Friday, January 15, 2016

• Gary Hollingsworth elected exec. director in S.C.

  by Butch Blume/The Baptist Courier , posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Burnie Flake

  GREENVILLE, S.C. (BP) -- Gary Hollingsworth, a long-serving pastor and denominational leader with a record of church planting and international missions support, has been elected executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

  He received the unanimous support of more than 330 SCBC messengers who convened Thursday (Jan. 14) for a special called meeting of the state convention at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia. Read More

• Adoption picture of salvation, parents say

  by Diana Chandler, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Submitted photo

  GREENBRIER, Tenn. (BP) -- Nathan and Jennifer Washburn rank parenting among their greatest joys, but a desire to have children was not their main motivation in adopting.

  Instead, the couple who married in 2004 point to spiritual value as their main motivation for their 2010 adoption from Kazakhstan of Kara Victoria Washburn, now 5, and, in 2014 from China, Owen RenLi Washburn, 3.

  "It was primarily a theological motivation to adopt," Nathan Washburn, pastor of First Baptist ... Read More

• SANCTITY OF LIFE: Make your church 'adoption-friendly'

  by Kevin Ezell, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Courtesy of NAMB

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- When I pastored Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., my friend David Melber and his wife Tera started a "Considering Adoption" class for couples. It ran for five weeks and became so popular that we offered it twice each year. Not everyone who took the class ultimately decided to adopt but the class became an important part of raising awareness in our church about everything involved in the adoption process and how we could support those families who were pursuing it.

  As believers we should be the biggest advocates for and participants in adoption. Not only ... Read More

• MLK's advice to pastors called key to revival

  by David Roach, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Courtesy of the collections of the Henry Ford Museum at www.thehenryford.org.

  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) -- Sixty years ago, the Montgomery Bus Boycott famously catapulted Martin Luther King Jr. to national leadership of the civil rights movement and led to the end of segregated public transportation in Alabama. Less commonly known is that the boycott occasioned advice to pastors by King that some Southern Baptists say they still take to heart.

  King, in this 1958 book "Stride Toward Freedom," recounted the struggle in Montgomery, ... Read More

• Episcopal Church censured for gay marriage stance

  by David Roach, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  CANTERBURY, England (BP) -- Archbishops of the Anglican Communion have responded to the Episcopal Church USA's decision to permit same-sex marriage by suspending the church from full participation in the communion for three years.

  According to a Jan. 15 communique from Anglican primates, a majority of 39 bishops present during a Jan. 11-15 meeting in Canterbury, England, adopted a series of recommendations concerning same-sex marriage, including one that for three years the Episcopal Church USA "no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should ... Read More

• Homosexual activist group targets Bapt. schools

  by Will Hall, Baptist Message, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- The homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign has targeted 23 institutions of higher learning with Southern Baptist ties in a report that also names 35 other colleges and universities with distinct Christian identities.

  Released just before the 2015 Christmas season, the report, "Hidden Discrimination: Title IX Religious Exemptions Putting LGBT Students at Risk," asks Obama Administration education officials to increase reporting requirements for these 58 schools because each was granted "exemptions of interest" relating to either "gender identity" or "sexual orientation" or both. Read More

• ERLC names 2016 Leadership Council

  by Tom Strode, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  "[W]e'll talk about crucial ethical issues confronting churches." -- Russell Moore

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has unveiled its new Leadership Council.

  The 43 Southern Baptist pastors and leaders who were announced Thursday (Jan. 14) will serve as the advisory council for the entity's Leadership Network in 2016. The ERLC launched the network and its advisory council in 2014. Each January, the entity names a new list of council members, most of whom serve for one year. Read More

• OSCARS: R-rating prevalent in Oscar nominees

  by Phil Boatwright, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP) -- Recently I predicted that the majority of the films nominated this year as Oscar's best picture would be rated R. Guess what?

  I was right.

  No matter the genre, no matter the story, it appears that many in the land of make-believe equate serious subject matter with R-rated content. Because of this, most positive themes found in many motion pictures this past year are eclipsed by abusive and coarse content. ... Read More

• SANCTITY OF LIFE: Making a difference

  by Melanie Lenow, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Melanie Lenow is the mother of four children with Evan Lenow, an ethics professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This column first appeared at the Biblical Woman website, biblicalwoman.com, a blog of Southwestern Seminary. Read More

• ADOPTION: What God teaches us through orphans

  by Pat Ennis, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Seminary professor Pat Ennis, an adoptee, underscores God's regard for orphans, noting that they "teach you about the love of God, call you to sacrifice and challenge you to value Christ-likeness above your comfort." Read More

• Estudio: Falta de apoyo es la razón de que los pastores dejen el pastorado

  Por Lisa Cannon Green, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- No hay sabático. No hay ayuda con consejería. No hay una clara descripción de lo que se espera. En un nuevo estudio, cientos de expastores sénior dicen que estos fueron los elementos cruciales que faltaron en la última iglesia que dirigieron antes de dejar el pastorado.

  El estudio realizado por Investigación LifeWay señala las maneras en las que las iglesias pueden animar a los pastores a estar en el ministerio, dijo Ed Stetzer, director ejecutivo de la organización de investigación. Read More

• El impacto local es la meta de Evangélicos por la Vida

  Por Tom Strode, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  foto archivo

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- El éxito de la primera conferencia Evangélicos por la Vida incluirá intrepidez y servicio incrementados por parte de pastores y miembros de iglesia, dicen las cabezas de las organizaciones presentes.

  La Comisión de Libertad Religiosa y Ética (ERLC por sus siglas en inglés) de los bautistas del sur y Enfoque a la Familia se han unido para ser anfitriones de Evangélicos por la Vida el 21 y 22 de enero en conjunto con la anual Marcha por la Vida en Washington, D.C. La conferencia, que tiene otras varias organizaciones evangélicas y pro-vida como auspiciadoras, concluirá a tiempo para que los asistentes participen en la marcha del 22 de enero. Read More

• La candidatura de Trump crea un debate entre los evangélicos

  Por David Roach, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Imagen tomada de YouTube

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Ya que está programado que Donald Trump, el líder de los candidatos republicanos a la presidencia, hable ante miles de jóvenes evangélicos en Liberty University este mes, los cristianos conservadores han renovado su discusión acerca de si puede considerarse consistente con una visión de mundo cristiana el apoyar políticamente a este magnate de las bienes raíces. Read More

• Discurso del estado de la Unión aborda el matrimonio gay y el islam

  Por David Roach, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Captura de pantalla de WhiteHouse.gov

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- En su discurso final del estado de la Unión, el presidente Obama alabó la legalización a nivel nacional del matrimonio del mismo sexo, advirtió en contra de sobreenfatizar la amenaza presentada por el grupo terrorista ISIS y promocionó el excepcionalismo estadounidense. Read More

• EDITORIAL: Pero ese no es el final....

  Por Oscar J. Fernandez, posted Friday, January 15, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Cada año que termina me lleva a reflexionar en algunos de los episodios de los cuales fui testigo o en los que participé. El año 2015 no es una excepción. ... Read More