FORSYTH – When Juston Gates of First Baptist Church, Forsyth, first surrendered to the ministry, he imagined that most of his time would involve preaching, prayer and other “neat, spiritual stuff,” but 18 years in ministry have taught him otherwise. In fact, he came to find out that many of his days were filled with administrative tasks: making financial decisions, overseeing the work of committees, leading meetings and equipping the church’s ministry staff. “We (pastors) make so many … [Read more...]
Vic Borden: The pastor as counselor and guide
KANSAS CITY – Vic Borden, the pastor of Red Bridge Baptist Church here, focuses on his ministry strengths. For him, that means walking alongside his congregation as shepherd and counselor, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. “I’m just an OK administrator, theologian and preacher, but I am in my zone when I am tending the flock,” Borden said. I have that heart for God’s people, and I think they would tell you that. I feed them and I watch out for them and … [Read more...]
David Wells: The pastor as servant-leader
HILLSBORO – When it comes to serving, pastor David Wells prefers to lead Sandy Baptist Church by example. “Whether it is serving through missions, ministering or disaster relief, you can’t take the people where you haven’t been,” he said. “If I want them to serve, I need to be their servant first. Servanthood is about doing it with them, not for them.” Wells was in a perfect position to model servant leadership for Sandy Baptist. When they called him as pastor, they specifically asked … [Read more...]
Called to shepherd the flock of Christ
JEFFERSON CITY – The preaching of God’s Word is central to a lead pastor’s role in the local church, but the pastor—as an under-shepherd of Christ’s flock—is required to do much more than this during his weekly routine. “The pastor has to be a shepherd,” said Tony Preston, director of missions for the Clay-Platte Baptist Association and professor of pastoral leadership at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. “A shepherd does a number of things: he protects the flock. He provides for … [Read more...]
‘May we never forget’
I appreciated the article in the August 8th issue entitled, Missouri Baptists honored by seminary for leadership in Conservative Resurgence. The resurgence is a significant part of the history of a people called Southern Baptist. That Southwestern Seminary would honor John Yeats, Gerald Davidson, Jim Wells, Fred Powell, and James Hefley for their leadership in moving the SBC back to its historic commitment to the Scriptures as infallible, authoritative, and inerrant is commendable. Without … [Read more...]
The Cooperative Program and the ‘Missouri Plan’
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third of several articles commemorating the Baptist history in Missouri, written by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Historical Commission. Many Missouri Baptists do not realize how influential our state association was in establishing the current model for the Cooperative Program. In 1845, when the Southern Baptist Convention was formed by withdrawing fellowship from the Baptist Triennial Convention, many states like Missouri had to decide which … [Read more...]
Human reconciliation begins with reconciliation with God
On Sept. 20, 2007, more than 20,000 people from across the nation gathered in small Jena, La., to protest an outbreak of racial tensions at the local high school, exposing old feelings of racism and hate. It was in response to the treatment of a young man by the law enforcement authorities. Sound familiar? Celebrities such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton fueled the media’s glare on this small community of 15,000 made up primarily of foresters and farmers. The only thing people outside … [Read more...]
Ruminations as a busy summer gives way to another autumn
The Missouri Baptist Foundation Trustee Board’s presidential search committee is getting closer to recommending someone for the position. The committee could have a recommendation for the full board sometime in September. The committee, which was formed Dec. 9, includes Foundation Board Chairman Larry Shoaf, a Cape Girardeau-area businessman and member of First Baptist Church, Jackson; Jay Hughes, a staff member at Second Baptist Church, Springfield and Joby Steele, pastor, Macedonia … [Read more...]
A few suggestions for a late summer movie night
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP) – The faith-based drama “The Case for Christ” is the true story of Lee Strobel, a Chicago Tribune investigative journalist who determined to disprove his wife’s newfound religious faith, only to discover that Christ and His resurrection were historical facts. Strobel, in the 2008 documentary “The Case for Faith,” took on two questions meant to debunk Christianity: “Why is Jesus the only way to God?” and “How could a loving God exist if there is evil and suffering … [Read more...]
Mo. missionary movement recalled after 200 years
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of several articles commemorating the Baptist history in Missouri, written by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Historical Commission. JEFFERSON CITY – At the meeting of the Triennial Convention of Baptist on May 17, 1817, Rev. John Mason Peck (1789-1858) and Rev. James E. Welch (1789-1876) were appointed as missionaries to the Missouri Territory or “Western Mission”. They arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in late 1817. Part of the ministry of … [Read more...]
Soli Deo Gloria: A Healthy Obsession
RICHMOND, Va. – One of the battle cries of the Reformation was Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God alone. The Reformers looked at the Medieval Roman Catholic understanding of the Christian faith and realized that it was fundamentally flawed at several points. The Medieval Roman church believed in three sources of spiritual authority: Scripture, tradition, and the leadership of the church of Rome. Final deciding authority fell to the Roman church. But the Reformers believed that the Bible was … [Read more...]
Why our church recites the BFM 2000
As a pastor, I’m grateful for the way our church family participates and responds in worship. They are “all in” whether it’s during the musical portion of worship, praying, reciting verses, or the sermon, and I greatly appreciate it. I especially appreciate our time together as each week we recite an article of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Granted, I know it’s not the same as Scripture (no Baptist should ever say it is), but it highlights some top-tier things we believe about … [Read more...]
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