By Baptist Press

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) — Lou Warshaw prayed for 24 years that her husband George would accept Christ as his Lord and Savior.

After years of refusing to give up on the hope that he would become a Christian, God answered her prayers when, at the age of 101, George made that decision and followed through with believer’s baptism.

“The devil kept telling me it wouldn’t happen,” Lou said, admitting to times when her faith was tested. “But I kept believing God would let it happen. I think I’m still on cloud nine.”

George’s conversion story began on July 24, 1991, when he and Lou became husband and wife. The two were of different faiths; George was a Jewish non-believer; Lou was a Christian.

Even so, George attended Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, La., most Sundays with Lou, where she was a member. They sat in the same pew every Sunday for worship and then attended a Bible study class.

Lou and other friends never pushed their faith on George through the years but showed him Christian love and prayed that he would come to know Christ. [Read more…]

By Andrew J.W. Smith
SBTS News Office

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Christian counselors should be able to speak lovingly and winsomely to people struggling with homosexual attraction, said evangelical leaders at the Oct. 5-7 homosexuality conference at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The conference, titled “Homosexuality: Compassion, Care, and Counseling for Struggling People,” was sponsored by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).

“The integrity of our message is at stake in this, brothers and sisters. If we believe that the Bible teaches homosexuality to be a sin, and if we believe that Jesus Christ changes people, but we don’t know how to help them, then … we will make a mockery of the Word of God,” said Heath Lambert, executive director of ACBC and associate professor of biblical counseling at Southern Seminary and Boyce College. “If we don’t know how to lay hold of the grace of Jesus, we will slander the Word of God and the grace of Jesus.”

Using Ephesians 4:15 as his text, Lambert argued believers should pay close attention to the way Christ himself modeled “speaking the truth in love,” because without him they will speak truth without love. Any help Christians want to give should be motivated by genuine love for homosexuals, Lambert said, which does not apologize for biblical standards. The Bible has not changed, and neither should the convictions of believers, he said. [Read more…]