Does your morning schedule affect your prayer life? Is the time you pray important? Someone once said that there are two kinds of Christians: One wakes up and says, “Good morning, Lord!” The other says, “Good Lord…morning.” Should this difference affect your prayer life? The morning difference In the Harvard Business Review, Dr. Christoph Randler, a neuroscientist from the University of Tübingen, writes about the advantages of early rising. His research finds that early risers, “…get … [Read more...]
Prayer, fasting, the power of God
John Wesley took a dim view of pre-revival America, but he had a plan to change it. Wesley spent time in the colonies and reported, “I desired as many as could to join together in fasting and prayer, that God would restore the spirit of love and of a sound mind to the poor deluded rebels in America.” Even a side glance at the current cultural moment demonstrates that prayer and fasting are just as urgently needed for the “poor deluded rebels in America” today as they were when the nation … [Read more...]
Pregnancy resource centers are essential
by Tessa Redmond/Kentucky Today EDITOR’S NOTE: Though Tessa Redmond writes from Kentucky, her reflections represent well the significance of Missouri’s pregnancy resource centers, many of which are supported – if not operated – by Missouri Baptist church members. When I started building our baby registry, I was immediately overwhelmed by the price tags on basic items every parent and infant needs. Car seat, crib and mattress, stroller, diapers and wipes, bottles, burp clothes — everything … [Read more...]
New school year, same mission
by Shane Pruitt For many students and ministries, the start of a new school year feels the same as New Year’s resolutions for many adults. Most students see returning to school as offering more new opportunities and better chances to start over compared to the beginning of a new calendar year. As leaders, we tend to feel the pressure of overthinking what we will do differently in our ministries each school year. We want to be innovative, creative, and think outside the box or even crash … [Read more...]
Texting: the tool churches are underutilizing
by Braden Cross BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Historically, email has been the go-to tool for church communication. But if you’re on staff at a church, you’ve likely started to realize communicating through email isn’t working as well as it used to. Church announcements get overlooked, volunteer requests go unseen, and visitor follow-up often slips through the cracks. Open rates have dropped drastically the past few years and now sit at roughly 25%. Twenty. Five. Percent. That means, on average, … [Read more...]
How to pray when you don’t feel like praying
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was first published on Baptist Press here. Are you motivated to pray? The word “motivation” doesn’t appear in older dictionaries since it wasn’t coined until the mid-19th century and didn’t come into common use until the 20th century. The question of why we act as we do gave rise to a field of psychology determined to analyze the “motivation” of personal choices. Interest in the psychology of motivation continues to the present. What does any of this have to … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: Prayer and evangelism reinforce one another
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following excerpt is by Joe M. Allen III, published with permission from Before You Go: Wisdom From 10 Men on Serving Internationally, edited by Matthew Bennett and Joshua Bowman. This article was first published by Baptist Press. Joe Allen III serves as Assistant Professor of Missions at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prayer and evangelism go together like chocolate and peanut butter. The two practices mutually reinforce one another and enhance the other … [Read more...]
Prayer and meditation
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was first published on Baptist Press. Can Christians meditate in prayer? The eastern practice of meditation associated with Yoga and Hinduism has gone mainstream in American culture. Consider, for instance, this meditation advice, “If your mind gets caught in a chain of thoughts, gently step out of the thought stream and come back to your breath.” That counsel was not given by a guru leaning into Dhyana on a mat in a Yoga center in New Delhi; instead, it is a … [Read more...]
How to pray Scripture
by Kie Bowman In 1549 Thomas Cranmer organized the publication of the Book of Common Prayer, which is still used today by millions of people in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Speaking with a sense of humor, the late J. I. Packer said, “Long before the age of fish and chips, the Book of Common Prayer was the Great British invention, nurturing all sorts and conditions of Englishmen and holding the church together with remarkable effectiveness.” For non-liturgical evangelicals, a book … [Read more...]
No, the early Christians were not communists
A popular claim that early Christians were communists is clearly false. Even Missouri’s own Harry S. Truman said to his daughter, “You know there was but one idealistic example of Communism. That is described in the Acts of the Apostles.” When Acts 2:44 says, “Now all the believers where together and had everything in common,” the text is not describing socialism as we know it. Instead, the Bible is describing the voluntary generous spirit that comes when a church is unified. Why is the … [Read more...]
Independence Day, Let Religious Freedom Ring!
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was written by Chaplain (MG) Doug Carver, USA-Retired, who is the executive director of chaplaincy for the North American Mission Board. I remember those incomprehensible words on December 12, 1985 like yesterday. The highly respected, battle-hardened commander stepped up to the microphone and softly addressed the packed field house full of anxious family members and soldiers awaiting the return of their loved ones. “You’ve all heard the rumors regarding a … [Read more...]
MBCH ministry helps to rescue trafficked children
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was written by Charles Phillips, who serves as program director for MBCH Children & Family Ministries. Sex trafficking of children around the world is never easy to believe. MBCH Children and Family Ministries started its ministry to this population in 2012 in St. Louis. When MBCH Children and Family Ministries began the process of opening a home for minors in 2018 in the Kansas City area, someone from the community argued that a home for minors was not … [Read more...]
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