By Roy Hayhurst
Baptist Press

DALLAS — Churches and pastors looking for budget-minded health care coverage as well as protection for their employees and their families have another option to consider coming this summer. [Read more…]

By Art Toalston
Baptist Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Timothy George, founding dean of the interdenominational Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, has announced he will step down as dean by the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. [Read more…]

Today (May 3) is the National Day of Prayer

From Baptist Press

By Ronnie Floyd
Senior pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas
President of the National Day of Prayer

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — This year marks the 30th anniversary of the National Day of Prayer. Many of us pray for America on a regular basis, but each time this year, we are able to join together across the nation and pray together in unity.

Whether you are joining a prayer gathering for the event or praying on your own throughout the year, here are some ways you can pray for America.

1. #PRAY4UNITY in America.

“Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

The present spiritual crisis in America is calling us to pray for and take all necessary actions to come together in our nation. God is the only One who can do this, so we call upon Him to empower us to make every effort to live in unity.

2. #PRAY4UNITY in the church of America.

“Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction” (1 Corinthians 1:10).

God is calling His Church in America to unify upon the authority of the Bible and centrality of Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world. We must come together to make Christ known to the world by advancing the Gospel to every person in the world. Ask God for local churches to unify as one body of Christ and walk together in unity, harmony and oneness.

3. #PRAY4UNITY in the families, workplaces, communities and cities in America.

“Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 30:12).

God’s power upon us is the only source to unite our families, workplaces, communities and cities in America. Ask God to call families, workplaces, communities and cities to look to the only One who can unify us.

4. #PRAY4UNITY among all ethnicities and people in America.

“For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).

Since each of us are made in the image of God, we bear His image regardless of the color of our skin or uniqueness of our ethnicity. Through the death of Jesus, He has torn down the wall of division among all people. In God alone, we unify and live in peace with one another, standing against all racial and ethnic division, denouncing it as sin.

5. #PRAY4UNITY for the security of our nation and for our schools, churches, and all public venues.

“The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

Ask God to protect our schools, churches and all public venues. Plead with God to restrain all evil and secure our nation from all enemies. Ask God to move upon our government officials to work together to secure our schools, churches and all public venues.

6. #PRAY4UNITY that we agree clearly, unite visibly and pray extraordinarily for the next great spiritual awakening in America.

“They all were continually united in prayer” (Acts 1:14).

Ask God to convict the church of America to wake up spiritually, unite visibly and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America to occur in our generation and shape the future of America.

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

NASHVILLE — Multitudes prayed in thousands of venues on the 2018 National Day of Prayer, capped with a televised national prayer service scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern today (May 3) in the U.S. Capitol.

Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference President H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., will be a main speaker at the 67th annual observance in Washington. Former SBC president Ronnie Floyd is the 2018 National Day of Prayer (NDOP) president.

“We need a massive prayer movement that will lead us back to God and bring healing to our land,” Floyd has said of the event. “That is my great hope for this date set apart for prayer and national repentance.”

President Donald Trump marked NDOP by announcing a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative “to ensure that the faith-based and community organizations that form the bedrock of our society have strong advocates in the White House and throughout the Federal Government.”

A chief adviser and support team of community and faith leaders will head the initiative, Trump said in his executive order, but did not release names of the new group. He charged advisers with recommending policy affecting faith groups, identifying faith and community-based partnerships to fight poverty, pointing out federal shortcomings in complying with religious liberty laws, and reducing the “burdens on the exercise of free religion.”

Trump announced the initiative at an 11 a.m. (Eastern) prayer gathering in the White House Rose Garden, flocked by prayers from leaders of various faiths.

Local Events

Among local events, Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress addressed 200 Middle Tennessee pastors and public servants at a 7 a.m. prayer breakfast in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

“Never before in our history has there been a need for us to turn back to God in prayer as there is today,” Jeffress told Baptist Press at the event. “The global challenges we’re facing from without, the disunity of our country from within, and the spiritual hunger so many Americans are experiencing are all evidence of a need to turn back to God.”

Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and a FOX News contributor, preached on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthews 18:21-35.

“Nothing will inhibit our prayers, Jesus said, any more than refusing to forgive others,” Jeffress told BP. “Jesus said in Mark 11, if you are standing in the temple and praying, and you remember you have something against your neighbor, forgive. That’s the first thing to do.

“Unforgiveness is a barrier,” Jeffress said, “not only in our relationship with one another, but in our relationship with God.” The chapel of Jeffress’ 13,000-member Dallas church was open for prayer throughout the day, he told BP.

