Tuesday, December 11, 2012

• SBC-wide call to prayer for 2013 issued by Frank Page

  by Roger S. Oldham, posted Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (11 years ago)

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Frank S. Page, president and "chief encouragement officer" of the SBC Executive Committee, is asking Southern Baptists to come together in 2013 for a year of emphasis on prayer "like none we've ever seen before."

  "For some time, God has been burdening my heart about prayer and spiritual awakening," Page wrote in a Dec. 11 First-Person article in Baptist Press. "I talked about this a great deal when I was president of the Southern Baptist Convention (2006-08). I saw then what was happening in our nation, in our churches and in our convention. That deep sense of need for revival in our land has only gotten stronger over these past six years."

  This is not a new message for Page. On the SBC President's page, posted after his election in 2006, Page wrote, "Across the nation I have spoken about the three 'R's'. I have thanked God for the push for doctrinal rightness. I thank God for the conservative resurgence which has brought us to this point. However, we must, with equal passion, attack the issues of relevancy and revival. If we do not have God's reviving hand upon us, we will move into a precipitous decline from which we will never recover."

  Page will be enlisting others to help elevate the call to prayer throughout the year, sharing historical insights about prayer and spiritual awakening; first person accounts about spiritual breakthroughs; organized prayer ministry initiatives such as GudeStone's "Widow's Might"; focused prayer reminders such as prayer for the U.S. Supreme Court justices as they consider the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8; as well as pastoral and theological reflections.

  Page noted he is not alone in his call for prayer and spiritual awakening. Earlier this year, current SBC president Fred Luter addressed the SBC Committee on Order of Business expressing his desire to see spiritual awakening and revival sweep across the SBC and the nation. ... Read More

• Call to Prayer: January is 'pivotal opportunity'

  by Adam Miller, posted Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (11 years ago)

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- Southern Baptist leaders are hoping churches will start 2013 with an emphasis on prayer and the lost during the month-long SBC Call to Prayer beginning Jan. 1. Read More

• CALL TO PRAYER: Individuals, churches, SBC entities -- pray 'like never before'

  by Frank Page, posted Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (11 years ago)

  

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- For some time, God has been burdening my heart about prayer and spiritual awakening. I talked about this a great deal when I was president of the Southern Baptist Convention (2006-08). I saw then what was happening in our nation, in our churches and in our convention. That deep sense of need for revival in our land has only gotten stronger over these past six years. Read More

• Survey: Pastors value Cooperative Program

  by Carol Pipes, posted Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (11 years ago)

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Southern Baptist pastors have high opinions of the convention's Cooperative Program, according to a study conducted by LifeWay Research. Read More

• 1% CP Challenge has $100M potential

  by Roger S. Oldham, posted Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (11 years ago)

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- The 1% CP Challenge is "a succinct way to do something more -- an understandable way to say, 'Yeah, we can do that,'" said Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee. "It is understandable, is easily acted upon, and can be done without shifting major sections of a church's finances."

  According to a new survey focused on the Cooperative Program by LifeWay Research, 7 percent of cooperating Southern Baptist churches reported they had accepted the 1% CP Challenge to... Read More

• WEEK OF PRAYER: Pastor's passion for missions pushes fear aside

  by Marie Curtis, posted Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (11 years ago)

  EDITOR'S NOTE: This year's Dec. 2-9 Week of Prayer for International Missions in the Southern Baptist Convention centered on the theme of "BE His heart, His hands, His voice" from Matthew 16:24-25. Each year's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions supplements Cooperative Program giving to support Southern Baptists' 5,000 international missionaries' initiatives in sharing the Gospel. This year's offering goal is $175 million. To find resources about the offering, go to [URL=ht... Read More

• WORLDVIEW: The 'Crews missile' and Christmas

  by Erich Bridges, posted Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (11 years ago)

  The British are buzzing about a letter a 67-year-old father sent to his three children, castigating them for their failures. The letter is a stark contrast to our heavenly Father, says columnist Erich Bridges. Read More