Wednesday, August 31, 2016

• 'Intergalactic missions': planet spurs questions

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Discovery of another planet that might support life has given rise to speculation about intelligent life elsewhere in the universe -- and whether such lifeforms would need the Gospel.

  "Briefly stated, saying that scientists 'think there may be life' on [the newly discovered planet] is greatly overstating what the scientific community is thinking," said Bill Nettles, physics department chair at Union University.

  But "if there is intelligent life on other planets, we definitely need to tell them Earth's Gospel story and learn what their history is," Nettles told Baptist Press in written comments. Read More

• Astronaut sees 'an infinite God' from space

  by Andrew J.W. Smith, posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Emil Handke/SBTS

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Speeding around Earth at 17,500 mph, U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams spoke through a NASA downlink during Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's chapel Tuesday (Aug. 30).

  Williams, interviewed by SBTS President R. Albert Mohler Jr., is commander for Expedition 48 of the International Space Station. The astronaut has spoken at the Louisville, Ky., campus previously and regularly listens to Mohler's podcast "The Briefing" in orbit. Read More

• Ridgecrest volunteers: 'We're like family'

  by Lisa Cannon Green, posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (BP) -- It's like family. Those words come up time and again as volunteers describe serving together at LifeWay's Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina.

  Now Ridgecrest wants to expand that family. With a deeper pool of volunteers, leaders say, the conference center can be more effective in sharing the joy of the Lord.

  Volunteers are a vital part of the Ridgecrest ministry, executive director Art Snead said. They work in a variety of areas, from carpentry and gardening to food service and hospitality. Read More

• Page: God provides spiritual DNA for godliness, power

  by Annie Corser, posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Emil Handke/SBTS

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Participation in the divine nature of God leads to a life of spiritual effectiveness and productivity, said Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Frank S. Page during the Aug. 30 chapel message at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

  "This divine provision says we are born complete with that which we need for life and godliness," said Page, a former SBC president who has served as president and CEO of the Executive Committee since 2010. "This means that the DNA necessary for spiritual greatness is already present at the moment of your rebirth. … It shows that God never has to do a recall on any Christian and say, 'I need to add back something that I failed to put in in the first place.' It shows this deep, beautiful divine nature that He's given us is already present in our lives." Read More

• Payday loan rule flawed, say ERLC, others

  by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (8 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention's ethics entity and other members of a diverse religious coalition have urged the federal government to strengthen a proposed rule to regulate the predatory lending industry. Read More

• FROM THE SEMINARIES: Convocations at SBTS, SWBTS, MBTS

  by SBC Seminary & BP Staff, posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Today's From the Seminaries: Convocation reports from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Evangelism at the next level

  by Nathan Lorick, posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Nathan Lorick sees lessons for Christians from multilevel marketing enthusiasts for health and fitness products. "I can only imagine how transformative the Gospel would be if believers would be as passionate for their family, friends and neighbors to hear the Gospel as these folks are about their products," Lorick, director of evangelism for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, writes. Read More