BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (BP) – After surviving a fiery explosion that nearly killed him, Kentucky megachurch pastor Steve Ayers said he's a changed man, having come out of the ordeal laser-focused on Jesus and telling others about the Gospel before it's too late. "I was committed to evangelism before the accident," said Ayers, senior pastor of the 16,000-member Hillvue Heights Church in Bowling Green, which routinely baptizes more than 500 new believers a year. "I'm completely committed to … [Read more...]
End IRS oversight of sermons, Protestant pastors say
NASHVILLE – In the 1950s, Congress banned charitable nonprofits – including churches – from endorsing candidates or otherwise intervening in elections. Any nonprofit that violated the ban could run afoul of the IRS. Churches risked losing their tax-exempt status if the preacher endorsed a candidate in a sermon. It’s time for that to change, most Protestant pastors say in a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. More than 7 in 10 say Congress should bar the IRS from punishing a … [Read more...]
CP speeds Central Asian outreach for Movement Church
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- A young Richmond, Va.-area church saw the effectiveness of the Cooperative Program this summer while helping a Central Asian village build water wells. "The work is thrilling," said Cliff Jordan, a church planter and pastor of the eight-year-old Movement Church, where about 250 people attend Sunday morning worship. Jordan appreciates International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries who laid the foundation for his mission team to arrive in the village and make a … [Read more...]
‘He saved my life and lost his;’ Vegas shooting leaves Tenn. church heartbroken
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP) – A small West Tennessee Baptist church continues to feel the blow of Sunday night's mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert after it learned one of the victims was a native son. Sonny Melton, 29, who grew up in Big Sandy and attended Ramble Creek Baptist Church, was killed when he was struck by gun fire while shielding his wife, Heather Melton. "It's rocked this whole community," said Jim Twilbeck, director of missions for the Western District Association. "It's not … [Read more...]
GuideStone trustees honor Hawkins for 20 years
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BP) – Trustees for GuideStone Financial Resources gathered July 31–Aug. 1 in regular session to hear reports from GuideStone executive officers and staff about the board's performance in key lines of business. GuideStone also honored O.S. Hawkins for 20 years as president of the Southern Baptist entity. Hawkins joined the Dallas-based ministry after having served for four years as pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas. He thanked the trustees for … [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...]
Eclipse displays ‘God’s glory,’ astronomers say
NASHVILLE (BP) -- When millions gather Aug. 21 to view the first total solar eclipse the continental U.S. has seen in 38 years, they won't just get an astronomy lesson. If they're observant, they'll also get a theology lesson. That's the conclusion of three Christian university professors who told Baptist Press a total eclipse points to God's existence, sovereignty, love, immutability and faithfulness. Image: iStock/license purchase required. "Eclipses are demonstrations of God's glory" … [Read more...]
N.M. village’s Baptists see CP as missions priority
CUBA, N.M. (BP) – The multicultural mix of 750 people in the small, arid village of Cuba, N.M., is one of the qualities that drew Stephen Reynolds to pastor First Baptist Church there. The village off busy U.S. 550 draws the Navajo and Jicarilla Apache Native Americans and others from 30 square miles of high desert lands. "The minority culture is white," Reynolds told Baptist Press. "There's Hispanic from Spanish [descent] and Navajo culture." The native Mississippian and his wife … [Read more...]
Oklahoma DR units deploy after Tulsa tornadoes
TULSA, Okla. (BP) – Driving to Tulsa, Okla., a day after three rare August tornadoes destroyed property and injured dozens there Aug. 6, Southern Baptist disaster relief leader Sam Porter was on the phone with a member of First Baptist Church of Jenks, Okla., a Tulsa suburb. “There’s a large tree, a very extremely large tree down in their back yard, and she just said, ‘We cannot afford to have the tree removed, and we’re not able to do it ourselves,’” Porter, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster … [Read more...]
Church begun in 1794 holds 1st Vacation Bible School
SPARTA, Ga. (BP) – Island Creek Baptist Church joined in for the first time since its founding in 1794. The church had a Vacation Bible School. Over time, folks from Atlanta-area communities had bought retirement homes on the shores of Lake Sinclair and found a church home at Island Creek near Sparta, Ga. What they didn't find too much of was children, which had been a years-long concern of pastor Arthur Gunn and others. "We wanted to grow the children's ministry because we … [Read more...]
Pastor compensation studied by financial planner
GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) – It happens often in Southern Baptist life: A church offers a prospective pastor a salary it thinks is reasonable, and the pastor – not wanting to appear greedy – begrudgingly accepts. But down the road, when tax season arrives or when retirement approaches, the pastor realizes he should have spoken up. It is a financial disconnect that Christian Messemer, a certified financial planner and a Ph.D. candidate at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, hopes to … [Read more...]
Missouri ranks 7th in attendance at SBC
PHOENIX – The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting drew 5,018 messengers to Phoenix June 13-14. The unofficial total is 31.6 percent fewer than last year’s 7,321 messengers in St. Louis but 164 more than 2011 when the convention last met in Phoenix. Missouri was the seventh largest delegation, bringing 242 messengers. As expected, Arizona Baptist churches turned out for their host-meeting; their 374-messenger total was the second largest of the state delegations. Texas was the … [Read more...]
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