CHATSWORTH, Ga. – A bus load of youth on a rain-slickened mountain road in Georgia is a recipe for a miracle and that is what First Baptist Church of St. Charles got. The youth were in Georgia to attend youth camp at Global Youth Ministry Camp. There were 24 people on the bus including youth and adults. As the bus headed downhill after the July 17 night service taking the campers back to their rooms, the bus hit a tree. “The environment was the major factor causing the bus accident,” Jerry … [Read more...]
FBC Norwood recovering from church shooting
NORWOOD – Three days after church-goers left their pews mid-sermon to tackle a gunman armed with a .357 magnum revolver, they returned to their seats at First Baptist Church for Bible Study and to talk through the experience with Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Disaster Relief (DR) chaplains. Many were quiet at first, but by the end of the evening most of the 25 people present began to open up about the traumatic events of July 21 that left the congregation shaken but thankfully … [Read more...]
SBC President Fred Luter on marriage: ‘We cannot compromise Scripture’
INDEPENDENCE – With the recent Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8 in California, now more than ever, Southern Baptists must be united under Christ and in accordance with His Scripture, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Fred Luter said during a June 28 question-and-answer session with members of Mount Washington Baptist Church here. “If there was ever a time for the body of Christ to come together it is now,” said the pastor of Franklin … [Read more...]
UPDATE: Gunman tackled after opening fire in Sunday morning worship
NORWOOD – A man is in custody after witnesses say he opened fire during the morning worship service at First Baptist Church here. One man injured his shoulder in the process of tackling the alleged gunman, though witnesses confirmed to The Pathway there were no other injuries. Pastor Stephen Fugitt was about halfway through his morning sermon July 21 when a man entered the church and fired between two and three shots. Fugitt told The Pathway the church has had previous contact with the … [Read more...]
Eight things the Supremes will never change
Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court may change American culture through their opinions that overrule the legality of an opinion expressed by the majority of a state’s population. Or their opinions may be the culmination of a movement to redefine marriage and normative sexual behavior. However, there are some things that do not change and will never change no matter what their black-robed opinions may imply to the general population. God remains who He is. His opinion about His creation … [Read more...]
A cooperative ministry resurgence?
JASON Allen/MBTS president On eight occasions Southern Baptists have convened their annual meeting in Houston, with none of these gatherings more consequential than 1979’s Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). In that year messengers elected Adrian Rogers president, demonstrated the Pressler-Patterson coalition was a force with which to be reckoned, and birthed what would come to be known as the Conservative Resurgence. Though no Houston convention is likely ever to rival 1979 in … [Read more...]
Mental health issues garner SBC attention
Barbara Denman/Baptist Press HOUSTON (BP) – During a year when mass shootings and suicides have stunned the nation, a resolution on “Mental Health Concerns and the Heart of God” was overwhelmingly approved by messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC)June 11-12 annual meeting in Houston. The resolution offered by the SBC Committee on Resolutions sought to “affirm, support and share God’s love and redemption” while opposing “all stigmatization and prejudice” to those with mental … [Read more...]
The Supreme Court’s ruling against DOMA: a pit stop, not the finish line
Last week the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. For all purposes of Federal laws, section 3 defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The case arose in New York, under the law of which same-sex couples may enter a status that New York defined as marriage. Ms Windsor, a resident of New York, was the beneficiary of her deceased same-sex spouse's sizeable estate. Under Federal tax law as … [Read more...]
From grief to hope in Jesus
JEFFERSON CITY – Speaking on the topic from the pulpit for the first time, Frank Page discussed the death of his 32-year-old daughter during Father’s Day services at Concord Baptist Church here. Page, the president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee, said that while it was difficult for him to recount the trying period in his life, he hoped it would shed light on the problem of suicide in the church and point those struggling to the only source of hope … [Read more...]
Dual Supreme Court decisions; waiting on the other shoe to drop
R. Albert Mohler Jr/president, Southern Seminary LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – On the last day of its term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today on two same-sex marriage cases. Both are important cases, and both will go far in redefining the most basic institution of human civilization. The court knew it was making history. A majority of the justices clearly intended to make history, and future generations will indeed remember this day. But for what? In the first decision handed down today, the … [Read more...]
Missouri’s Chambers keeps SBC meeting on task, on time
HOUSTON – They’re perhaps the most appreciated words at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Annual Meeting: “I recommend we advance the agenda 20 minutes.” The bearer of that good news has been a Missouri Baptist: Andy Chambers, a member of West County Community Church. His day job is senior vice president for senior development and professor of Bible for Missouri Baptist University, but he has served each summer as the chairman of the SBC Committee on Order of Business working behind … [Read more...]
Luter, MBC’s Yeats, Wells re-elected to SBC offices
HOUSTON (BP) – Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was elected without opposition to a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, leading a slate of candidates who ran mostly unopposed. Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Texas, was elected first vice president, while Jared Moore, pastor of New Salem Baptist Church, Hustonville, Ky., won a term as second vice president. John Yeats, executive director of the Missouri … [Read more...]