Thursday, December 04, 2014

• Black, white Southern Baptists react to grand jury decision

  by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Black and white Southern Baptists reacted with grief following a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of a New York City man despite a widely viewed video of the incident. Read More

• WEEK OF PRAYER: Music helps missionaries break barriers

  by Tess Rivers, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 years ago)

  

  Photo by Chris Carter/IMB

  STOCKHOLM, Sweden (BP) -- Good values weren't enough for Linda Hamfors of Stockholm, Sweden. Hamfors, who grew up in an atheist family, believed Jesus was "a really amazing guy" and learned values from her parents like forgiveness, acceptance and love.

  But, good values couldn't sustain the singer/songwriter through the tumultuous years when her parents began drinking more and pursuing materialistic gain. Read More

• Sudanese police destroy churches, beat Christians

  by Staff, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 years ago)

  NORTH KHARTOUM, Sudan (BP) -- The government of Sudan has accelerated its persecution of Christians since mid-November, confiscating church grounds and beating and arresting believers in at least three attacks in North Khartoum, Morning Star News has reported. Read More

• Limits, exercise advised for pastors' stressful Dec.

  by Tobin Perry, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 years ago)

  

  Photo courtesy First Baptist Church of Gallatin

  GALLATIN, Tenn. (BP) -- Miss a Sunday School Christmas party and you could lose a church member. That's an unfortunate reality that 25-year ministry veteran Larry Yarborough discovered when a church member left the church after Yarborough missed a Sunday School Christmas party.

  "And here's the thing -- he fully expected me to know why he wasn't at the church," Yarborough, pastor of First Baptist Church of Gallatin, Tenn., said.

  "I had no idea why he hadn't been to church. I called him and asked. He said, 'Well, you just wasn't good enough to come to my Christmas party.'" Read More

• Tips for beating holiday stress

  by Michael Lewis, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 years ago)

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The holiday season is one of my favorite times of year. I love the opportunities it brings to spend time with my family and friends, enjoying good fellowship and good food in the process. Read More

• Miss. Baptists elect 1st black officer

  by Staff, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 years ago)

  

  Photo by William Perkins

  JACKSON, Miss. (BP) -- Mississippi Baptists made history by electing the first African American to serve as a convention officer during the Mississippi Baptist Convention's annual meeting at First Baptist Church in Jackson. Read More

• Bible Study: December 7, 2014

  by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 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

• FAYETTEVILLE: clarity, compassion, Christ

  by Douglas Falknor, posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 (9 years ago)

  Fayetteville pastor Douglas Falknor, his wife and eighth-grade daughter attended an eye-opening council meeting when the city's LGBT ordinance was debated. Christians must show clarity, compassion and Christ in their involvement in the public square, Falknor writes. Read More