Baptist Press Archive

Wednesday, May 09, 2018

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  • 'Return to sender': Casket proclaims life journey
    by Diana Chandler, posted Wednesday, May 09, 2018 (6 years ago)

    Stevens Mortuary photo.
    KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Retired Southern Baptist missionary Patricia Stooksbury wanted everyone to know her life's journey. She had it printed plainly on her pine shipping-crate-modeled casket.

    "Return to Sender." "To: Heaven thru Jesus Christ." "This end up." "Fragile."

    John Green, pastor of Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., described the casket as unique and unlike anything he'd ever seen. Read More

  • Fla. Baptists celebrate 1,100 baptisms

    by Nicole Kalil/Florida Baptist Convention, posted Wednesday, May 09, 2018 (6 years ago)

    Florida Baptist Convention photo
    TIERRA VERDE, Fla. (BP) -- On a day focused on celebrating life transformation, the Quinlan family decided to be baptized together as a symbol of how Jesus had been working in their lives. Their church, The Island Chapel in Tierra Verde, was just one of hundreds of Florida Baptist churches that participated in Acts 2:41 Beach Baptism on May 6.

    Becky Quinlan, along with husband Scott and children Emma, Anna and Brady, joined nearly 1,100 others who were baptized at beaches, lakes, springs and even fountains in a celebration of life transformation that echoed from coast to coast all ... Read More

  • Former N.C. pastor Mark Harris unseats GOP congressman
    by David Roach, posted Wednesday, May 09, 2018 (6 years ago)

    Screen capture from WSOC-TV.
    CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BP) -- Former pastor and Baptist State Convention of North Carolina president Mark Harris has become the first congressional candidate this year to force an incumbent out of office.

    Harris -- who resigned the pastorate of First Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., last year to focus on a run for the U.S. House of Representatives -- defeated three-term U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger May 8 by a 49-46 margin in the Republican primary for North Carolina's 9th District. Read More

  • Calif. bill already impacting religious expression
    by Bonnie Pritchett/WORLD, posted Wednesday, May 09, 2018 (6 years ago)

    Photo courtesy of world.wng.org.
    LOS ANGELES Calif. (BP) -- The California state legislature's latest effort to outlaw biblical views on sex, marriage and gender identity appears to have claimed its first casualty. Citing concerns over possible legal repercussions from a pending bill, Colorado-based Summit Ministries has canceled a summer conference at Biola University in the Los Angeles area.

    "The vagueness of the bill has opened up threats to religious communities that the author did not intend," Biola communications director Brenda Velasco said. Read More

  • Evangelicalism needs to focus on cross, Moore says
    by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, May 09, 2018 (6 years ago)

    James Madison Program, Princeton, screen capture
    PRINCETON, N.J. (BP) -- American evangelical Christianity needs to be born again to an embrace of the cross of Christ, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore said in a lecture on the Princeton University campus.

    The president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) told an April 17 audience in Princeton, N.J., "Any evangelicalism that is worthy to face the future must be cross-shaped, must call all people everywhere to repent and believe in Christ, must call all people everywhere to demonstrate love of God and neighbor in our various communities and callings, but most importantly, evangelicalism must ... Read More

  • FIRST-PERSON: Staying teachable
    by David Frasure, posted Wednesday, May 09, 2018 (6 years ago)

    A teachable spirit is damaged by pride but deepened through difficult circumstances, David Frasure writes, noting that "a teachable spirit is most evident in our personal devotion time with the Lord." Read More