Baptist Press Stories for Apr. 27 2012 --------------------------------------- New 'descriptor' and historic election ahead for SBC meeting http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37726 SBC meeting smartphone app launches http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37727 Death, destruction recounted at Ala. anniversary http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37714 Alabama's tornadoes: A time to remember http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37715 Ala church has seen 2 tragedies in past year http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37716 The Ala. Baptist marks anniversary of tornadoes http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37717 Pastors' Conference to spotlight Father's Day http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37670 SBC Pastors' Conference Schedule http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37719 'Story lives on' at WMU sessions http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37669 WMU meeting schedule http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37725 Penetrating lostness drives NAMB's plans at SBC http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37685 NAAF hopeful in historic SBC election http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37684 Black network theme: 'The Father's Business' http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37720 Chinese fellowship intent on planting churches http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37722 Filipinos to report on church planting http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37693 Native Americans name executive director http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37683 Messianics to discuss congregation planting http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37695 Korean Council to meet in Maryland http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37694 Pam Tebow to address pastors' wives session http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37702 Ministers' wives to view inward beauty http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37682 Associational leaders 'Igniting Passion' http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37680 Evangelists to proclaim Gospel's power http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37681 Seminary gatherings slated for June 20 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37721 CULTURE DIGEST: Tony Blair establishes 'Faith Foundation' to promote respect for religions http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37713 FIRST-PERSON: The dark side of prenatal testing http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37723 FIRST-PERSON: Why I write so much about the culture http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37724 EDITORIAL: Siguiendo y Obedeciendo a Nuestro Dios http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37718 --------------------------------------- New 'descriptor' and historic election ahead for SBC meeting By Diana Chandler Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37726 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The recommendation of "Great Commission Baptists" as a descriptive name and the prospective election of the first ever African American president are on the horizon for the Southern Baptist Convention's June 19–20 meeting in New Orleans. [IMG=31851@right@120]Messengers will decide whether to adopt the informal, non-legal "Great Commission Baptists" descriptor as recommended by the SBC Executive Committee, embracing the suggestion of a special task force appointed to study changing the SBC's name, deemed by some a regional barrier to the Gospel. "The overwhelming acceptance of the Executive Committee was the first major step," SBC President Bryant Wright said of the proposed descriptor. "Obviously, the decision of the convention will be most important. If approved, our entities will lead the way in using the descriptor. I think it will be a 10- to 20-year process of helping Southern Baptists and the general public to think, 'those people really are Great Commission Baptists,' when they think of us." Fred Luter Jr., senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans and current SBC first vice president, currently is unopposed for the SBC presidency. Luter would be the first African American to hold the post, on the heels of the SBC's historic 2011 measure calling for greater accountability among its entities regarding ethnic diversity in leadership. David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, is expected to nominate Luter. "Our election of Fred Luter as the first African American president of the SBC will send a great, hopeful, powerful message to our city, our culture, our convention and our country," Crosby has said. "For many, it will make them rethink who Southern Baptists are, and it will help us reach the new diversity that we find in our cities. It is a statement that people of all ethnic groups make up the Southern Baptist Convention and are honored." The annual meeting will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the 2005 source of troubling images as thousands suffered hunger, thirst and lack of medical care as victims of Hurricane Katrina. The center has undergone $92.7 million in improvements since the storm, according to press reports. THEME "Jesus: to the Neighborhood and the Nations" is the annual meeting theme, drawn from Luke 24:47-48 and worded to convey the importance of dual missions at home and abroad, Wright said. "Last year in Phoenix, God moved so powerfully it seemed more like a missions conference than a denominational business meeting," Wright said. "It is my hope that with Jesus: to the Neighborhood and the Nations, we will once again see God's Spirit convicting us and motivating us to fulfill Christ's Great Commission." Wright said his prayer is that messengers will have a "loving and caring Christian witness" at the annual meeting, "that the spirit of our messengers will be Christ-like to all we come in contact with." Concluding his final term as SBC president, Wright described his tenure as faith-enriching, energizing and exhausting, referencing the godly passion of young seminarians, the church-planting efforts of the North American Mission Board, frequent travel and communication opportunities, among other experiences. "It has been energizing to see how God is leading us to embrace the unengaged and unreached people groups of the world," Wright said. "It has been energizing to preach the Gospel in so many settings, from small country churches to mega-churches in our great cities, and from churches in Egypt to students at Harvard. "Two years is plenty," he said of his tenure. "Although by the time you have some idea of the vast scope of Southern Baptist ministries around the world you're going out of office." CROSSOVER Hundreds of volunteers will participate in Crossover mission outreach projects June 15–16, including church planting, evangelistic block parties, health screenings, prayerwalks and servant evangelism. New Orleans Baptists aim to launch four new churches in the city this year, two of them during the annual meeting, said Jack Hunter, executive director of the New Orleans Baptist Association. "Our churches are becoming well-trained in evangelism and will lead the way in reaching our communities through Crossover events," Hunter said. "Our leaders want to create a culture of evangelism in the association, and Crossover, followed closely by other outreach events in succeeding weeks, will help do that." Southern Baptists have ministered extensively in New Orleans since 2005's Hurricane Katrina, helping to rebuild the city. "Southern Baptists were here with us when we were recovering and mourning with us when we were getting back on our feet," Hunter said. "And Southern Baptist work is still going as New Orleans is reborn." To learn more about Crossover New Orleans and to volunteer, visit joinnoba.com/crossover. Churches and volunteers interested in partnering long-term with a New Orleans church plant may participate in City Uprising, June 13-16. Crossover is partnering with the ministry, which is based in Baltimore, to coordinate missions opportunities in New Orleans for volunteers of all ages. Register at www.cityuprising.com. COOPERATIVE PROGRAM EXHIBIT The Cooperative Program booth in the SBC exhibit hall will enjoy increased visibility, positioned next to the booths of the International and North American mission boards. The CP booth will feature two large, high definition video screens displaying live video interviews, panel discussions and live Twitter feeds. Similar positioning of the CP booth at the 2011 annual meeting attracted a wide array of SBC leaders and emphasized the benefits of Southern Baptists' channel of support for state, national and international missions and ministries. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS -- Southern Baptist pastors will focus on changing their communities and the world at the 2012 Pastors' Conference, June 17-18 at the convention center. "Changing: Lives, Communities and the World" is the theme, with sessions scheduled Sunday at 5:30 p.m. and Monday at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 and 6 p.m. Speakers will include David Jeremiah, David Platt, Fred Luter Jr., Johnny Hunt and Jack Graham. Honoring Father's Day, pastors will spotlight the father-son teams of Bailey and Josh Smith, Ronnie and Nick Floyd, Don and Rob Wilton and Tony and Anthony Evans. -- Woman's Missionary Union will hold its missions celebration in the convention center's La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom, 3–7 p.m. Sunday and continuing throughout Monday, beginning at 9 a.m. Speakers will include Wanda Lee, WMU national executive director; David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans; Jay and Kathy Shafto, IMB field personnel; Damian Emetuche and Stacy Smith, NAMB field personnel, and Debby Akerman, national WMU president. Participants are encouraged to bring donations to area ministries, including hygiene kits, snack packs and gift cards. -- NFL quarterback Tim Tebow's mother, Pam Tebow, will address the 2012 Pastors' Wives Conference, scheduled from 8:30–11:45 a.m. Monday, June 18, in the convention center's Hall B-1. After ESPN aired the portion of an interview with Pam Tebow that focused on her refusal to abort "Timmy" when she was advised to do so, she has gained a national platform for the pro-life message. Attendees will also hear a testimony from Jeannie Elliff, wife of International Mission Board President Tom Elliff, and a roundtable discussion about parenting children of ministers. Women who serve in any facet of local church