PHOENIX (BP) – Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines has named the members of the Committee on Resolutions for the June 13-14 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. One Missourian was named to the committee: Jason Duesing, provost and associate professor of historical theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City; member, Antioch Bible Baptist Church, Gladstone. Barrett Duke of Montana was named chairman of the SBC Committee on Resolutions by SBC President Steve … [Read more...]
‘Pray! For such a time as this’
PHOENIX (BP) – As this year's Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting approaches, SBC President Steve Gaines says fellow Baptists should anticipate emphases on prayer, evangelism and financial stewardship at the June 13-14 gathering in Phoenix, where the 2003 and 2011 annual meetings also were held. This year's annual meeting theme is "Pray! For such a time as this" based on Luke 18:1 and Esther 4:14. Gaines hopes that through a commitment "to fervent, frequent, faith-filled prayer," … [Read more...]
Volunteers needed for Crossover
PHOENIX (BP) – The goal of this year’s Crossover is to “Engage Phoenix with the Gospel” through a partnership with Harvest America. North American Mission Board and Arizona Southern Baptist Convention leaders are praying for more than 5,000 salvation decisions through this summer’s Crossover activities prior to the 2017 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. But for that to happen, they need the help of Southern Baptists to come and serve as volunteers, according to Eddy Pearson, evangelism … [Read more...]
‘Insanity of God’ film shows faith amid despair
ST. LOUIS (BP) – Nik Ripken almost abandoned hope when he first arrived in Somalia 25 years ago. Ripken, then a young International Mission Board (IMB) missionary, had caught a ride with the Red Cross in a small plane carrying relief supplies across the border between Kenya and its war-ravaged neighbor. What he saw shook him to the core. He met parents who asked for burial cloths for the children they'd lost rather than food and water for themselves and saw soldiers passing out narcotics … [Read more...]
Mo. DR volunteers care for kids
ST. LOUIS – As the young mother scooped up her son after a morning of Southern Baptist preaching and business, Angie Hurd couldn’t help but overhear the conversation surrounding their reunion. “The three-year-old said, ‘Mommy, I cried and I cried and I cried and then I loved it,’” said Hurd, Childcare Coordinator for Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (DR). “That’s why we do what we do. This program allows moms the opportunity to stay and take part in the annual meeting without having to … [Read more...]
IMB, NAMB report to messengers
ST. LOUIS – International Mission Board President David Platt and North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell reported to messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, June 15. International Mission Board For more than 170 years, God has blessed the International Mission Board for the spread of the Gospel among the nations – and by God’s grace, 170 years later, the IMB is “standing strong,” IMB’s Platt reported to messengers. “I am confident that not every one of … [Read more...]
Rainer, at SBC, recaps LifeWay’s eventful year
ST LOUIS (BP) – In the spring of 1891, Southern Baptists meeting at the Alabama Opera House in Birmingham voted to create a Sunday School board to publish Bible studies and other resources for discipleship. Today that board, now LifeWay Christian Resources, remains committed to the same core mission, Thom S. Rainer told messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday morning, July 15. “The struggle to create the board is an incredible story I commend to your study,” LifeWay’s … [Read more...]
GuideStone highlights unique services
ST. LOUIS (BP) – GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins relayed the entity’s 98th report to messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday, June 14. Hawkins reported on GuideStone’s Supreme Court challenge and its operational areas, including health care reform, property & casualty, investments and Mission:Dignity. Hawkins cited published media reports that indicate some medical insurers in state health care exchanges are either exiting the market or indicating the need for rate … [Read more...]
St. Louis pastor urges endurance during SBC Pastor’s Conference
ST. LOUIS (BP) – Aimed at giving pastors a charge like the one the apostle Paul gave his son in the ministry, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:5-6, the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference kicked off June 12 at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis. With the theme “Live this!”, the Sunday evening and Monday morning sessions focused on issues such as suffering, endurance, the Gospel, cross-cultural ministry and evangelism. Ministers of the Gospel should endure … [Read more...]
Pastors seek biblical politics
ST. LOUIS (BP) – Proclaiming Scripture instead of promoting controversy is their approach when addressing political issues, pastors said during a June 15 panel discussion at the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention. Five Southern Baptist pastors explained to Ronnie Floyd, now former SBC president, during the afternoon session how they handle political issues in their churches. The panel discussion – titled “Pastors and the Church in American Politics Today” and moderated by Floyd – came during … [Read more...]
Entity heads address questions
ST. LOUIS (BP) – Questions were posed to four Southern Baptist Convention entity presidents during time allotted for messengers’ questions during the leaders’ respective reports at the June 14-15 SBC annual meeting in St. Louis. Following are accounts of the four entity presidents’ responses. Not all entity presidents were asked questions. North American Mission Board Allen Calkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Gray Summit, Mo., asked Kevin Ezell, president of the North American … [Read more...]
SBC honors Pearl Harbor survivor
ST. LOUIS (BP) – World War II veteran Bill McAnany, until recent years a Missouri resident and one of 2,000 living survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was introduced to the Southern Baptist Convention as messengers honored America and recognized military veterans June 14 at the SBC’s annual meeting in St. Louis. Calling it an “awesome privilege,” SBC President Ronnie Floyd observed that a memory of WWII disappears from American culture every three minutes as those who fought … [Read more...]