Wednesday, September 26, 2018

• Murderous nation needs 'grace and mercy' from church

  by Diana Chandler, posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Murderous rampages have become so common that crime trackers disagree over proper terminology to describe the carnage.

  "Active shooter" incidents that the Federal Bureau of Investigations tracked at 30 in 2017 marked a 50 percent increase over the previous year. But that category is not as expansive as "mass shootings" that the crowd-sourced database Mass Shooting Tracker tallied at 427 in the same period.

  Among the church's challenges in the midst of the increasing violence is to continue to show God's love, grace and mercy in the midst of Satan's prolific work, pastors affected by such violence told Baptist Press. Read More

• Recession still impacts CP 10 years later

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock

  CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (BP) -- Church by the Glades in Coral Springs, Fla., is a case study in how Cooperative Program giving has fared during the decade since the financial crisis of 2008.

  Ten years ago, the congregation was thriving. Worship attendance was at 3,500 and climbing; pledges had been made for a multimillion-dollar building program; and southeast Florida's real estate market was hot.

  Then what has been dubbed the Great Recession hit. The housing bubble burst -- striking regions like Florida, California and Las Vegas particularly hard -- and the stock market's Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its largest single-day drop to date in late September 2008. Read More

• 3-min. testimonies & prize drawings make ears perk up

  by Tim Tune, posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (3 years ago)

  PONTOTOC, Miss. (BP) -- Most Christians are willing to share their faith when it can be as simple as a three-minute testimony, a Mississippi church has found in using the three-minute story witnessing method.

  "When you tell people, 'What we want you to do is share your testimony in three minutes,' that means I don't have to sit down and carry on an hour conversation," said David Hamilton, senior pastor of West Heights Baptist Church in Pontotoc and a former Mississippi Baptist Convention president.

  The three-minute story often is used by churches and Christian organizations at events where witnessing is coupled with a prize giveaway to attract people. Read More

• ANALYSIS: Social media strategy & the church

  by Aaron Earls, posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock

  NASHVILLE (BP)-- By the time churches have fully embraced Facebook, many of their members and those they are trying to reach may have left it behind.

  Nearly three-quarters of Facebook users (74 percent) have adjusted their connection with the social media platform in some way over the past year, according to Pew Research.

  That reportedly includes the 54 percent who adjusted their privacy settings, 42 percent who took a break from checking it for several weeks or more, and 26 percent who deleted the app from their phone.

  Perhaps surprisingly, younger Facebook users are more likely to say they have done each of these. This is especially true for taking the app off their phone. Those aged 18 to 29 were nearly four times as likely as users 65 and older (44 percent to 12 percent). Read More

• Baptist DR sees urgency in getting roofs patched

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Dukes/NAMB

  COLUMBIA, S.C. (BP) -- With various South Carolina communities still plagued by flooding, Southern Baptists Disaster Relief volunteers have been working tirelessly to help survivors of Hurricane Florence since its landfall in North Carolina on Sept. 14.

  Several flooded rivers were expected to crest today (Sept. 26), and as the waters started to recede, SBDR volunteers faced a pressing need to provide temporary roofing for homeowners.

  "We've had virtually no rain since the storm, but we have some rain in the forecast," Randy Creamer, South Carolina's disaster relief director, reported. "So, it's really significant to get roofs covered before the rains return and cause a whole lot more damage." Read More

• Bible Study: Sept. 30, 2018

  by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources, posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (3 years ago)

  This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Video game diagnosis

  by Brian Hobbs, posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (3 years ago)

  With the grip of video games now classified as a diagnosable "disorder," Brian Hobbs notes that parents and grandparents share responsibility for the affliction. Read More