I was scrubbing furiously, trying to get the hot fudge stain out of my fave workout shirt. And then…the revelation. It was like, “Oh hello, irony. For a minute I didn’t see you there.” Not that the new diet isn’t going well or anything. Because I don’t think it actually counts as eating badly if you only ate your husband’s dessert because you forgot you already ate yours. Doesn’t count. Because, “forgot.” It’s not that I haven’t tapped into all the diet helps presently out there. But I … [Read more...]
SBC’s Page: 15 Dragons posing danger to pastors & ministers
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Frank Page, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee told attenders at the Midwest Advance leadership summit that there are dragons in Baptist church life that have to be dealt with very carefully. As he spoke on church conflict during a breakout session in the organizational leadership track, Page said he wanted to encourage the pastors and staff members and help them navigate around “dragons” that devour Baptist leaders. He mentioned 15 kinds of dragons who … [Read more...]
Must we choose between preferences?
No kidding. I was reading my half-folded Wall Street Journal. I got to the fold and, subconsciously, I realized my index finger was attempting to scroll the rest of the article up the page. I suppose I am caught in a time warp, preferring to smell ink and read hard copy and at the same time live in an age of digital communications. I can hear the purist for print and/or digital attempting to say, “Choose between the two.” I say not so fast. There is room for both. No need to create a … [Read more...]
Whose children are they?
“For there is no partiality with God.” – Romans 2:11 The Bible tells us that children are a gift from God. How proud and happy we are when we look down in a baby’s face and see the miracle God has made! We become so attached to the little ones He has placed in our care! It becomes easy to think of them as only “our” children when they are loved by God as His own. Our desire should be to make sure they become His children through acceptance of Jesus as their personal Savior. God has … [Read more...]
Jason Allen: Four reasons pastors should guard their hearts
Discouragement is not an emotion with which I am very familiar, but when a scandal comes out in the church, I feel it greatly. In fact, at times I have found myself not wanting to check social media, dreading to learn about the next scandal. When they come out, it is easy to find ourselves asking, “How could he…?”. Yet, upon sober reflection, we are reminded of how dangerous our sin nature truly is; and that Total Depravity is not just a theological point, but a malignancy within each one … [Read more...]
Flu outbreak prompts churches to take precautions
DALLAS, Ga. (BP) – Johnny Nix of Pickett’s Mill Baptist Church has asked volunteers to consider staying away. Like so many other churches, Nix and the Dallas, Ga., church he leads are locked in a battle with the flu. “We’ve instructed our volunteers and workers to postpone coming by for a couple of weeks if they or someone in their family has had it,” Nix told Georgia Baptists’ Christian Index newsjournal. “That may seem a little extreme, but we’re taking every precaution necessary.” And … [Read more...]
‘Conversion: How God Creates a People’
Lawrence, Michael. Conversion: How God Creates a People. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 137 pp. $14.99. When people find out I’m a pastor, they often want to tell me about their relationship with God. These can be wonderful conversations; there are few things more encouraging than meeting people with an evident love for Jesus. More often than not, however, I leave those conversations discouraged. Many people identify as Christians but don’t seem to have any interest in Jesus or his church. … [Read more...]
Factory or horseback, bivocational pastor thrives
EDITOR'S NOTE: Several keys for effective bivocational ministry follow this story. AUGUSTA, Kan. (BP) -- Each workstation is a flurry of activity. Plastic bottles stream down the conveyer belts. Hands reach out to adjust each bottle to face the same direction before they go to plastic wrap. Across the floor, someone shouts above the rickety-racket to shut down one of the machines and reload. Don Mayberry walks through the factory's maze of machines and activity, stopping to talk to … [Read more...]
Muslim Fulani herdsmen launch more attacks
JOS, Nigeria (BP) -- A mass burial on Sunday (Jan. 7) was announced for 49 of at least 65 Christians killed in Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacks in Benue state, Nigeria that began on New Year's Day, sources said. Benue Gov. Samuel Ortom announced on Saturday that coffins would be provided for the state-sponsored funeral as he visited Benue State University Teaching Hospital-Makurdi's hospital morgue. Brandishing heavy weaponry as well as cutlasses, Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacked several … [Read more...]
‘Church Security Handbook’ an easy first step
KANSAS CITY – Few topics are as hot and fresh on the minds of church goers as church security. What was already an oft debated topic was thrust into the national spotlight in November when a killer charged into the morning worship services at First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, Texas and murdered 26 while injuring 20 others. Responses from churches large and small are varied. Some seek to formalize, review and refine their security and contingency plans. Others rely solely on local … [Read more...]
FEMA: Churches now eligible for recovery funds
WASHINGTON (BP) – Churches whose facilities have been damaged by natural disasters now are eligible to receive relief funds from the federal government, according to a Jan. 2 announcement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "Private nonprofit houses of worship will not be singled out for disfavored treatment within the community centers subcategory of [public assistance] nonprofit applicants," FEMA Recovery Directorate Assistant Administrator Alex Amparo wrote in a guide … [Read more...]
Hark! Skipping Christmas carol verses discouraged
NASHVILLE (BP) -- As worship pastor Andrew Lucius selects songs for Christmas worship, he is considering specific needs in the Georgia congregation he serves. Among his conclusions: singing only the first verse of familiar carols could leave worshipers spiritually malnourished. The widow "who's going through the Christmas season the first time this year without her husband ... needs more than the first verse of 'Joy to the World!'" said Lucius, associate pastor of music and worship at … [Read more...]
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