leadership, missions and denominational work are invited to attend the free event. Registration is not required. -- The Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions will emphasize passion in ministry, June 17-18 in Leavell Chapel at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 3939 Old Gentilly Blvd. Fred Luter and Richard Blackaby will be among the speakers. General meetings are scheduled 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Tuesday, with breakout sessions 1:30–4:30 p.m. REGISTRATION Conveniently register online at www.sbcannualmeeting.net, under the Messengers tab. After online registration, each messenger will receive an eight-digit registration code to present at the annual meeting's Express registration lane. There, the registration code can be entered into a computer and a nametag will be printed. The traditional registration method also is available. RESOLUTIONS Messengers wishing to propose resolutions must submit them at least 15 days prior to the annual meeting. Detailed guidelines on submitting resolutions are available at www.sbcannualmeeting.net under the Messengers tab. Resolutions may be submitted online but must be followed up by a letter of credentials from the submitter's church. CONVENTION ARRANGEMENTS Shuttle service will be available Sunday through Wednesday to and from the convention center from select hotels noted at www.sbcannualmeeting.net, under the Housing and Travel tab. Shuttle passes are available online for $12 and onsite for $15, with service provided 3–10 p.m. Sunday; 7 a.m.–10 pm. Monday; and 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Shuttle service to and from the airport to hotels is available for $35 roundtrip; tickets must be purchased online at least 24 hours in advance of flight arrivals. CHILDREN AND STUDENTS Southern Baptist Disaster Relief childcare volunteers will offer childcare for newborns through age 5 during the SBC Pastors' Conference and the annual meeting. Childcare is $20 per child for each of the events, not to exceed $40 per family per event. There is a $10 non-refundable registration fee per child. Lunch for preschoolers will be available for $5 Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Children in Action and Youth on Mission will offer activities June 19-20 for older children. Children in Action, for children entering grades 1-6, will challenge children to live Christ-centered lives. Children in Action is $35 per child, along with a $10 non-refundable registration fee per child. Youth on Mission will teach students entering grades 7–12 to link Bible study with missional living. WMU leaders, students and adults who have been third-culture kids will lead participants in mission work in New Orleans neighborhoods and bring them back to the convention center at each day's end for prayer and debriefing. Youth on Mission is $50 per child, along with a $10 non-refundable registration fee per child. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -- End of story -- SBC meeting smartphone app launches By Staff Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37727 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- For the first time, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting this year can stay up to date with an SBC Annual Meeting smartphone app, which will include more than a dozen features, including maps, alerts, the Book of Reports and the Daily Bulletin. [IMG=32525@right@260]The free app is available for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry users and can be downloaded by visiting [URL=http://m.core-apps.com/sbc2012am]http://m.core-apps.com/sbc2012am[/URL] from a smartphone or by typing in "SBC Annual Meeting 2012" in the smartphone's app store. Developed by Core-Apps, the app will include: -- push alerts that give users up-to-date news, such as changes in the meeting schedule. -- a list of exhibitors, including contact information for each exhibitor and the exhibitor's floor location. -- an interactive map of the exhibit hall. -- the programs for the SBC Pastors' Conference and the annual meeting. -- an alphabetized list of Pastors' Conference and annual meeting speakers, including their scheduled speaking time. -- PDF versions of the Book of Reports and the Daily Bulletin. -- a Twitter stream of discussion about the annual meeting. -- a news feed of Baptist Press annual meeting news stories. -- a list of churches in the New Orleans Baptist Association, with a map showing where each congregation is located. -- a "friends" icon where users can keep up to date with their friends and send them notes. (Users are required to fill out a brief profile.) The app already can be downloaded but is still being updated, and features will be added in the coming weeks. --30-- Compiled by Michael Foust, associate editor of Baptist Press. -- End of story -- Death, destruction recounted at Ala. anniversary By Carrie Brown McWhorter Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37714 EDITOR'S NOTE: Alabama Baptists remember the death and destruction wrought by more than 60 tornadoes across the state a year ago today. