BY STAFF JEFFERSON CITY – October is Cooperative Program (CP) Month, and here are eight simple ways to help your church members learn more about the eternal impact of CP. Visit mobaptist.org/cp to download the online resources or to place an order. All materials are free. Show a CP video. Choose from nearly a dozen videos, including “From you to eternity” and the “Because you give” series, all produced by Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) videographer Sean McMackins. Show how CP works. … [Read more...]
BY STAFF LONGMONT, Colo. — Even as some Missouri communities are still drying out from recent record flash floods, Disaster Relief volunteers from Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) churches are in Colorado responding to floods that have killed several and left more than a thousand unaccounted for. Dwain Carter, director of disaster relief for the MBC, asked for trained assessors, chaplains, mudout crews, feeding units, a shower team and chainsaw volunteers. Volunteers should e-mail … [Read more...]
A former minister’s heartfelt candor about the church where he once served
I left First Baptist Church, (FBC) Bolivar, just over three years ago. I had had enough. I was tired of inefficient committees. I was tired of worship wars. I was tired of what I perceived as passive leadership. I was tired of the infighting. I was tired…of the church. To be clear, I was not just tired of FBC; rather, I was tired of the institutional church. I grew up at a rural Baptist church in central Missouri that, while smaller, operated much like FBC, the first church I’d really … [Read more...]
Being like armadillos, we must cross the road
Driving from Springfield to Poplar Bluff late one afternoon I counted seventeen dead armadillos along the way. Now this was quite exciting to me since I have always lived on the eastern side of this great country of ours. Armadillos are one thing we didn’t have. Counting them was a way to stay awake and alert. I was intrigued by them. I told my husband, Mark, that I was going to stop the car and inspect one closer if I could find one that “looked fresh.” This task proved impossible. What is … [Read more...]
Reed finds freedom in Christ, passionate serving others
BOLIVAR – Like many preachers’ kids, Roy Reed, 54, doesn’t have a life-altering transformation story surrounding the moment of his salvation. “And Satan has used every bit of that to his advantage, too,” Reed, a member of the Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), said. “I was saved when I was seven years old and over the years Satan would constantly hammer me with thoughts of, ‘You’re not really saved. You don’t even remember it.’” And though in his heart he knew he … [Read more...]
‘Having’ Sunday School or ‘using’ Sunday School
Almost every church I pass as I drive around the great state of Missouri has a sign out front that shows their schedule for worship and Sunday School. Some call it “Bible Study.” Some call it “Life Groups.” But really it is “Sunday School.” I often wonder if all these churches are having Bible study each week, why aren’t we seeing more of an impact on our communities? Why are most Sunday Schools in decline rather than growing? Why are we not seeing the lives of those attending being … [Read more...]
Physical therapy gem starts to sparkle at SBU
BOLIVAR — What began as a dream four years ago concerning an area of underutilized potential in maximizing enrollment revenue has now turned into a glittering jewel of a reality at Southwest Baptist University (SBU). The Warren B. Davis Family Physical Therapy Center was dedicated Sept. 29, 2011. It is home to the biggest campus-based graduate program at SBU—and one that will be helping the university to be financially viable for years to come. Limited by space in the Wheeler Building … [Read more...]
Paradise Outfitters reaches hundreds as creative church
OAK GROVE – Four years ago, church planter Brandon Smith was ready to throw in the towel. He knew God had called him and his family to minister to outdoorsmen, but just 10 people at the year-old church was just too discouraging for him take. “It looked like this thing might not survive,” Smith said. “But I see it now as God’s timing.” Fortunately, a faithful group of 10 is more than enough for God to build a church. Paradise Outfitters, a Missouri Baptist Convention congregation that … [Read more...]
GuideStone, MBC institutions: Contraceptive rules appear inadequate
JEFFERSON CITY — GuideStone in a Feb. 4 news release indicated that it is still reviewing the details of the Feb. 1 government-released proposed rules regarding religious objections to some or all contraceptives. GuideStone and the three Missouri Baptist agencies impacted by the rules—Southwest Baptist University (SBU), Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU), and the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (MBCH)—have been adamant that requirements under the new healthcare reform regimen pose … [Read more...]
Judge denies motion to continue Windermere trial date
CAMDENTON – Pre-trial preparations continue in the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) legal action to recover the real property at the Windermere Baptist Conference Center. Lawyers for Windermere and several codefendants recently asked the trial judge to “continue” the trial date of April 1, and to re-set the trial of the case a few months later in the year. MBC lawyers opposed the delay and told the judge they would be ready for trial on April 1. On Feb. 5, Senior Judge Ralph Jaynes ruled … [Read more...]
MBC leaders want the best for Boy Scouts
JEFFERSON CITY — The Feb. 6 decision by the Boy Scouts of America to delay until May making a choice on admitting homosexual scout leaders prompted Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) leaders to express their ongoing concern for the spiritual condition of America. “The fact that we’re even watching the discussion and the dialogue is kind of a sad statement of our culture,” said Wesley Hammond, MBC president and pastor, First Baptist Church, Paris. “Here you have an organization that has been … [Read more...]
Budget shift puts more money to front lines
JEFFERSON CITY — When John Yeats became executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) in October 2011, he examined the organization’s fiscal structure to its very core. As recording secretary for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), he knew that more and more state conventions were going with a “legacy” approach to budgeting that involved placing up to six items into a “shared” funding category. He saw this as good for the MBC, as long as it was done prudently and with … [Read more...]
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