Thursday, September 01, 2016

• Katrina-like disaster needs monumental response

  by Baptist Message & BP Staff, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Baptist message photo

  DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (BP) -- A church van apparently caused a stir in one flood-ravaged town in south Louisiana.

  A 12-person team traveled to hard-hit Denham Springs on Saturday, Aug. 20. The disaster relief volunteers -- from Longview Baptist Church in Deville, 120 miles to the northwest -- were only able to mud-out a couple of houses.

  The next week, however, Longview's phone lit up. Read More

• Replant Lab aims at reducing number of dying churches

  by Meredith Yackel, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by John Swain/NAMB

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- What about a dying church says that our God is great and His Gospel is powerful? This question came to Mark Clifton, national director of replanting at the North American Mission Board, as he stood in front of a declining church in Kansas City.

  After planting churches across Canada for 25 years, Clifton had moved back to his hometown of Kansas City, Mo., with the intention to continue planting, before God challenged his thinking about declining churches. Read More

• TRUSTEES: LifeWay budget approved, new facility reports shared

  by Carol Pipes, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- LifeWay Christian Resources trustees approved a 2017 budget, and heard progress reports on LifeWay's new headquarters during their board meeting Aug. 29-30 at Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, N.C.

  LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer told trustees, "I can honestly say LifeWay's future is brighter than ever."

  "I could not be more proud of LifeWay's employees and those who make up the leadership team as I watch God work through them to provide 'biblical solutions for life,'" Rainer said, emphasizing LifeWay's vision statement. He reminded trustees that with every resource LifeWay produces and sells, they ask three questions rooted in the statement: "Is it trustworthy? Is it effective? Is it transformational?" Read More

• 'Sad' Russian anti-evangelism law ends a ministry

  by Diana Chandler, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  ORYOL, Russia (BP) -- Missionaries Donald and Ruth Ossewaarde always suspected their Gospel ministry in Oryol, Russia, wouldn't last when they began in 2002, he told Baptist Press by telephone from his home in the central Russian town of 320,000.

  But he had not expected to be among the first people arrested under Russia's new law prohibiting organizations from evangelizing outside church walls and without a government permit. Read More

• SBC leaders grieve court's expansion of parenthood

  by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  "As usual, children will pay the highest price."

  -- Russell Moore

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- The decision by New York's highest court to expand custody and visitation rights to "de facto parents" serves as evidence same-sex marriage advocates desire to overthrow humanity's oldest institution and as part of "a major turning point in human history," Southern Baptist leaders said.

  The New York State Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 30 a person who is neither the biological parent nor adoptive parent/guardian of a child may seek custody and visitation rights, The New York Times reported. Read More

• 2nd showing of 'Insanity of God' slated Sept. 13

  by Marty King, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Response to the one-night premiere of "The Insanity of God" in movie theaters across the United States has prompted an encore showing for Tuesday, Sept. 13.

  The feature documentary produced by the International Mission Board and Cooke Pictures and distributed by LifeWay Films tells the story of missionaries Nik and Ruth Ripken*. After the death of their son, the couple traveled to 72 countries into the depths of the persecuted church to find out if God actually makes a difference in difficult places. The film is based on a best-selling book of the same name released by the B&H Publishing Group. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: God is still in our schools

  by Lee Clamp, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  God can have a presence in schools through volunteer services that churches can offer, such as lifting students' reading proficiency, Lee Clamp notes. Serving in schools "will, in turn, help you see doors of opportunities fling open in families' lives to share the hope of the Gospel," the South Carolina evangelism leader writes. Read More

• Bible Study: Sept. 4, 2016

  by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 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. Read More