By Carol Pipes
Baptist Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — LifeWay Christian Resources President and CEO Thom S. Rainer announced today (Aug. 27) his plans to retire in the coming year. [Read more…]
By Carol Pipes
Baptist Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — LifeWay Christian Resources President and CEO Thom S. Rainer announced today (Aug. 27) his plans to retire in the coming year. [Read more…]
By Grace Thornton
Baptist Press
GREENVILLE, S.C. — In 37 years as a pastor, Rudy Gray sat at the bedside of many terminally ill church members. He stood at gravesides with many grieving families. He sought to speak comforting words — at least he hopes they were comforting.
But one thing he is sure of — he wasn’t fully ready to deal with bereavement in his early years of ministry.
“I think that’s one of the things most pastors aren’t thoroughly prepared for when they launch out into the ministry,” said Gray, now editor of South Carolina Baptists’ publication the Baptist Courier. [Read more…]
By David Roach
Baptist Press
CLARKSVILLE — Like many retirees, you can find James Shepherd, 84, fishing in his boat several days each week. But he’s set apart from many other retirees by what he’s fishing for.
When he and a friend bought a pontoon boat four years ago, he sensed the Lord saying, “Why don’t you fish for men off this?” So Shepherd made signs that said, “Get in the boat — Bible study” and “Worship on the water.” Then he launched a ministry of taking people for rides on the Cumberland River and sharing the gospel with them. [Read more…]
Baptist Press
DALLAS — A federal judge in Oklahoma issued a final judgment July 17 in favor of the Southern Baptist Convention’s health and financial benefits entity, as well as ministries it serves, GuideStone reported Aug. 8.
The ruling brought to an end GuideStone’s challenge of a 2011 rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that helped implement a controversial health-care law enacted the previous year. The regulation required employers to provide their workers with coverage for contraceptives, including those that can potentially induce abortions, or face potentially devastating fines.
GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said the court decision means “we finally have a clear declarative judgment that says the government cannot force a church-controlled organization like GuideStone to violate its faith in the manner the previous administration attempted to do.”
Baptist Press
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The North American Mission Board is launching an evangelism and leadership group that will promote evangelism among Southern Baptist churches, provide evangelistic resources and equip pastors to help their congregations be more evangelistically active.
Jim Law, who currently serves as executive pastor at First Baptist Church Woodstock, Ga., will serve as executive director of the new group.
By Aaron Wilson
Baptist Press
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — “What does it mean to be a man?” asked James MacDonald to more than 2,900 men at this year’s Main Event conference presented by LifeWay Christian Resources.
“There’s a ton of confusion on that point,” said MacDonald, senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, as he read from 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 where Paul essentially tells brothers in the Lord to “man up.”
MacDonald highlighted principles of biblical manhood from the text as he kicked off the Aug. 10-11 conference. The event was designed to equip husbands, fathers, brothers and sons to “act like men” in every area of their lives.
Imploring men to be watchful over their homes, MacDonald also encouraged them to stand firm in the faith, do everything in love and demonstrate true strength.
“[Being] macho and [being] masculine have nothing in common,” he said. “A big, strong macho guy might be pathetically weak when it comes to being a man. Allow yourself to receive strength that comes from outside of yourself through Christ.”
Crawford Loritts
Crawford Loritts, senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Ga., spoke to men about what biblical courage looks like.
“Inherent in manhood is the idea God has raised us up as leaders,” Loritts said. “That means we come face-to-face with courage.”
Loritts identified four pillars of courage in Joshua 1 where the Lord commissions Joshua as the leader to succeed Moses. “Courage is defined by the mission God gives men and rests upon the assurance of God’s presence,” Loritts said.
He also called on men to trade in a playground mentality for a battlefield focus. He said the courage to do so rests on having focused determination.
“Courage and strength are like muscles,” Loritts said. “You’re not going to get any more until you use what you have. Start doing and you’ll get more strength to do it.”
Loritts said real courage rests upon the Word of God.
