Nov. 1 marks International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church “I don’t think my father will kill me.” Zane Pratt, vice president for global training at the International Mission Board, heard these words from a 17-year-old boy who placed his faith in Christ only an hour earlier. This teenager was the first Muslim that Pratt had ever led to Christ. “I have to tell my father,” the boy told Pratt. “This is too important. This news is too good. I don’t think my father will kill me. My … [Read more...]
On whom do you rely? A meditation on Isaiah 36-37
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord! – Lord Byron (George Gordon), from “The Destruction of Sennacherib” In the year 701 B.C., the Assyrian army under its king Sennacherib attacked the fortified cities of Judah and lay siege to Jerusalem. For some two centuries, the neo-Assyrian empire had been a force to reckon with … [Read more...]
Our children can benefit from reading God’s Word
Earlier this year, in a bold attempt to use the “mammon of unrighteousness” (Luke 16:9) for godly ends, Pastor Monte Shinkle invited the children of Concord Baptist Church, Jefferson City, to explore the truth of Scripture. Any child who could read the whole Bible in 2019, he announced, would receive a grand total of $100. Unbeknownst to me and my wife at the time, my daughter Emma heard the offer and took the bait. As a result, since January, she has read four chapters of Scripture … [Read more...]
The everlasting impact of facial hair, other minutia
Last week, my wife and children agreed that if I were ever to stop shaving, disaster would ensue. Whether I aim for a goatee, mutton chops or a brawny beard, the genetics for success are simply missing. So I’m settled with the fact that, from eternity, God has ordained that I grow no facial hair, but only recently did I realize the weight of my predicament. The writer E.B. White once remarked that a simple bout of hay fever could turn the course of history. The same could be said, … [Read more...]
The martyr’s cause: John Foxe and our Gospel embassy
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article first appeared on the website, "Yesterday, Today, and Forever," at HistoricalTheology.org. On Easter 1555, the zealous English evangelical William Flower burst into a rage in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, when he noticed a priest administering the Mass – a rite that Flower saw as the epitome of Roman Catholic idolatry. Immediately, he struck the offending priest with his woodknife, cutting him on the head, arm and hand. Blood from the priest’s wounds, … [Read more...]
A family reunited: MBC church planter meets long-lost brother
KANSAS CITY – Four-year-old Man Jalarue looked on as a huddle of armed Liberian rebels debated whether he should die. A week earlier, the insurgents flooded into the boy’s village, Zuajah, in the interior of Liberia. The year was 1992, and Liberia had already experienced three years of violence in a civil war that would ultimately take the lives of some 250,000 people. Now the conflict came to Man’s own home. When it did, the boy’s family fled one way, but he fled another. Into the bush … [Read more...]
Reformation translators open Scripture to millions
VILVOORDE, Belgium – As the year 1535 faded into autumn and the weather turned cold, an Englishman charged with heresy and jailed in the Vilvoorde Castle here scribbled a note in Latin to his keepers. Could they bring him a warmer cap, coat and leggings? And also a lamp, he added, “for it is tiresome to sit alone in the dark.” “But above all,” he wrote, “I beg and entreat your clemency earnestly to intercede with the lord commissary, that he would deign to allow me the use of my Hebrew … [Read more...]
Fly fishing inspires theological musings in Mo. Baptist minister’s new book
JEFFERSON CITY – Jake Taggart, director of education at Concord Baptist Church here, owes his love of fly fishing to his father, and he wants to repay the debt in his latest book – an in-depth reflection on the glory of God displayed by the freshwater springs that feed his favorite fishing spots. “Some of the most nostalgic and peaceful times of my entire life were camping trips down at Bennett Springs State Park with my parents,” Taggart said. “There wasn’t really a care in the world at … [Read more...]
Judson’s legacy lives on in Missouri, beyond
KANSAS CITY – Missouri Baptist churches across the state are reaching people groups once touched by the ministry of Adoniram Judson, a 19th-century pioneer missionary to Burma (modern-day Myanmar), who left an impact not only in lives transformed by the gospel but also in Bible translation. Groups of Christian immigrants from Myanmar meet weekly at Tower Grove Baptist Church, St. Louis, at Community Baptist Church, Noel, and at New Site Church, Monett, as well as at other churches around … [Read more...]
Christian journalism’s Reformation roots
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final column in a year-long series leading up to the 500th anniversary of the 16th-century Reformation on Oct. 31, 2017. During the spring of 1521, the German Reformer Martin Luther stood alone before the most powerful men in Europe and declared that, no matter the consequences, his conscience was bound to the Word of God. And on this Word he would stand. Shortly after making this famous “Here I Stand” speech at the Diet of Worms, Luther was condemned by … [Read more...]
A religion of the Book: The King James Bible
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 20th column in a year-long series leading up to the 500th anniversary of the 16th-century Reformation on Oct. 31, 2017. When Queen Elizabeth I died childless after 45 years in power, the dynasty of the Tudor family descended from Henry VIII also ended. Now, the English monarchy went to the Stuart family and, specifically, to the Scottish King James VI—now crowned also as King James I of England. During his reign in Scotland, King James became familiar with … [Read more...]
Juston Gates: The pastor as preacher, administrator
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...]
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