Letter to the Editor: I appreciated the article by J. Alan Branch in the April 8 issue of The Pathway where he told the sad story of the ordination of Fred Phelps by a Southern Baptist Church. It is the proverbial cautionary tale. His commentary is a call to Southern Baptists to better police our own ranks when it comes to who we ordain. It should never be a light matter for a congregation to call for the ordination of a man to the ministry. Neither should it be a light matter for a … [Read more...]
Hobby Lobby attorney: Return to self-government
HANNIBAL – As a member of the legal team that defended Hobby Lobby before United States Supreme Court, University of Missouri law professor Joshua Hawley told participants at the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Worldview Conference, April 3, that they must bring their faith to bear in the public sphere. “We are charged to carry into politics and into public God’s purpose for government and political society,” Hawley said, “to advocate for a truly just society, for human freedom, for the … [Read more...]
‘Culture wars’ increase church security risk
REPUBLIC – “Culture wars” broiling across the nation increase church security risks, said Vaughn Baker, president of Strategos International and member at Abundant Life Baptist Church, Lee’s Summit, in a recent interview with The Pathway. Missouri-based Strategos International has trained more than 7,500 law enforcement, military, church, school, security and business professionals since its establishment in 2002. “We see increased risk to churches because of the topics that frequently … [Read more...]
‘Home-field’ helps St. Louis church planters
TOBIN PERRY/North American Mission Board ST. LOUIS - When Steven Helfrich first sensed God leading him into church planting while still a student, he figured it would be in some far-off land where customs would be different and language would be a barrier. Since his wife came from Poland, the idea of church planting in Europe made a lot of sense. Matt Bartig served as a youth pastor in churches throughout the United States – and never dreamed he’d return to the St. Louis area to start … [Read more...]
Fred Phelps and ordination in Southern Baptist churches
J. Alan Branch, Professor of Christian Ethics Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fred Phelps, the infamous minister of hate from Topeka, Kan., died March 19. The founder of Westboro “Baptist” Church in Topeka, Phelps burst onto the national scene when he and his small band of mean-spirited protesters demonstrated outside Matthew Sheppard’s funeral in 1998 after the homosexual Wyoming college student had been violently murdered. Phelps’ protests gained even more national disgust when … [Read more...]
Review: ‘Noah’ drifts in sea of errors, but Christian themes float above the flood
Before I went to see the matinee of Darren Aronofsky’s new movie, Noah, I reread the biblical narrative. In the HCSB version, it’s just over 2,000 words and took me all of five minutes to finish. So how does a filmmaker – an atheist filmmaker – make a 138-minute $130 million-dollar blockbuster from such brief source material? The answer is that you throw the scripture into a blender and add a ton of filler. But although Aronofsky – who publicly said he set out to make the least biblical … [Read more...]
Collegiate ministry leaders learn from multiplying Northwest church
By Tobin Perry PULLMAN, Wash.—When most of your members learned to drive during the Obama administration, a large portion of tithes come from part-time earners and your church turns over most of its membership every four to five years, you have a unique set of ministry challenges. And it’s easy to think you’re struggling through these issues by yourself. That’s what it’s like to lead a collegiate church plant. “Sometimes you just feel alone—like ‘are we the only ones doing collegiate … [Read more...]
Crossover Baltimore to bring hope
Sara Shelton/Baptist Press BALTIMORE (BP) – Less than a year ago Bob Mackey spent a Saturday traveling around Houston. On that day, during Crossover 2013, the executive director of the Baltimore Baptist Association witnessed partnership in action. He saw visiting Southern Baptists working alongside the local association, churches of Houston and hundreds of other Southern Baptists from across the nation. All were gathering together for the citywide service and outreach initiative … [Read more...]
HOBBY LOBBY: A titanic legal case that could fundamentally change America
Tom Strode/Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) – The fate of religious freedom for Americans, especially business owners, could hang in the balance as the U.S. Supreme Court considers arguments by two family-owned corporations against the Obama administration’s abortion/contraception mandate (Obamacare). The justices heard oral arguments Mach 25 in the case pitting Hobby Lobby, a nationwide retain chain based in Oklahoma City, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a Pennsylvania business against … [Read more...]
No regrets when God calls
Erich Bridges/Baptist Press RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – Karen Watson knew Iraq was dangerous. She had left Iraq months before, exhausted and afraid, as the chaotic country descended deeper into violence. But she went back anyway. She was not a soldier, but a Christian relief worker, armed only with love and humanitarian aid. That decision claimed the 38-year-old’s life on a dusty road 10 years ago. Still, she had no regrets about going back. She wasn’t big on regrets; she had experienced … [Read more...]
Where was God? Official Trailer
JOPLIN – A new documentary will look at the role faith in God played as victims of deadly tornadoes in Joplin and Moore, Okla. pieced their lives back together. The documentary, “Where Was God?” features Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers’ and survivors’ testimonies. Look for more information and an interview with the producers in an upcoming issue of The Pathway. … [Read more...]
Hinkle president of ASBP, SBC state newspaper group
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Don Hinkle, founding editor of The Pathway, was installed president of the Association of Southern Baptist Publications (ASBP) during the group’s meeting here Feb. 10-13. He succeeds Cameron Crabtree, editor of the Northwest Baptist. Hinkle, 59, will preside over the group’s meetings at the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) annual meeting June 9-11 in Baltimore and in February in Perdido Beach, Ala. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve my fellow state … [Read more...]
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