'It's time': Wyo. exec. Lynn Nikkel to retire
    by Diana Chandler, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    CASPER, Wyo. (BP) -- Lynn Nikkel is retiring from more than 13 years of executive leadership of the Wyoming Southern Baptist Mission Network to pursue church ministry opportunities in Oklahoma.

    "It's time," Nikkel told Baptist Press Aug. 30. "I've been here through a lot of changes and transition, and it's time for the network to take a new direction, to have some fresh leadership with fresh eyes to move forward into the future.

    "And it's also time for me and my family ... to move on and make a change as well," Nikkel said. He leaves the network, formerly the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention, in December, and plans to relocate to Oklahoma where he has family members and has pastored two congregations. Read More

  • Pterodactyl bones' origin: Noah's flood or desert?
    by David Roach, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    BYU photo
    PROVO, Utah (BP) -- A rare pterodactyl fossil discovered in Utah has been claimed by evolutionists as evidence that flying vertebrates lived in the desert 200 million years ago. But two scientists who are biblical creationists say the creature lived about 4,500 years ago, not in a desert and was found in a fossil layer created by the worldwide flood described in Genesis 6-9.

    One of the creationists also says the intricate design of the pterosaur -- the scientific name of the flying creature with a five-foot wing span -- suggests direct creation by God rather than Darwinian evolution.

    Although the researchers' article in the journal Nature, Ecology & Evolution "claims that the new fossil is found in deposits formed in a desert, young-age creationists would interpret the rocks in almost the opposite manner, arguing instead that the sediments were laid down during Noah's Flood," Kurt Wise, a Harvard-trained paleontologist who teaches at Truett McConnell University, told Baptist Press via email. Read More

  • LABOR DAY: On the clock
    by David H. McKinley, posted Friday, August 31, 2018 (5 years ago)

    Don't trade your life for your job, David McKinley counsels, and don't waste your life in your job. "Career achievements will never substitute for a vibrant relationship with God," he writes. Read More