WORCESTER, Mass. (BP) – It has been 10 years since a group of refugees from Myanmar (formerly Burma) showed up on the doorsteps of Worcester Baptist Church in Worcester, Mass., wearing traditional Burmese clothing and having very little else. They had shown up at the local Southern Baptist church because they were Baptists and wanted a place to worship. The church welcomed the refugees into their worship service and into their lives over the next decade. The refugees knew little about the … [Read more...]
SBC guide released to help churches prevent abuse
NASHVILLE (BP) – Churches may access a new resource produced by a Southern Baptist partnership to provide guidance on preventing sexual abuse and providing care for survivors of such abuse. The Sexual Abuse Advisory Group and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) unveiled Nov. 19 "The Introductory Guide to Caring Well: A Resource to Help Churches Care Well for Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Implement Policies and Procedures to Prevent Abuse." It is available at … [Read more...]
McLaurin named EC vice president for Great Commission Relations and Mobilization
NASHVILLE (BP) – Willie McLaurin has been named vice president for Great Commission relations and mobilization at the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee – a new position created to maximize resources and Gospel impact at the EC. "Willie McLaurin is a highly relational, disciplined, gifted and growing leader," said Ronnie Floyd, EC president and CEO. "At 46 years of age, he is a powerful preacher that inspires people to follow Christ passionately. Willie loves people, and it … [Read more...]
Greear: Prepare for ‘greater works’
BRANSON – J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, spoke to Missouri Baptists, Oct. 29, at their annual meeting here. He preached from John 14, calling for Missouri Baptists to be less concerned with growing large churches, and instead multiplying those churches, even at the cost of the “best” and most reliable church members. “Jesus’s way of reaching the world would not come from one seed growing larger and … [Read more...]
Silicon Valley Buddhist finds Christ at NAMB church plant
SAN JOSE, Calif. (BP) – On Father's Day 2017, Sophie Nguyen found herself in San Jose, close to 2,000 miles from her father back home in Granger, Ind. Nguyen and her boyfriend had moved across the United States to the Silicon Valley the year before. Since it was her first Father's Day without her dad nearby, she took up a friend on his invitation to Eden Church. Nguyen knew little about Christianity and didn't understand the songs the church was singing. But God drew her in anyway. "I had … [Read more...]
NAMB trustees meet missionaries, celebrate Annie Offering report
SAN FRANCISCO (BP) – North American Mission Board trustees gathered for their annual fall meeting Oct. 7-8 with much to celebrate as Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, announced to the group that Southern Baptists had given $62.2 million to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in 2019. It marked an all-time high for the offering and the third consecutive year to break a record. "We are so very, very grateful for that," NAMB President Kevin Ezell … [Read more...]
Kentucky high court rules for print shop owner
FRANKFORT, Ky. (BP) – Religious freedom advocates commended a Kentucky Supreme Court decision Oct. 31 in support of a business owner who declined to print T-shirts for a gay pride festival. The state high court ruled unanimously the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO) did not have "statutory standing" under a local ordinance to bring the challenge against Hands On Originals, giving the Lexington shop and managing owner Blaine Adamson their third legal victory. Two lower courts … [Read more...]
‘Keep the seminary lashed to the Word of God,’ Greenway charged
FORT WORTH – Four Southern Baptist Convention entity heads charged Adam W. Greenway to remain committed to a high view of Scripture, to confessional fidelity, to the Great Commission, and to cooperation during his inauguration as the ninth president of The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Oct. 21. These four elements represented the four pegs of Greenway’s vision for Southwestern Seminary as the “big-tent” seminary of the SBC. O.S. Hawkins, president and CEO of GuideStone … [Read more...]
Don Carson delivers seventh annual C.H. Spurgeon Lectures at Midwestern Seminary
With a focus on preaching narrative texts, Don Carson delivered Midwestern Seminary’s seventh annual Spurgeon Lectures on Biblical Preaching at Midwestern Seminary on Oct. 22-23. Carson, who is emeritus professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and president of the Gospel Coalition, was also inducted by President Jason Allen as the school’s seventh Spurgeon Fellow. During the two-day lecture series, Carson provided seven priorities for preachers to adhere to as … [Read more...]
Midwestern Seminary trustees elect DeRouchie, cite record enrollment, plan for library renovation
KANSAS CITY (BP) – Midwestern Seminary's Fall Trustee Meeting on Oct. 14-15 was highlighted by the election of Jason DeRouchie to the full-time faculty, the announcement of record enrollment, and the finalization of plans for renovation of the institution's library. Library renovation The lone remaining space in the heart of Midwestern Seminary's campus to be renovated – since his arrival in 2012 – is the campus library, said President Jason Allen. As such, beginning within the month, … [Read more...]
Greenway pledges to lead ‘one Southwestern’ in inaugural address
FORT WORTH - In his address to The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary community, President Adam W. Greenway pledged to lead “one Southwestern” from four “vantage points”: institutionally, denominationally, relationally, and ultimately during Oct. 21 inauguration ceremonies to mark his election as the seminary’s ninth president earlier this year. Appealing often to the founding president of the institution, B.H. Carroll, Greenway anchored his message in the seminary’s history, … [Read more...]
Local associations meeting needs for Kingdom gains
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Week of Prayer for Baptist Associations is Oct. 20-26. Downloadable resources provided through a partnership with the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders and the North American Mission Board are available at ameresources.org/week-of-prayer-2019. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BP) – Associational leader is the most fulfilling role that Sean McMahon has held in nearly 40 years of ministry. "I absolutely love my job. I love what I have the opportunity to do," said … [Read more...]