Now is the perfect time to encourage church members to demonstrate compassionate care to their neighbors. Good neighbors doing good works will lead to goodwill, which opens the door for good conversations! I often get asked how to motivate others to embrace the neighboring movement or create a neighboring culture. Here are five steps that I recommend to kickstart the effort. Step 1: Cast the Vision In difficult times, people often turn inward. Church leaders need to help members see … [Read more...]
Neighboring has benefits
How well do you know your neighbors? Can you name each of the neighbors that adjoin your property or apartment? Do you know a personal fact about each one? Do you speak to your neighbors? It turns out that less than three percent of Americans can say yes to all three of these questions. In the meantime, our culture is becoming angrier and much less forgiving. We are more isolated. Part of the reason is that we have forgotten the art of neighboring. It takes effort. It takes some … [Read more...]
We need a restored focus on the Great Commission
The propagation of the gospel has long been the vision of the Southern Baptist Convention. For over 175 years, we have extended this call to churches to rally and direct our energies to this one shared vision: The propagation of the gospel. The call to cooperation went to a new level in 1925 when the Cooperative Program was proposed and established. There was a deep belief that financial cooperation between our churches would provide a new and greater commitment to the fulfillment of the … [Read more...]
Discipleship equals more than words
Who are your prayer warriors? Who are those few people that you can pick up a phone and ask for prayer? I had an opportunity to teach children for a Sunday school, and I asked the same question. When I asked these little children, interestingly, the top two came out as the following: 1. Mama; 2. Grandma. As I look back, it is personally true in my own life! I think of my mother, who had a huge spiritual impact upon my life. So much of who I am today is in answer to her prayers for me. Her … [Read more...]
‘Joy to the World’ a work of genius
What is the most often sung Christmas hymn in North America? Here’s a hint: it was never meant to be a Christmas song. Well, if you said “Joy to the World” you are correct. But even a casual glance at this favorite reveals much more of a Second Coming theme than it does a Christmas theme. Yet it is one of the world’s favorite Christmas songs of all time. If the question is “what makes it so great?” the answer may be found in two genius craftsmen: Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason. “Joy to the … [Read more...]
A Statistical Analysis of Growth in SBC Congregations by Race and Ethnicity from 1990-2018
Last spring, I commissioned our Great Commissions Relations and Mobilization Team to discover where we were in our SBC congregations by race and ethnicity from 1990-2018. The team consists of Julio Arriola, Peter Yanes, Charles Grant, Ashley Clayton, and team leader, Willie McLaurin. Our Asian American Executive Director, Peter Yanes, was asked to lead this study and secured the needed assistance to accomplish the project. This fall, one of the most informative and encouraging sessions … [Read more...]
Will Southern Baptists practice biblical conservatism or acceptable progressivism?
In my reading over this past Thanksgiving weekend, one of the articles that really caught my attention reported how a mainline denomination may soon cease to exist. Over the years, this same denomination has captured media headlines because they have popularized a very progressive theological direction relating to the cultural issues of today. Yet, our Southern Baptist Convention remains a convention of churches that deeply and unashamedly believes in the authority and infallibility of … [Read more...]
A gift for Missouri Baptist pastors
The Missouri Baptist Foundation loves Missouri Baptist pastors. If you add up the years of ministry between our President Dr. Neil Franks and our Ambassadors (Dr. John Marshall and me) we represent over 100 years of pastoral ministry experience. We know the joy of preaching God’s Word and seeing people come to faith in Christ, seeing baptisms, watching people take their next step of faith, and officiating when people say, “I do”. We have lived through the grief of burying beloved friends … [Read more...]
Thankful people
Quick…name a chorus or a hymn dedicated to thanksgiving. Not that easy is it? In fact, outside of a couple of the favorites that are quite old (“Give Thanks,” “We Gather Together,” “My Tribute,” “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”) I can’t think of many. We know that “thanksgiving” is different from “praise;” however, in our worship time they tend to merge into adoration. This is natural as many of the Psalms that include thanksgiving (which are many) tend to occur inside an “enthronement” … [Read more...]
Reflections on Veterans Day
EDITOR’S NOTE: Chaplain (Major General), U.S. Army, Retired, Douglas Carver is executive director of chaplaincy at the North American Mission Board. Carver served as the 22nd Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Army before retiring from the military and joining NAMB. ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – There is no mystery behind the endurance and the success of American liberty. It is because in every generation, from the Revolutionary period to this very hour, brave Americans have stepped forward and … [Read more...]
Christian education a priceless investment
More than ever, parents face challenges when determining how they will educate their children in these uncertain times. As a Missouri Baptist pastor for 22 years and a former public school teacher, I encourage parents to strongly consider Christian education for their children and grandchildren. Christian education invites students to see and better understand the world through the perspective of God’s truth, the Bible. The Bible becomes the lens through which students view what they are … [Read more...]
Is that child giving you a hard time or having a hard time?
It’s tough when a child or teen acts out behaviorally, isn’t it? Whether it is your own child at home or a child you are responsible for at church or school, it can be frustrating and sometimes even frightening – especially if the child seems intent on hurting him/herself or someone else. We may often wonder, “What has gotten into that child?” But have you ever considered that when a child acts out it may be a signal from the child asking the parent, the school teacher, the Sunday school … [Read more...]
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