Wednesday, April 13, 2016

• 'Boot camp' links First Baptist & area churches

  by Todd Gray/Kentucky Western Recorder, posted Wednesday, April 13, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  MADISONVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- A county seat First Baptist Church and the local Baptist association have entered into a partnership to send pastors to "boot camp."

  "Revitalization Pastor's Bootcamp" is being hosted by First Baptist in Madisonville, Ky., and sponsored by the Little Bethel Baptist Association to help equip and encourage pastors to lead their churches into better days of ministry health and effectiveness. Read More

• Survey: Christians call 'payday loans' sinful

  by Bob Smietana, posted Wednesday, April 13, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Self-identified Christians in 30 states -- from Alabama to Wyoming -- say it's a sin to lend money to someone who can't afford to pay it back.

  Most want the government to protect consumers from loans with excessive interest. Still, 1 in 6 Christians has taken out a high-interest payday loan, while few of their fellow believers know how such loans work or look to the Bible for guidance about fair lending. Read More

• Archaeologists buttress early dating of OT books

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, April 13, 2016 (8 years ago)

  "Believers can believe the Bible when it says that 'Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.'"

  -- Stephen Andrews

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- A study suggesting widespread literacy among ancient Hebrews before 600 B.C. has been dubbed "one more nail slammed in the coffin" of liberal theology's argument that Old Testament books could not have been written during the lives of David, Moses and other scriptural authors.

  The finding from a team of Israeli archaeologists and mathematicians counters notions that literacy was rare and isolated before the Jews' exile to Babylon. Read More

• Northwest conv. adds pastor search resource

  by Cameron Crabtree/Northwest Baptist Witness, posted Wednesday, April 13, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  VANCOUVER, Wash. (BP) -- The Northwest Baptist Convention has developed a new resource to help churches find a pastor when vacancies occur.

  "The biggest difference we can make in helping a church is in working together to ensure it makes good decisions in selecting a new pastor," said Randy Adams, executive director of the convention encompassing 480-plus churches in Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho. Read More

• Search committees & the challenges they face

  by Chuck Lawless, posted Wednesday, April 13, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Pastor search committees engage in "one of the most significant decisions a local congregation makes," Chuck Lawless of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary writes, noting areas of needed prayer and wisdom. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: The renewal of spring

  by David Jeremiah, posted Wednesday, April 13, 2016 (8 years ago)

  "If the window of your soul is dark and wintry, don't despair," California pastor David Jeremiah writes. "God's forgiveness, refreshment and re-creation are always fully available.... Tell God in prayer that you are ready for the renewal of spring." Read More