KANSAS CITY – Vic Borden, the pastor of Red Bridge Baptist Church here, focuses on his ministry strengths. For him, that means walking alongside his congregation as shepherd and counselor, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. “I’m just an OK administrator, theologian and preacher, but I am in my zone when I am tending the flock,” Borden said. I have that heart for God’s people, and I think they would tell you that. I feed them and I watch out for them and … [Read more...]
David Wells: The pastor as servant-leader
HILLSBORO – When it comes to serving, pastor David Wells prefers to lead Sandy Baptist Church by example. “Whether it is serving through missions, ministering or disaster relief, you can’t take the people where you haven’t been,” he said. “If I want them to serve, I need to be their servant first. Servanthood is about doing it with them, not for them.” Wells was in a perfect position to model servant leadership for Sandy Baptist. When they called him as pastor, they specifically asked … [Read more...]
Called to shepherd the flock of Christ
JEFFERSON CITY – The preaching of God’s Word is central to a lead pastor’s role in the local church, but the pastor—as an under-shepherd of Christ’s flock—is required to do much more than this during his weekly routine. “The pastor has to be a shepherd,” said Tony Preston, director of missions for the Clay-Platte Baptist Association and professor of pastoral leadership at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. “A shepherd does a number of things: he protects the flock. He provides for … [Read more...]
‘May we never forget’
I appreciated the article in the August 8th issue entitled, Missouri Baptists honored by seminary for leadership in Conservative Resurgence. The resurgence is a significant part of the history of a people called Southern Baptist. That Southwestern Seminary would honor John Yeats, Gerald Davidson, Jim Wells, Fred Powell, and James Hefley for their leadership in moving the SBC back to its historic commitment to the Scriptures as infallible, authoritative, and inerrant is commendable. Without … [Read more...]
The Cooperative Program and the ‘Missouri Plan’
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third of several articles commemorating the Baptist history in Missouri, written by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Historical Commission. Many Missouri Baptists do not realize how influential our state association was in establishing the current model for the Cooperative Program. In 1845, when the Southern Baptist Convention was formed by withdrawing fellowship from the Baptist Triennial Convention, many states like Missouri had to decide which … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist apologists launch podcast to defend, discuss faith
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist Apologetics Network members Adam Cochrun and Dave Van Bebber have launched a bi-weekly podcast called “T.A.G. You’re It!” The podcast features interviews and debates about culture, current events, theology, and cults from a biblical perspective. “We wanted to do something that no other Missouri Baptist apologists were doing,” said Van Bebber. “We wanted to amplify the voice of Missouri Baptists engaged in defending the Christian faith.” Van Bebber and … [Read more...]
First Baptist Branson organizes conference to spotlight OT’s role
BRANSON – Many – including too many in the church – see the first 39 books of the Bible as irrelevant and outdated, supplanted by the Good News of the New Testament. First Baptist Church of Branson is looking to disprove that notion. The Church is hosting a conference October 6-7 entitled “Christianity and the Death of the Old Testament.” The aim of this conference is to provide teaching and tools to ensure that believers take seriously all of God’s Word and are better prepared to read … [Read more...]
Gospel proclaimed at Missouri state fair
SEDALIA – “I’m a gambling man. I will bet you five dollars that they will take more than three minutes if I go in that tent,” said the man at the entrance to the state fair Baptist tent. Now that was a throw-down. The man was responding to an appeal to come into the Baptist tent at the state fair and sign up for a giveaway of a merchandise gift card. But all that was being asked of the registrants was “three minutes of your time.” Tent volunteers were trained to share their testimony of … [Read more...]
Africa missionaries embrace children’s home ministry
THOMASVILLE, N.C. (BP) – Kim and Jay Smith spent 26 years sharing the Gospel as missionaries in West Africa. Today, they continue to share Christ's love as cottage parents with the Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina where they care for as many as 12 girls at BCH's Mills Home in Thomasville. "It's still a mission field but a different mission field," Kim says. Her husband agrees. "We love these girls with the love of God just as we loved the people in West Africa." Before … [Read more...]
Soli Deo Gloria: A Healthy Obsession
RICHMOND, Va. – One of the battle cries of the Reformation was Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God alone. The Reformers looked at the Medieval Roman Catholic understanding of the Christian faith and realized that it was fundamentally flawed at several points. The Medieval Roman church believed in three sources of spiritual authority: Scripture, tradition, and the leadership of the church of Rome. Final deciding authority fell to the Roman church. But the Reformers believed that the Bible was … [Read more...]
Why our church recites the BFM 2000
As a pastor, I’m grateful for the way our church family participates and responds in worship. They are “all in” whether it’s during the musical portion of worship, praying, reciting verses, or the sermon, and I greatly appreciate it. I especially appreciate our time together as each week we recite an article of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Granted, I know it’s not the same as Scripture (no Baptist should ever say it is), but it highlights some top-tier things we believe about … [Read more...]
Is the Bible literally true?
Christians are sometimes asked if we believe the Bible is literally true. After all, whether eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood is a plunge into cannibalism, or a figurative expression of full devotion, depends on how we understand the language of Scripture. In one sense, we might say the Bible is divinely inspired literature through which God speaks to human beings in our own language. This naturally includes a range of literary devices, from narrative to hyperbole. So, … [Read more...]
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