KENORA, Ont. – Building bridges is Jay Kim’s greatest mission in Northwest Ontario. For two years, Kim has served as a Nehemiah Church Planter among the First Nations People (Native Canadians). Painful scars from the past cause them to consider Christianity “the white man’s gospel.” “Most of them survive in their reserves, isolated from the major modern community and kill their time with the influence of alcohol and drugs,” Kim said. “They lost their future and hope. We lost the bridge of … [Read more...]
Ethics expert anticipates vibrant Worldview Conference
JEFFERSON CITY—Missouri Southern Baptists are rightfully concerned about the growing intrusiveness of government with their faith, says Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research and director of the research institute of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Duke will offer two addresses here March 29 during the Worldview Conference at Memorial Baptist Church. Duke, who has been with the ERLC since 1997, spoke March 6 … [Read more...]
Sudbury church can be springboard to reach region
SUDBURY, Ont. – Since joining the Canadian Baptist National Convention (CNBC) a few months ago, All Nations Church here has quickly become one of the most vital components in the mission partnership between the CNBC and the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC). “We are seeing All Nations as a place where our partnering teams from Missouri can bounce out from,” said Gary Smith, senior church starting catalyst for the CNBC. He said there are several ways to serve alongside All Nations; ideal … [Read more...]
Midwestern Online unveils new undergraduate degree
KANSAS CITY – Midwestern Baptist College (MBC), Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), leaders unveiled a new 100-percent online undergraduate degree program on Feb. 21, with enrollment currently underway for the term beginning April 30. Fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry degree will be added to the online program’s Master of Arts, Theological Studies (MATS) degree that was launched in 2010. The undergraduate program of MBC was … [Read more...]
Barbershop patrons stir a church plant
ST. LOUIS (BP) – You can tell a lot about a community from the inside of a barbershop. Just about everyone, at some time or another, needs a haircut. Yet, of all the patrons at the beauty and barbershop operated by Sean and Taquella Boone in metro St. Louis, one group stood out to the couple – young African-Americans who wanted no part of the traditional church. The Boones saw them every day. They needed to hear about Jesus, but most wouldn’t have felt comfortable in the aging churches … [Read more...]
CORE focuses on three ‘core values’
JEFFERSON CITY – Rick Hedger, partnership mission specialist for the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) answered the question, “what is a core value?” “Words like worth, importance and significance are used to describe the value of something,” he said. “It is possible that everyone has something in their life that is of value. That thing is of worth. It is important. It is significant to that person. In fact, they probably have multiple things that are of value to them. “When a group of … [Read more...]
Experts, authors headlining CORE confab this year
JEFFERSON CITY – Some of the biggest names in Christian living are coming to Missouri for the CORE Conference March 19-20: J.D. Payne, Mark Snowden, David Kinnaman, Keith Strasburger, and Reggie McNeal. The two-day meeting revolves around three core values as the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) seeks to better equip believers to live out the Great Commission. Those three core values are becoming disciples, missional living and developing leaders. The conference is here at Concord Baptist … [Read more...]
‘Mama D’ touches many young lives in north Missouri
TRENTON – During school hours, while students and faculty bustle between buildings at North Central Missouri College (NCMC), it’s not uncommon to see someone enthusiastically wave and shout, “Mama D! Hey, Mama D!” “I’ve encouraged them to greet each other with brotherly love and they’ve just ran with it,” said “Mama D,” a.k.a. Diann Barnes, Baptist Student Union (BSU) advisor at NCMC. Barnes, a pastor’s wife since she was 19, has served the Lord in ministry for more than 40 years. Her … [Read more...]
Creating ‘Waves’ for Christ in your community
On Oct.15, 1981, one man initiated an act that would change the experience of professional sports for all time. It was the third game of the American League play-off series between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. On that day, Krazy George Henderson knew he wanted to do something extraordinary. He saw it before anyone else in the stadium. With a drum in his hand, he worked hard to rally the attention of those in the sections around him. He started to generate enthusiasm for … [Read more...]
Remove all impediments in our relationship with God
Plugged pipes are not good. I understand plumbing better than I do the sphere of medicine. However, I understand clearly that the gradual build up of impediments within a copper pipe or an artery have a way of eventually disrupting one’s life. Such a principle has application in a believer’s walk with God. A holy life, a clean life is imperative. God’s passion is that we be conduits of His grace to the people in our sphere of influence. That’s why the Word of God exhorts us to “Be holy, as … [Read more...]
Civil disobedience amid secularizing government
There is a difference between a law that permits abortions (Roe v. Wade) and one which commands abortions be provided, like the ObamaCare mandate requiring religious institutions and individuals to violate their consciences by providing abortion-inducing drugs through their insurance policies to their employees. As ethicist Norman Geisler has noted, it is one thing for a government to allow others to do evil, but it is another for it to force an individual or institutions like Southwest … [Read more...]
De-clogging our minds
I had a little wrestling match with my vacuum cleaner recently. It was doing that wimpy-clean thing—you know, where you have to get down on your hands and knees and hand-feed it every little fuzz ball? If I’m going to do that, I might as well not have a vacuum cleaner. I could just pick up every little piece of fuzz and throw it in the trash myself—cut out the middle man. A vacuum that’s lost all its “suck-ocity” is not worth much. So I got down in the floor, got the thing in a headlock … [Read more...]