The event was a cooperative effort of Salem Media Group, the Tennessee Christian Chamber of Commerce, Nashville’s First Baptist Church and others, including the Men of Valor Prison Ministry.

In another Nashville event, about 100 residents attended a noon prayer service hosted by the SBC Executive Committee in Bennett Auditorium, co-sponsored by Operation Andrew and the YMCA. The prayer legacy of the late Billy Graham was showcased in the program that included prayers from local and state government, community and religious leaders.

Trump joins a long line of U.S. presidents to sign an NDOP proclamation for the observance preserved in law since 1952 and officially slated the first Thursday in May since 1988. “Prayer for America: Unity” is this year’s theme, based on Ephesians 4:3.

“Prayer, by which we affirm our dependence on God, has long been fundamental to our pursuit of freedom, peace, unity and prosperity,” Trump declared. “Prayer sustains us and brings us comfort, hope, peace, and strength. Therefore, we must cherish our spiritual foundation and uphold our legacy of faith.”

At this evening’s observance, Floyd will interview First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs pastor Frank Pomeroy, whose congregation suffered a mass murder of 26 worshipers during a November 2017 Sunday service in the small Texas community. Going Beyond Ministries founder Priscilla Shirer, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference president Samuel Rodriguez and other evangelical leaders will participate in the program.

In 2017, an estimated 2 million Americans observed the event in more than 30,000 events across all 50 states, Floyd said. The 2018 national service will be shown on the DayStar Television Network and nationaldayofprayer.org. Prayer resources are also available on the website.

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (BP) — Unity across the nation and among churches spanning all denominations, generations, races and cultures is the overarching plea of the 2018 National Day of Prayer, scheduled for May 3.

Mobilizing people across the nation in public prayer events May 3 — capped by a nationally televised and livestreamed prayer service at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the U.S. Capitol Building — is the day’s goal, event president Ronnie Floyd said at nationaldayofprayer.org.

“America needs God now, more than any time in our generation,” said Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. “America is broken. Division is undeniable and unity is missing. Racial tension is alarming. Lawlessness abounds. Reconciliation appears impossible. Government cannot fix us. Politics will not heal us.”

“Pray for America – Unity” is the 2018 theme, based on Ephesians 4:3, with event participants encouraged to address statewide, regional and national concerns, Floyd said in one of several videos at nationaldayofprayer.org.

“There’s at least one thing we can all agree on today: America needs prayer,” Floyd said. “The National Day of Prayer is biblically based, Jesus-centered and Holy Spirit empowered.”

SBC Pastors’ Conference President H.B. Charles will be a main speaker at the national observance, Floyd told Baptist Press, and Floyd will interview First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs pastor Frank Pomeroy, whose congregation is recovering from the mass murder of 26 worshipers during a November 2017 Sunday service in the small Texas community. Going Beyond Ministries founder Priscilla Shirer, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference president Samuel Rodriguez and other evangelical leaders will participate in the program.

Floyd said the National Day of Prayer “has thousands upon thousands of gatherings across the nation on May 3,” many of which are listed at nationaldayofprayer.org.

“While this has a national focus, it also has a global impact,” Floyd said, adding that it also could lead to a national spiritual revival.

The prayer gatherings will be held in churches, schools, businesses, government offices and outdoor venues, many led by Southern Baptist pastors or laypeople. In 2017, an estimated 2 million Americans observed the event in over 30,000 events across all 50 states, Floyd said.

Prayer gatherings are autonomous, but national leaders encourage a 25-25-40-10 breakdown, with 25 percent of the prayer time focused each on local and state concerns, 40 percent on national concerns, and 10 percent given to a national prayer led by Floyd and available in text and video at nationaldayofprayer.org/national-prayer.

“While each gathering and observance is different, we are praying all will be forwarding our theme for unity,” Floyd told BP. Unity in the nation, communities, churches, families, workplaces and among all ethnicities is among prayer concerns recommended on the event’s website, as well as prayers for the U.S. military and government, media, businesses, the educational system are also recommended.

Free resources, promotional items and event planning aids also are available at nationaldayofprayer.org including a digital toolbox with prayer guides and videos. An expanded catalog of purchasable promotional items, including prayer journals, tote bags and T-shirts, also is available on the site.

Watch the national observance on Daystar, at nationaldayofprayer.org, or on the event’s Facebook page.