Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Article XVI of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads: “It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war. “The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs … [Read more...]
Contrary to Rick Warren’s claims, Baptist confessions provide doctrinal accountability
EDITOR'S NOTE: Clint Bass (DPhil, Oxford) is a Baptist historian and member of Southern Hills Baptist Church, Bolivar, Mo. Last February, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee deemed Saddleback Church a body “not in friendly cooperation with the convention.” As an attempt to contest the Executive Committee’s actions, Saddleback pastor Rick Warren published an open letter on 2 June. His basic claim is that Southern Baptists have lost their way in creedalism and this … [Read more...]
Marshall pens book on Lincoln, Christianity
SPRINGFIELD – If you have a question about a U.S. president, you might ask John Marshall. Upon his retirement as long-time pastor of Second Baptist Church, here, he began diving deep into the histories of America’s 46 top executives. “I set out to read a major biography of every president,” Marshall said. “It took me two years, but I did it: 20,000+ pages. I plowed through them, reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning ones first.” And now, the current interim at National Heights Baptist … [Read more...]
Latter-Day Saints temple coming to Springfield
by James Schurke EDITOR’S NOTE: James Schurke, who wrote this article, is a retired layman serving Missouri Baptists in Springfield. He is a member of the Missouri Baptist Apologetics Network. SPRINGFIELD – The 192nd Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was held April 1-2 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference closed with an address by Russell M. Nelson, the 17th president of the LDS Church. Included in his address, Nelson announced plans … [Read more...]
‘When Jesus returns, He will right every wrong,’ Missouri Baptist apologist, author Rob Phillips says in exclusive interview
‘Return of Jesus’ book now available online JEFFERSON CITY – A new book about Christ’s return is now available for purchase online. The book, What Every Christian Should Know about the Return of Jesus, was authored by Rob Phillips, director of Ministry Support and Apologetics for the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), and published by the MBC’s High Street Press. The book is available in print and e-book editions at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1958988065. An audio version is scheduled for … [Read more...]
Jackson County law criminalizes gospel’s call to conversion
“I know a leading psychiatrist who thinks it a bad week if he does not help two or three of his patients to (place faith in) Christ,” the Christian apologist and Oxford don Michael Green once wrote. Unfortunately, should that psychiatrist ever move to Kansas City, Mo., he could be the target of government prosecution for sharing his faith with patients – particularly, if he shares the gospel with children confused about their gender. As previously reported in The Pathway (here and here), … [Read more...]
State of the Bible 2023: Scripture engagement still down, but interest up
PHILADELPHIA (BP) – Scripture engagement remains down among Americans, but a widespread curiosity gives ground for evangelism, the American Bible Society (ABS) said in releasing the first chapter of its 2023 State of the Bible survey. Only 47 million Americans, or about 18 percent of the adult population, ranked as Scripture-Engaged in the 2023 study, using a descriptor based on Bible use and its impact in one’s life. Scripture-engaged described 49 million adults in 2022, down from 71 … [Read more...]
Sight & Sound’s ‘JESUS’ to be streamed online for free on Easter weekend
BRANSON – The greatest rescue story of all time comes to life in a free streaming event on Easter weekend. Sight & Sound TV has announced that JESUS will be streamed, at no cost, to screens in your home for three days, from Good Friday, April 7, through Easter Sunday, April 9. Filmed in front of a live audience, this state-of-the-art theatrical production has been experienced by more than five million people worldwide. From the bustling streets of Jerusalem to the raging Sea of … [Read more...]
Article X of the BF&M: Last Things
Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Article X of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads: “God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous … [Read more...]
‘Defend the faith of Jesus Christ’
Apologists needed to train churches, MBAN’s Hoffmann says JEFFERSON CITY – Last month, The Pathway interviewed Wil Hoffmann, a Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) executive board member and currently president of the Missouri Baptist Apologetics Network (MBAN). Hoffmann, pastor of Senior Pastor, Rising Sun Baptist Church, Auxvasse, shared about the significance of apologetics and the MBAN’s ministry efforts. Currently, the MBAN has more than two dozen members, equipped to share with … [Read more...]
Article IX of the BF&M: The Kingdom
Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Article IX of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads: “The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s … [Read more...]
Even Pi Day points us to the Alpha and Omega
Many moons ago, after surviving an algebra class in my freshman year of college, I bid adieu to mathematics and intended never to take up the subject again. Even in childhood, when for a short time I dreamed vaingloriously of studying astrophysics in the footsteps of the great Einstein himself, I disliked math – naturally, since few people love subjects they struggle to understand. On my wall hung a poster of Einstein, with words of hope for me: “Do not worry about your difficulties in … [Read more...]