Thursday, June 11, 2015

• Fla.'s 51/49 CP split called 'great sacrifice'

  by Diana Chandler, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) -- The Florida Baptist Convention’s unprecedented decision to begin giving more of its Cooperative Program dollars to the Southern Baptist Convention than to the state signals a sacrificial commitment to the Great Commission, newly elected executive director J. Thomas Green told Baptist Press. Read More

• 1985 Dallas SBC: 'a watershed moment'

  by David Roach, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  DALLAS (BP) -- For pastor's wife Ritchie Hale, attending the 1985 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting meant sleeping in a 1960 popup camper with her husband and four children amid 100-degree temperatures and thunderstorms. For Conservative Resurgence leader Morris Chapman, that meeting occasioned one of the clearest personal directives God had ever given him. For moderate leader Cecil Sherman, it was the first time he contemplated losing the battle for the SBC.

  All three knew the Dallas annual meeting 30 years ago was of monumental importance in the SBC's Conservative Resurgence. By some estimates, the 45,519 registered messengers may have constituted the largest deliberative body ever assembled. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Funny thing about history

  by Bob Stith, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- “You’re on the wrong side of history.” I’ve heard this quote often in recent months particularly in regard to views on gay marriage. It is intended to leave the impression that the world has moved on and those who disagree with the popular sentiment have been left behind. It also removes any possibility for rational discussion because, “Surely you must understand that no intelligent person believes like you.” Read More

• Gift of ultrasound to open up ministry in Columbus

  by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  “[T]he desire of our hearts is not just to say, ‘Don’t have an abortion.’” – Michael Brooks

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- For Michael Brooks, the gift of an ultrasound machine this Sunday means God is providing through Southern Baptists a way for Stowe Mission of Central Ohio to help desperate women, save unborn babies and share the Gospel.

  The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) will make the presentation to Stowe two days before the beginning of the SBC’s annual meeting in downtown Columbus, where the mission is located. The ERLC will present the sonogram machine during the June 14 corporate worship of Veritas Community Church, a Southern Baptist church in Columbus. Read More

• Bible Study: June 14, 2015

  by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.

  This week's Bible study is adapted from the YOU curriculum. Read More

• Vietnam veterans to receive Southern Baptists' thanks

  by Tobin Perry, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- “Thank you, Captain Stringham, for bringing my son home from Vietnam.”

  A 95-year-old man spoke the words of gratitude to Glenn Stringham amid Hurricane Katrina deployment by Stringham and other Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers in 2005.

  “That’s nice of you to say that to me,” Stringham told the father of one of the men under his command three decades earlier. “But that’s not how it works. I was a commander. It was your son, one of my soldiers, who kept me alive during Vietnam.” Read More

• ANALYSIS: Why gay marriage wouldn't surprise Paul

  by David Roach, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  Ancient writings “refute the claim of LGBT advocates that adult, monogamous, loving homosexual relationships were unknown in the ancient world.”

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- It's common for proponents of gay marriage to claim that Scripture condemns only promiscuous, predatory and pedophilic homosexual behavior, as if the biblical authors had no knowledge of consensual, adult, monogamous homosexuality. In some cases, LGBT advocates state explicitly that the ancient world was ignorant of modern forms of homosexuality.

  But that claim is false. And believers should be prepared to engage its advocates in the ongoing cultural debate over same-sex marriage. Read More

• Abedini beating intensifies calls for release

  by Staff, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  TEHRAN, Iran (BP) -- American pastor Saeed Abedini has been "viciously" beaten in the Iranian prison where he is being held for his Christian faith, the American Center for Law and Justice reported June 10, prompting renewed calls for Abedini's release as a condition of any nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran.

  "It is crucial to speak out for Saeed as we approach the June 30th deadline between the United States and Iran," Abedini's wife Naghmeh said in a June 10 Facebook post. She added June 30 "is also Saeed and I's 11th year anniversary." Read More

• Texas abortion law gets 2nd federal court win

  by Sharayah Colter/Southern Baptist TEXAN, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Contested portions of a 2013 Texas pro-life law, which continually have been challenged in court by abortion advocates, were upheld June 9 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

  The decision to uphold the law as it was passed likely will mean that 49 licensed abortion clinics in Texas will be reduced to eight, as Texas House Bill No. 2 (HB 2) requires abortion facilities to comply with ambulatory surgical center standards. Read More

• Baptist relief teams practice for preparedness

  by Kristen Camp, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- When a major disaster strikes in North America, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief responds to provide help, healing and hope to survivors of the disaster. But what happens when there isn’t a major disaster? Occasionally, SBDR engages in a disaster simulation.

  SBDR’s most recent exercise occurred May 19 when SBDR staff and volunteer leaders simulated a hurricane hitting Charleston, S.C. Read More

• Tenn. enacts ERLC-endorsed animal fighting bill

  by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  “It's not just a step away from the cruelty and savagery of animal fighting.” – Russell Moore

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Tennessee has enacted an anti-animal fighting bill supported by the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity.

  In a public ceremony Wednesday (June 11), Gov. Bill Haslam signed a measure overwhelmingly approved by the state legislature that increases penalties for attendance at an animal fight and for taking a child to such a fight. The signing was ceremonial, because Haslam actually had signed the bill into law May 8. The law goes into effect July 1. Read More

• Lideraz-GO!

  Jason Carlisle , posted Thursday, June 11, 2015 (9 years ago)

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Movilización Hispana de IMB presentara un taller singular en el marco de la celebración del Avance Hispano en la convención Anual de la SBC en Columbus Ohio. Como ya es tradicional, el domingo de tarde a partir de las 5, se darán cita pastores y líderes de todo el país para la Cena de Pastores, los talleres para toda la iglesia y el informe preliminar sobre la Red Nacional de Liderazgo. Los talleres serán presentados por NAMB, Lifeway y IMB en forma simultánea.

  Durante la Cena de pastores será reconocida la Iglesia Bautista Emanuel de Aurora, IL y su pastor Victor Mendoza como la iglesia Hechos 1:8 que ha encontrado la manera de ir a su ciudad, a otras ciudades de Estados Unidos, a Centroamérica, Canadá e India. Es una iglesia con Lideraz-GO! Tambien será reconocido el pastor Daniel Tuchez de la IB El Shaddai de Jackson, TN por su Lideraz-GO en la plantación de múltiples iglesias en poco tiempo. Read More