HANNIBAL – For the second year in a row, figures from Hobby Lobby’s Supreme Court battle for religious freedom headlined the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Worldview Conference. Unlike last year, they were not merely waiting on a verdict. This time around they were rejoicing in favor before the court and God’s grace. Mike McAfee, director of faith initiatives for Hobby Lobby and the son-in-law of the company’s president, Steve Green, opened in a way that may surprise critics of the Supreme … [Read more...]
National CP shows signs of rebounding
NASHVILLE (BP) – Despite a five-year decline in church membership and a corresponding decrease in per capita giving, the national portion of the Cooperative Program shows signs of rebounding through the first five months of fiscal 2014–2015. Year-to-date contributions to the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program Allocation Budget through Jan. 31 totaled $64,702,035.77, the highest amount since the Jan. 31, 2012, report. Though lower than the $67.8 million received through January … [Read more...]
GuideStone trustees receive updates
DALLAS — Drawing from Joshua 6:1–20, which tells of the Israelites’ conquest of Jericho, GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins told trustees, “We are challenging our employees to see 2015 as a ‘Year of Efficiency’ as we look for ways to do what we do efficiently and with excellence.” GuideStone trustees met March 2–3 in Dallas. Trustees also heard reports from Chief Operating Officer John R. Jones and from the executive officers of GuideStone. Investments “We wrapped up … [Read more...]
Churches urged to call solemn assemblies on courthouse steps
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist pastors and church leaders are being called to conduct a solemn assembly on their county’s courthouse steps on May 7. It is timed with the National Day of Prayer, conducted the first Thursday of May each year. The call has been issued by Mark Snowden who serves Missouri Baptist as strategist for Prayer for Revival and Spiritual Awakening. “Followers of Jesus have a tremendous opportunity to pray anytime, but particularly on this special day for spiritual … [Read more...]
New Obamacare tax law may affect churches
NASHVILLE (BP) – A new tax rule in conjunction with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may affect many churches that pay or reimburse individual health insurance premiums, and imposes daily fines beginning June 30 for those not in compliance. GuideStone Financial Resources health plan participants should notice no impact as a result of the rule known as IRS Notice 2015-17, GuideStone said in a March 2 press release. Other churches whose employees do not participate in a group … [Read more...]
National Day of Prayer at a Glance
The Pew Research Center provided the following facts about the National Day of Prayer: • The National Day of Prayer (May 7) was enacted in 1952 by Congress and President Harry S. Truman. • In 2011, The Freedom From Religion Foundation unsuccessfully challenged the National Day of Prayer in federal court. • Some 55% of Americans said they pray every day, according to a 2013 Pew Research survey, while 23% said they pray weekly or monthly. Another Pew survey conducted in 2012 found that 76% … [Read more...]
Keeping the Southern Baptist faith
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Southern Baptist Convention with 15 million members is the largest Protestant denomination in the country. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., is its oldest and arguably most influential seminary. Albert Mohler has been president at Southern Seminary for more than 20 years, but when he arrived there as a young man still in his 30s, he had a huge task before him. The seminary had taken a hard, left turn in liberalism, and his job was to do no … [Read more...]
‘Do You Believe?’ is powerful follow-up to ‘God’s Not Dead’
NASHVILLE – What’s the best evangelistic movie ever? By that, I mean the best film that has, at its core, the Gospel – and one that makes the message of Christ the film’s theme. I have a new nomination, and it came out in theaters March 20. The film is called Do You Believe?, a movie that follows the lives of a dozen people as they face their own unique challenges in life and must decide what they believe about God – and then what they’re going to do about it. It’s written by the same … [Read more...]
Once a fishing guide, now a CP-committed pastor
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cooperative Program Sunday is April 12 in the Southern Baptist Convention. WATER VALLEY, Ky. (BP) – Jimmy Brown trusts the Lord whenever he goes fishing, whether the fishing hole is filled with lake water or the silt of an undredged life. "I had never realized the similarities between fishing, soul-winning and pastoring," said Brown, a former professional fishing guide on Kentucky Lake who has been pastor of Pilot Oak Baptist Church in western Kentucky since … [Read more...]
Religious liberty should go beyond freedom of worship
WASHINGTON (WNS) – The new State Department ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom articulated a robust view of religious liberty in his first testimony before Congress. Rabbi David Saperstein’s comments came at a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing convened to discuss his office’s budget and role in combating religious persecution. Saperstein’s predecessor, Suzan Johnson Cook, served two-and-a-half ineffective years in the role and often only defended freedom … [Read more...]
Race summit urges view of God’s image
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Racial reconciliation in the church calls for a strong view of the image of God in all people, a deep commitment to understanding others and an intentionality in achieving diversity, speakers said on the second day of a Southern Baptist-sponsored leadership summit. Christians must see the image of God in all people without minimizing their differences, African-American speakers said.Black, white, Asian and Iranian pastors and leaders addressed racial disunity Friday … [Read more...]
Ind. bill affirms ‘inclusion’ of religious beliefs
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (BP) – Indiana's leading Republican lawmakers pledged today (March 30) to introduce language to the state's new religious freedom bill to clarify it does not allow discrimination against homosexuals, but seeks inclusion of religious diversity. House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long said at today's press conference that backlash generated by the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), signed into law March 26, is based on a … [Read more...]
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