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- History marks those days. Dec. 7, 1941. Sept. 11, 2001. When those days are mentioned, our minds instantly go back to where we were and how we felt in those moments that followed the inconceivable. [QUOTE@left@180=By the end of that day, 272 people were dead in Alabama.]Alabama history now includes one of those days: April 27, 2011. That day, the first storms hit before daylight, while we slept, while we got ready for work, while we drove our children to school. But those storms were only an omen of the destruction to come. As the day went on, massive tornadoes reached down from the sky and plowed across the state in what would later be considered the second deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history. The National Weather Service estimated that more than 60 tornadoes touched down on what it called a "tragically historic" day in Alabama. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency called the storms "one of the worst natural disasters in state history." Several tornadoes took long, wide tracks through the state, killing and injuring hundreds of people and destroying millions of dollars in property. Other tornadoes stayed on the ground for shorter distances but caused death and destruction just the same. By the end of that day, 272 people were dead in Alabama. All told, the April 25–28 tornado outbreak killed 321 people in six southern states. Whole Alabama neighborhoods were reduced to rubble. Thousands of homes and churches in 42 of the state's 67 counties were destroyed or damaged. "It was an awful, terrible thing," said Joe Bob Mizzell, director of the office of Christian ethics at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. One of the strongest tornadoes initially touched down southwest of Hamilton in Marion County around 3 p.m. According to NWS estimates, the EF5 tornado lasted approximately two hours and cut a path of destruction 107 miles long, causing catastrophic damage to Hackleburg in Marion County, Phil Campbell and Oak Grove in Franklin County, Hillsboro and Mount Hope in Lawrence County, Tanner in Limestone County and Harvest, Toney and Hazel Green in Madison County. The tornado reached maximum wind speeds of 210 mph and a maximum path width of 1.25 miles. More than 100 injuries and 18 fatalities resulted, and local pastors estimated that in Phil Campbell and Hackleburg, at least 50 percent of the towns' populations were displaced. Two churches, Mountain View Baptist Church in Phil Campbell and Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hackleburg, were destroyed. First Baptist Church in Phil Campbell suffered minor structural damage to its main building. First Baptist Church in Hackleburg received only minor damage as well. Less than two hours later, an EF4 tornado initially touched down in rural northern Greene County. The NWS estimated that it stayed on the ground for more than an hour, cutting a path of damage nearly 81 miles long as it moved northeast through southern Tuscaloosa and western Jefferson Counties. When the tornado crossed Interstate 65, NWS meteorologists estimated it was 1.5 miles wide and packing 190-mph winds. In the massive tornado's wake, 64 people were dead and more than 1,500 were injured. In Tuscaloosa, the tornado's destruction caused a massive power outage and left thousands homeless and many dead, including six students from the University of Alabama, two from Shelton State Community College and one from Stillman College. The tornado hit densely populated neighborhoods, snaking around the university, a hospital and a high school. At least six of Tuscaloosa Baptist Association's 80-plus churches were heavily damaged. At Hopewell Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, the tornado flipped a few shingles from the roof but otherwise bypassed the imposing brick buildings and instead tore into the surrounding neighborhood. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE Only 16 blocks away, at Alberta Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, winds blew the steeple, roof and front wall onto the steps, leaving mounds of insulation and splintered wood hanging from a huge opening in the newly renovated sanctuary's ceiling. The educational space also was heavily damaged. Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa also suffered extensive damage, as did Forest Lake Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa. Forest Lake Baptist received structural damage when it was lifted off its foundation. The neighborhood surrounding it was devastated. The sanctuary of Rosedale Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa had quite a bit of damage, but the congregation was able to meet in the fellowship hall for services. New Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa had a large hole in the wall, roof damage and windows blown out. In Jefferson County, the large white steeple that towered atop First Baptist Church in Fultondale was found on its side across the street in a neighbor's front yard. Glass, twisted metal from the church's roof and other debris were strewn across the parking lot. Along the church's street, entire neighborhoods were destroyed and hardly a tree was left standing. At First Baptist Church in Pleasant Grove, the tornado toppled the steeple, blew shingles away and tore a hole through the roof of one of the children's buildings. The same supercell storm that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Fultondale and Pleasant Grove, demolishing homes and leaving a trail of dead and missing, destroyed Bethel Baptist Church in Pratt City. Winds of at least 140 mph tore the roof off