In its most recent board meeting, trustees of the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home Board learned that annual liability insurance premiums for the ministry are jumping from $18,000 to $134,000. This rate increase was in spite of zero claims and clear risk-management training. The former carrier didn’t even want to underwrite them. Yet the liability insurance is necessary to do the life-transforming work Missouri Baptist churches have assigned MBCH to do. Another record year at Super … [Read more...]
Owen Strachen: Spider webs of our making
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article first appeared online at Midwestern Seminary’s blog, For The Church (ftc.co). I’ve found a resonant image playing in my mind related to my pride. Like a squirming bug trapped in a spider web, entangled at every juncture, so too can we Christians of all backgrounds and proclivities trap ourselves in webs of pride that threaten to kill our spirituality and love for the Lord. What do I mean by this? Simply this: with activities or involvements that revolve … [Read more...]
Missouri father, son team up in Mexico
MATAMOROS, Mexico - It took 45 years, but Gene Butler finally got to sing a duet with his son. “We figured it was about time,” Gene said with a laugh. Gene, a member of First Baptist, Arnold and his son, David, the worship pastor at First Baptist, St. Charles, recently returned from a mission trip to Matamoros in northern Mexico. Their trip was with a group known as Focus on Missions that partners with a small, local Baptist Church and Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) Children’s Home for … [Read more...]
MBC church planter networks to reach Japanese
ST. LOUIS – A network is defined as an association providing mutual assistance and helpful information based on a common interest. Jesus is the common interest for Missouri Baptist Church Planter Yoshi Ubukata, pastor of Japanese International Harvest Church which meets at The Rock Church, and the Japanese Christian Fellowship Network (JCFN). “We work with the Japanese Christian Fellowship Network,” Yoshi said. “The network helps us here and in Japan with Christians returning home. The … [Read more...]
Olympian’s prayer: ‘Thy will be done’
RIO DE JANEIRO (BP) – In Sarah Scherer’s competitions, the slightest movement – even an errant breath – can be the difference between winning and losing. It’s understandable that such circumstances can cause times of nervousness and tension during a shooting competition. That’s why the Olympic shooter a few months ago decided to start reciting the Lord’s Prayer to herself when the pressure is on. “I realized I do that in life,” Scherer told Baptist Press. “I might as well do that when I’m … [Read more...]
FBC Laddonia aims to be church without walls
LADDONIA – To paraphrase an adage, First Baptist Church here has found the mission field, and it is among them. On July 15-17, some 15 church members plus another five from Texas County Baptist Association had service projects in Laddonia and nearby Martinsburg. Pastor Chris Atkinson said Community Action was contacted for people needing help. That weekend, the group in two teams painted one house and partially re-roofed another home. That Saturday night the movie Woodlawn was shown in … [Read more...]
St. Louis Association calls, equips churches to love refugees
ST. LOUIS – Nearly 20 years ago, Missouri Baptists here missed an opportunity to reach the nations, but the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association is preparing for a second chance at gospel impact. Beginning in the mid-1990s, thousands of Bosnians—many of them Muslims—fled for refuge to St. Louis after the collapse of former Yugoslavia. Today, tens of thousands of Bosnians live in the area, making St. Louis the home for the most Bosnians worldwide, outside of their native homeland. Today, … [Read more...]
Identity Crisis? No thank you
I told all five of my kids when they were little that they could grow up to be anyone they wanted. Of course, present day, that sounds like identity theft. So, oops. I’ve always figured I should be safe from that kind of identity theft myself. I’m just not sure anyone would want to be me enough to take that kind of risk. I mean, I enjoy being me and all. But I still have a hard time imagining a whole lot of people fighting over who gets to be the gal with the hair that won’t stay … [Read more...]
Financial struggle segues to church planting
AUSTIN, Texas (BP) – High Pointe Baptist Church was struggling financially when Juan Sanchez arrived as pastor just over 10 years ago. Sanchez and High Pointe members decided that if God allowed the church to grow “we would no longer build auditorium space, but instead we would plant churches.” The Austin church committed to reaching beyond its walls to ensure they were not keeping all the money for themselves and were modeling by faith sacrificial giving, Sanchez told the Southern … [Read more...]
Three types of evangelism to avoid
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following essay was first published online at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s blog site, For The Church (ftc.co). This morning I purchased flowers for my wife because our 31st Anniversary is tomorrow. The florist, however, appeared condescending and unhelpful. It was not a great experience. I was reminded about the importance of being loving, genuine, and caring in evangelism. With these attitudes in mind, let me share about some unhelpful approaches to … [Read more...]
Much ventured, gained by Ariz. church planter
KINGMAN, Ariz. (BP) – The idea of starting over is ominous: driving off, developing new friends and breaking the barriers of the unknown, all with risk. Meet Tommy Thomas, North American Mission Board church planting catalyst in northern Arizona. He has turned starting over into an art form. Thomas repeatedly risks everything: reputation, safety, finances and the future. In remote rural life, there’s another risk – a stint in irrelevance if he fails. In a nation where urban ministry … [Read more...]
Changing genders isn’t morally wrong, Americans say in poll
NASHVILLE (BP) – Most Americans see nothing morally wrong with gender change, a study released July 14 shows. Six in 10 Americans don’t think it’s wrong for people to identify with a gender different from their birth sex, according to a LifeWay Research survey conducted Sept. 14-28, 2015. And more than half don’t think it’s wrong to switch genders by taking hormones or having surgery. The findings indicate most Americans don’t see moral significance in being born male or female, said … [Read more...]
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