SPRINGFIELD – The gospel offers Christians not only eternal life, but also abundant life and spiritual restoration, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) President Chris Williams told MBC messengers and guests during their annual meeting here, Oct. 23-24. Williams, pastor of Fellowship Church, Greenwood, preached about the theme of the annual meeting, “The Restored Soul,” which was based on Psalm 19:7, by sharing how Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-11 can foster such restoration. “Jesus came … [Read more...]
Elliff: ‘Break up your fallow ground’
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri Baptists should fear the possibility of letting their hearts become hardened and fallow, making them insensitive to the working of God’s Word and Spirit. This was the warning that longtime minister Tom Elliff, who formerly served as president of the International Mission Board, delivered to Missouri Baptists during their annual meeting at Crossway Baptist Church, Springfield, Oct. 24. “It ought to scare you to death ... to think that you could have a heart like … [Read more...]
MBC Executive Director Wes Fowler: ‘We proclaim Jesus’
SPRINGFIELD – Whatever else Missouri Baptists do in days to come, the Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) new executive director Wes Fowler said they must proclaim the name of Jesus. His exhortation closed the MBC annual meeting, Oct. 24, at Crossway Baptist Church in Springfield. Many people, Fowler said, have asked about his plans for the future of the MBC. His current answer? Before making any other plans, his present plan is to listen and to learn about Missouri Baptist churches, … [Read more...]
Pray for Israel, global missions, the persecuted church
A Missouri Baptist church group nearly found themselves in a war zone early last month. The group of 42 people from Heritage Baptist Church in Lebanon, Mo., flew out of Israel on Friday, Oct. 6 – just before Hamas assailants attacked Israel and sparked an ongoing war that has claimed thousands of lives. “The war started while we were in the air coming home,” Pastor Kevin Smith told me earlier this month. “We came home with full hearts, with everything we had seen and experienced,” he … [Read more...]
MBU’s ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ to support SEND Relief efforts amid war in Israel
ST. LOUIS – For the second year in a row, Missouri Baptist University (MBU) is melding their theatre program with Southern Baptist efforts to bring a positive gospel influence to a world broken by war. Last spring, through its production of Neil Simon’s play, “Fools,” MBU’s theatre program raised more than $3,000 to support Southern Baptist SEND Relief efforts amid the war in Ukraine. Now, as Israel faces war with Hamas terrorists, MBU’s theatre program will support SEND Relief … [Read more...]
‘Thrill’ of the hunt: Baptist Homes hosts deer hunt for aging adults
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Baptist Homes' hunting initiative has garnered attention from Bass Pro Shops, as well as from wildlife publications and podcasts. Read more by clicking here. IRONTON – When he and his wife moved into The Baptist Homes’ Arcadia Valley campus here last April, John Sanders figured his hunting days were over for good. Sanders spent much of his life hunting, even taking trips to Western states like Wyoming to hunt elk and pronghorn. But when he and his wife moved into … [Read more...]
Bass Pro Shops, wildlife magazines feature Baptist Homes hunting initiative
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Baptist Homes began its 2023 hunting season at the Arcadia Valley campus in Ironton, Mo. Read more here. OZARK – The Baptist Homes and Healthcare Ministries’ (BHHM) hunting initiative has garnered attention from Bass Pro Shops, as well as from wildlife publications and podcasts. At the end of August, Bass Pro Shops released a video about the hunt that took place at the BHHM’s Ozark campus last fall. (To watch the video, visit: … [Read more...]
On cats, dogs and the paradoxes of happiness
This evening, as I began writing my editorial, a white Shih Tzu with patches of sandy fur stood on his hind legs, set his paws on my recliner and stared up at me. Unable to resist, I picked him up and set him next to me in the chair. He has now nestled his small, warm body against my leg and has drifted off to sleep. He’s an affectionate little puppy, the runt of a litter, and his name is Bear. Now, Bear isn’t our dog. We’re actually dog-sitting for family members, as we do every chance we … [Read more...]
Fight for life, journalism and the marking of a year
Far more than mere documents, the U.S. Constitution and Missouri’s Constitution represent “the way of life of a citizen-body.” That, at least, is how the ancients talked about constitutions. Now abortion activists are asking Missourians to enshrine the culture of death in the Constitution defining the state’s “way of life.” In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, Missouri thankfully became the first state in the nation to ban abortion. But earlier … [Read more...]
God’s Word a miracle, a gift that keeps on giving
Our world, as someone has said, is “awash with words.” Words wake us, entertain us, console us, pester us, defend us, teach us, lull us to sleep. From infancy, we learn how – with a puff of the diaphragm, a tightening of the throat, a twist of the tongue and curling of the lips – to speak a simple word, like “water.” As children, we struggle to decipher and then scratch on paper the intricate lines and curves that make up the written word, “w-a-t-e-r.” Then, as we age, we become used … [Read more...]
Hilldale Baptist Church hosts Rally for America
NEOSHO – Hilldale Baptist Church here hosted a “Rally for America,” Aug. 13, featuring as guest speakers both Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Missouri Senator Jill Carter. The event celebrated America and encouraged Christians to impact the nation and its communities in a positive way. “What we need to do is stand up for America,” Pastor Phillip McLendon of Hilldale Baptist Church, told KOAM News. “All the negative things, we’re not a part of. But we need people to stand … [Read more...]
‘Belt of truth’ holds us secure amid temptation
“Pablo Picasso’s creative genius towers over twentieth-century art,” Christian author and sociologist Os Guinness writes in his classic book, The Call. “But in his relationships, especially with women, he could be a devouring monster. The ‘Minotaur’ was his own name for himself, and ‘monster’ was the word used by friends such as sculptor Alberto Giacometti. ‘When I die,’ Picasso said, ‘it will be a shipwreck, and as when a huge ship sinks, many people all around will be sucked down with … [Read more...]
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