Nancy Duggin

Editor’s note: This is the first of three articles on praying for and sharing the gospel with those without Christ.

When you pause long enough to seriously consider what it means to be lost — to be without Christ — what comes to your mind? What emotions stir within you?

When was the last time you wept over lost souls? If you know those without Christ, are you committed to praying for them daily? Have you experienced the death of a dear friend or family member who stepped into eternity without Jesus as their Savior and Lord?  There are no second chances once someone dies. [Read more…]

Dooley

Every church has a unique story of how God birthed and blessed them over the years. The congregation I lead, Englewood Baptist in Jackson, was the fruit of heartfelt prayer and a compelling vision.

In 1944, a woman named Emma Weaver lost her husband at the tender age of 44, forcing her to move closer to her eldest son in the northern part of our county.

As a devout Christian, Mama Weaver (as she was called) quickly noticed that there was no church in the area for her and her three children to attend. She began to pray, “Lord, I need a church for my family.” [Read more…]

I just wanted to know when dinosaurs lived.

That’s it. That was the most profound biblical mystery swirling in my head when I began seminary. I landed in the survey class of a professor considered one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s foremost Old Testament scholars at the time. Surely, he’d know about dinosaurs.

About 15 minutes into the first session, he paused and, with a condescending, exasperated tone, said, “And every semester I have somebody who asks me when dinosaurs lived.” About 50 students guffawed.

Not me. I sat frozen. Shocked. I felt exposed as a fraud. How could he have known I was going to ask that? I shut down and moved to the back row for the next 16 weeks. My one takeaway from that class is the memory of silent humiliation. “How could I be in seminary,” I thought back then, “and not know something so apparently basic as when dinosaurs lived?” Did God call the right person? Was I even saved? [Read more…]

Randy C. Davis

Three men. Three vocations. One shared calling.

Nathan is an emergency room nurse in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His nursing job provides for his family. His calling is to plant a new church in the area, hopefully with some he connects with at the hospital.

Bob spends his summers as a long-haul trucker transporting explosives to northern Alaska. The trips provide his family’s annual income because Bob, a 60-year-old Master of Divinity student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also serves as pastor of a Baptist church in LaGrange, Kentucky.

Amos, in the Bible, was a farmer. He owned sheep and grew figs near the village of Tekoa, about 12 miles south of Jerusalem. Like Nathan and Bob, Amos worked a marketplace job while answering the calling to preach, serving as God’s prophet. His book is worth reading. [Read more…]

George Müller

One of my heroes in the faith is George Müller. He lived in the 1800s and cared for 10,024 orphans in his lifetime by means of the “faith principle,” which meant he would pray to God and never directly ask another person for money.

Nor did he ever borrow money for anything. He was renowned for great faith in our Lord and peaceful trust in God’s provision, even when a deadline loomed and food was short.

The Lord has shown our family His unending faithfulness. This doesn’t mean that there have not been difficult seasons – we’ve journeyed through many and are in one currently. It means that no matter what happens today, we have decided to trust in the Lord with all our heart. We have decided to endure, to persevere, to keep moving forward in faith. We know nothing and no one can thwart His plans to glorify His Name and use our circumstances to sanctify us to be more like Him.

When we said “yes” to adopt our daughter in 2018, the Lord had to make a way where there was not a way. We did not have the additional $20,000 to pay the adoption attorney, nor did we have any of the travel expenses needed to live across the country for several weeks, all within a 48-hour deadline. [Read more…]

Lonnie Wilkey

The 2025 Vacation Bible School season is over for most churches but this year’s VBS will remain in my memories because it is the year I returned to my roots.

For the first time in six decades, I volunteered to work in VBS, serving at Enoree Baptist Church in Travelers Rest, S.C., where my wife and I joined after our retirement.

It’s not that I have been away from VBS completely. As a journalist and retired editor of the Baptist and Reflector I have written numerous VBS articles over the years. The stories were not “have to” write articles. I chose the VBS “beat” because of what those three letters represent — sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with boys and girls. [Read more…]

Randy C. Davis

We loved our church family.

Jeanne and I were in our second year of marriage and my second year as pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Leakesville, Mississippi. It was my first pastorate.

Our parsonage had a large living room, and we invited the church’s 35 regular attenders for Thanksgiving.

That night, Jeanne and I experienced what it meant to be loved as the church’s pastor and first lady. We were newlyweds with no new furniture and very little good furniture.

That same night, the church gave us two nicely wrapped large boxes containing a matching set of tables for our den. They also gifted me a new shotgun, hoping it might improve my aim when hunting with the guys. [Read more…]

Nancy Duggin

As the dawn of a new school year stretches before you, pause — breathe deeply, gather your children close, and look back before getting caught up in shopping for school supplies, new clothes, learning new schedules, and meeting new teachers.

Slow down long enough to savor a few moments reflecting on the previous school year. Sit with your children and together recall the treasured moments of the previous grade.

Focus on the memories now woven into their hearts: the laughter shared with newfound friends, the spark of discovery when a lesson took root, the patient encouragement of teachers who helped them grow in confidence and competence.

As the school year unfolds, pray for every adult within the school — those who lead, guide, inspire, and care for students.

[Read more…]