Wednesday, June 17, 2015

• Floyd & former SBC presidents take marriage stance

  by Staff, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Covington

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- The current and 16 former Southern Baptist Convention presidents released a statement on biblical marriage and the national implications of same-sex marriage in a June 17 news conference prior to the concluding sessions of the SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

  SBC President Ronnie Floyd moderated the news conference, attended by eight of the former presidents. Read More

• SBC presidents unite, declare stand on marriage

  by Bonnie Pritchett, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Covington

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- The living former Southern Baptist Convention presidents elected since 1980 issued a joint statement Wednesday declaring they will stand on the biblical truths concerning marriage despite anticipated legal and civil changes to the definition. Pastor Jack Graham called it “the most critical issue of our times -- religious freedom and the very definition of marriage itself.” Read More

• Page: We are not alone

  by Erin Roach & Diana Chandler, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Bill Bangham

  COLUMBUS (BP) -- Southern Baptists must take the Gospel to the ends of the earth to let hurting people know they are not alone, Frank S. Page told messengers to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Southern Baptist churches are not alone in that task.

  "We believe there are people who need to hear the Gospel who need to know they are not alone. In their struggles, in their hurt, they need to know that someone cares about them," Page, president of the Executive Committee, said June 16 in Columbus. Read More

• Messengers pray in Columbus 'as one family'

  by Staff, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Paul W. Lee

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Thousands of messengers at the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention knelt in prayer and raised their hands to heaven June 16 as they prayed for revival in the church and a great awakening across the United States. Spiritual leaders from America's churches -- including Hispanic, Korean, Native American and African American pastors -- prayed for an end to racism and prejudice as they pledged to work together "as one family."

  The SBC's National Call to Prayer included participants around the world, connected by broadcasts from the Daystar worldwide television network and the Salem satellite radio network, as well as a live stream on the Internet. Read More

• Ronnie Floyd unopposed as SBC president

  by Barbara Denman, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Covington

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd was reelected without opposition to a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 16 during the SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

  Registered messengers totaled 5,277 messengers at the time.

  Floyd was nominated by North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear, who said, "God's hand has been upon Brother Ronnie. I believe he is the man God has raised up to lead us for another year." Read More

• SBC resolutions on key issues pull broad consensus

  by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Paul W. Lee

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Messengers to the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention adopted nine resolutions -- some on culturally divisive issues -- with almost no opposition.

  All the resolutions offered in the Tuesday afternoon session (June 16) at the SBC's meeting gained passage by unanimous or nearly unanimous votes. The messengers affirmed biblically based stances on such topics as same-sex marriage, racial reconciliation and the sanctity of human life, as well as religious persecution and pornography. Approved resolutions also called for spiritual awakening and celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Cooperative Program. Read More

• Broader NAMB mission, new Golden Gate name approved

  by Staff, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- An amendment to the mission statement of the North American Mission Board and a name change for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary were among the recommendations affirmed by messengers during the Executive Committee's report to the Southern Baptist Convention June 16 in Columbus. Read More

• Resolutions beneficial, SBC leaders say

  by Staff, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Bill Bangham

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Resolutions adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention offer multiple benefits.

  That was the response of this year's Resolutions Committee chairman and an SBC ethics leader when asked by a reporter shortly after messengers to the 2015 meeting adopted nine resolutions. In unanimous or nearly unanimous votes during the Tuesday afternoon session (June 16), the convention approved measures on such topics as marriage, racial reconciliation, the sanctity of human life, religious persecution and spiritual awakening. Read More

• 'Lord break us … make us,' NAAF leader prays

  by Diana Chandler, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Matt Miller

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Philadelphia pastor K. Marshall Williams cried out to God to mold Christians to stand as Christ's ambassadors in these last days, as he closed his remarks with prayer during the National African American Fellowship annual banquet June 15 in Columbus, Ohio.

  "Lord, break us, that You can make us, that we might be the people of God that You're calling for in these last and evil days," prayed Williams, NAAF president and pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church. ... Read More

• Vietnam veterans honored at SBC

  by K. Faith Morgan, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Covington

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting attendee Joel Helms -- a veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry Special Forces -- remembers the mid-1960s as years when he was afraid to wear his uniform in public.

  "There was a time when people would spit on you when you wore your uniform. It was very depressing," he said. Helms was one of the many Vietnam veterans honored in Tuesday's (June 16) opening session of the SBC. Read More

• Network to nurture Hispanic Baptists' communication

  by Keila Diaz, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Paul W. Lee

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- A mission and vision committee of the new Hispanic Pastors and Leaders Network set forth an outline of organizational and strategic plans during the AVANCE conference June 14 in Columbus, Ohio.

  The five-member team was named during a meeting last December sponsored by the SBC Executive Committee and LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, attended by 65 Hispanic leaders from 23 Baptist state conventions. Read More

• Key advances reported by SBC seminaries

  by Staff, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Matt Miller

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) –- Presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention's seminaries noted key initiatives as well as enrollment gains in their reports to messengers June 16 at the SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

  This year, all six seminary presidents presented their reports jointly. After the report, each president introduced the next and prayed over him. Read More

• SBC's Committee on Nominations named

  by Staff, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Sixty-eight Southern Baptists from 34 state Baptist conventions have been named to serve on the 2015-16 SBC Committee on Nominations. Read More

• Committees report giving, diversity of members

  by Staff, posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 (7 years ago)

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- The SBC Committee on Nominations for the coming year has the most diversity in its history, Committee on Committees chairman Bryan Smith reported at the SBC annual meeting June 16. Read More