“Enthusiasm is not transformational; war stories won’t change your life,” he said. “The Bible is power. You need the authority of the Word.”
Josh Straub
Josh Straub, marriage and family strategist for LifeWay, spoke to married men about leaving a godly legacy to their families and to future generations.
“I don’t care what your platform stage is,” Straub said. “The greatest red carpet you’ll ever walk is through your front door. Your legacy begins at home.”
Straub encouraged men to become famous at home by being teammates with their wives, investing in their kids’ interests and creating a posture of emotional safety for children.
Godly men also set the tone for their homes, Straub said.
“We walk in fear when we react to situations in selfish desire and fail to listen in love,” he said. “Setting the tone for your family is about approaching the throne of grace and modeling forgiveness.”
Ted Diabase and Steve Green
Ted Diabase, a former professional wrestler, told of achieving celebrity status only to come close to losing his family in the process. It was a journey that led him to Christ, he said.
Diabase, who once had action figures modeled after him as he wrestled under the persona, “The Million Dollar Man,” quoted Jesus’ words in saying, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?”
Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby, followed Diabase. Green shared how his father set the tone in his family by showing that men are stewards of God’s resources.
Green also walked men through his family’s prayerful decision to sue the federal government over a mandate that would require them to act against their pro-life convictions. Green said he knew the fines of resisting such a mandate would prove unsustainable for the organization, but that his family was prepared to suffer for their beliefs if necessary.
“If we say it’s all Him, we have to trust He knows best,” Green said. “There was a peace in knowing we were doing what was right. And we’re grateful that in the end, we did win in the Supreme Court.”
Robby Gallaty
Robby Gallaty, senior pastor at Long Hollow Baptist, the host church of the conference, spoke on the importance of spiritual growth in men.
“God uses three things to grow every Christian: people, circumstances and spiritual disciplines,” Gallaty said. “The act of maintaining spiritual disciplines is the only one of these things we can control.”
Gallaty emphasized the role of the local church in pursuing spiritual disciplines by using the analogy of people pursuing physical training as part of a gym community.
“We need people to hold us accountable,” Gallaty said. “You will never get to the spiritual level of maturity God wants for you if you work at it alone.”
Also presenting at the conference were musician Trip Lee and comedian Jason Earl. Case Keenum, NFL starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos and author of the book “Playing for More,” addressed attendees by way of a pre-recorded video message. Worship at the conference was led by Travis Ryan.
By Tom Strode and Roy Hayhurst
Baptist Press
DALLAS — GuideStone Financial Resources has secured a conclusive victory in its lengthy, legal battle against the Obama-era abortion/contraception mandate. [Read more…]
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A little-noticed provision of last year’s Republican tax legislation which taxes employee parking at nonprofit organizations “will be a problem” for churches and other Christian ministries, one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s attorneys says. The only question is how many churches and ministries will be affected.
“Until the regulations come out and we start seeing how the IRS is going to treat this issue, we don’t know how big the problem is going to be,” SBC attorney Jaime Jordan told Baptist Press. “It will be a problem for some nonprofit organizations.” [Read more…]
Baptist and Reflector
ROANOKE, Va. — Charles Fuller, a Virginia pastor who chaired the SBC’s Peace Committee, died July 28 in Roanoke, Va. He was 86.
Formed in 1985 in response to a motion at the SBC annual meeting, the Peace Committee was charged to “seek to determine the sources” of controversy amid the convention’s Conservative Resurgence and “make findings and recommendations.” [Read more…]
Baptist Press
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Jordan Easley, who chaired the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee’s 22-member Young Leaders Advisory Council, has accepted the call of First Baptist Church in Cleveland as senior pastor.
Easley also was a member of the Evangelism Task Force appointed by former SBC President Steve Gaines and is a trustee of the International Mission Board. He has been senior pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, the past four years.
First Baptist in Cleveland, with 4,100 resident members, voted July 29 to call Easley, who will begin at the church on Aug. 19. [Read more…]
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