Baptist Press Archive

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

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  • Bedouin tent at SBC inspires Great Commission prayer
    by Don Graham, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Jill Welton quickly discovered that the Bedouin tent inside the convention center wasn't a marketing gimmick. It was a place for prayer and reflection.

    Welton, a pastor's wife from Berryville, Va., had come to New Orleans for the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting and visited IMB's booth in the exhibit hall.

    "Some of the nicest people I've ever met are Muslims.... They're actually more open to talk about religious things than many Christians in the United States."

    --Luke Bray

    The prayer tent, which dominated IMB's display, was modeled after the desert dwellings of the nomadic Bedouin tribes of North Africa and the Middle East. It was created to inspire SBC messengers to deepen their commitment to be Jesus' heart, hands and voice, following Him in obedience to the Great Commission no matter the cost.

    It featured five stations that focused prayer on Jesus' commands in Matthew 16:24-25 for believers to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him.

    Welton was overwhelmed by the words of Karen Watson, a Southern Baptist worker martyred in 2004 in Iraq. Before Watson went overseas, she penned a letter to be read by her pastor in the event of her death.

    Excerpts of the letter were displayed at one of the prayer stations: "When God calls there are no regrets.... To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory is my reward."

    "I wrote down every word," Welton said. "I'm going to print it up and post it in my cubicle at work because it is incredibly inspirational."

    Two years ago, Welton helped her husband Van start Apple Valley Baptist Church in Berryville. The congregation averages about 40 people on Sundays. She said the prayer tent was a good reminder that success isn't measured in numbers but in obedience.

    "It's so easy to get caught up in the world's idea of success, and when you don't think that you fit that mold, you may see yourself as a failure," Welton said. "And I think that's a good way for me to encourage my husband as pastor of a small, growing church." Read More

  • Sudanese convert from Islam loses wife, kids
    by Staff/Compass Direct News, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    KHARTOUM, Sudan (BP) -- A 38-year-old Sudanese man who converted from Islam to Christianity has lost his wife and children, solely because of his new faith. He eventually could face apostasy charges, punishable by death. Read More

  • Steve Saint begins rehab after accident
    by Staff, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    GAINESVILLE, Fla. (BP) -- Author, missionary and inventor Steve Saint showed slight progress during his first day of rehabilitation Monday (June 25) after an accident nearly two weeks earlier left him partially paralyzed. Read More

  • Korean Council draws 800 to annual meeting
    by Sharon Mager, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    LINTHICUM, Md. (BP) -- About 800 people from 600 Korean Baptist churches in 40 states including Alaska and Hawaii gathered for the Council of Korean Baptist Churches' annual meeting. Read More

  • Chinese discuss outreach beyond their churches
    by Whitney Jones, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Chinese pastors are working to reach outside the traditional church setting to reach fellow Chinese in America and start new churches.

    "If you want to win a Chinese to be a Christian, the friendship is the most important," Peter Leong, president of the Chinese Baptist Fellowship, said during the group's June 19 meeting in New Orleans in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting.

    "When we're talking about a friendship," Leong also noted, "eati... Read More

  • Filipinos look toward cross-cultural missions
    by Vicky Kaniaru & Emily Grooms, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Filipino Southern Baptist leaders focused on strategies for church planting and training disciples for cross-cultural international missions via tent-making during their June 19 meeting held in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans.

    "If we want to do missions the same way we have been doing missions in the past, we can never reach the world with the Gospel," Nono Badoy, executive director of the Philippines Missions Mobilization M... Read More

  • Black network elects officers, gives awards
    by Diana Chandler, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The Black Southern Baptist Denominational Servants Network installed officers and gave awards to four individuals during its meeting prior to the SBC annual meeting in New Orleans.

    The group discontinued the office of executive director, stating that the late Sid Smith, the network's founder, had established the group so well that there is no longer a need for the position.

    "He was able to put us in a position where we don't need an executive director now," said Wil... Read More

  • Messianic speaker underscores discipleship
    by David Roach, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    REVISED Monday, July 2, 2012.

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Discipleship is the key to healthy, effective churches, Sam Nadler said June 16 during the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship's annual meeting at First Baptist Church in Kenner, La.

    "The undiscipled believer is a dysfunctional member of the body. Discipleship is what makes you functional in the body of Messiah," said Nadler, president of the North Carolina-based Word of Messiah Ministries. Church members who go through the motion... Read More

  • Seminary luncheons draw alumni, guests
    by Staff, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Campus updates and award presentations highlighted the alumni luncheons hosted by Southern Baptist Convention seminaries June 20 during the SBC annual meeting in New Orleans.

    Following are reports from the luncheons:

    NEW ORLEANS -- Beautiful weather, good food, good music and Christian fellowship created a celebratory atmosphere during New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's Alumni and Friends Picnic held on the school's main campus. The event started with an out... Read More

  • FROM THE STATES: Ill., La., N.M. evangelism/missions news
    by Staff, posted Tuesday, June 26, 2012 (12 years ago)

    EDITOR'S NOTE: From the States, published each Tuesday by Baptist Press, relays news and feature stories from state Baptist papers and other publications on initiatives by Baptist churches, associations and state conventions in evangelism, church planting and Great Commission outreach, including partnership missions. Reports about churches, associations and state conventions responding to the International Mission Board's call to embrace the world's 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups also ... Read More