the gymnasium and sanctuary and threw one church van into a ravine. The church's day care and offices also were demolished. In Concord, Concord Highland Baptist Church was in the tornado's path and suffered extensive damage. The church, which was hit by an EF5 tornado in 1998, sustained extensive damage to the sanctuary roof and lost its steeple. The fellowship building and pastorium were destroyed. Earlier that morning, Tannehill Valley Baptist Church in McCalla was damaged by straight-line winds registering more than 70 mph. The steeple was knocked off the roof, and as it fell, it cut into a three-inch water line, causing major damage to the music library, three nursery rooms, two Sunday School rooms and part of the sanctuary. That evening, an EF5 tornado devastated Shiloh, Rainsville and the extreme southeastern portions of Sylvania and Henagar. Ider in DeKalb County and Dutton, Pisgah and Flat Rock in Jackson County also sustained incredible damage as EF2 and EF4 tornadoes pushed through in the afternoon and evening hours. According to the weather service, the EF4 tornado that affected Pisgah and the Flat Rock area packed maximum winds near 190 mph. The path of destruction was 38 miles long. More than 300 homes were destroyed and another 176 were damaged. Eleven people died in Jackson and DeKalb counties. Rainsville was the hardest hit in DeKalb County. The home of Mark Whittaker, minister of music and youth at First Baptist Church in Rainsville, was one of hundreds of structures destroyed or badly damaged as a tornado cut a half-mile wide swath of destruction through the area. The home of deacon Eddie Garrett and his wife Daphne received significant damage as well. Mountain View Baptist Church in Sylvania was destroyed. Twenty miles north in Valley Head, a tornado blew away Stamp Baptist Church's fellowship hall. In Jackson County, 115 homes were destroyed and 200 more were damaged. At least eight people died. Three of the students killed in Tuscaloosa were from the area, according to David Patty, director of missions for Sand Mountain Baptist Association. In Cullman County, an EF4 tornado caused extensive damage to buildings in downtown Cullman and Fairview. The tornado then tracked to the northeast, producing significant damage in the Ruth and Oak Grove communities in Marshall County. Two people died in Cullman County, and at least five died in Marshall County. East Side Baptist Church in Cullman was the only East Cullman Baptist Association church with damage. Much of the church was reduced to rubble when the tornado bulldozed through the city. The entire sanctuary was destroyed, and the Sunday School area and gymnasium were damaged. It was the second time pastor Ken Allen found himself ministering to a congregation struck by disaster. Allen was pastor of Concord Highland Baptist when it was hit by an EF5 tornado in 1998. First Baptist Church in Cullman in West Cullman Baptist Association received damage from the tornado that hit downtown Cullman as well. The force of the tornado tore a large hole in the gymnasium roof, lifted one-third of the sanctuary roof off and destroyed a large section of the Sunday School and children's area. The church's 60-year-old stained glass windows were blown into the sanctuary, leaving a mangled mess of window leading on the floor. In Guntersville, the Marshall Baptist Retreat Center, Haney's Chapel Baptist Church and Victory Baptist Church sustained significant damage. Three other churches received some damage, as did nearly 900 homes in Marshall County. In Madison County, the hardest hit area was Harvest, which is northwest of Huntsville. Entire subdivisions were destroyed and 10 people were killed. The Harvest Youth Club, where many had taken shelter from the storm, was relatively unscathed, though the playground outside was destroyed. Everything within a half-mile of the youth club was destroyed. Forty houses in the neighborhood were destroyed, and another 80 were badly damaged. In St. Clair County, 11 people died in the Shoal Creek Valley area near Ashville and Ragland. Two churches in St. Clair Baptist Association sustained significant damage during the evening line of storms: Greensport Baptist Church and Bethany Baptist Church, both located in the Shoal Creek Valley. Three of the 11 people who died in Shoal Creek Valley had ties to Greensport Baptist. An EF4 tornado blew the roof off Greensport and caused its seven-year-old fellowship hall to cave in. A drop-off area that once graced the front of the building was blown behind the church, and the steeple was knocked off the roof. At Bethany Baptist, huge trees fell onto the sanctuary and educational building. Not too far away, First Baptist Church in Moody also suffered damage. The steeple that sat atop the front of the sanctuary was blown into a back parking lot. The church's awnings and part of the roof also were blown away. To the northeast, Cherokee County was hit more than once that day, and as a result, 35–40 homes were damaged and another 35–40 were destroyed. Four churches in Cherokee Baptist Association sustained damage: New Bethel Baptist, Tates Chapel Baptist and Pilgrim Rest Baptist, all in Centre, and Pisgah Baptist in Piedmont. The major portion of New Bethel's roof was blown off by straight-line winds in the early morning. Tates Chapel had minor siding damage, and playground equipment was blown over. The tornado lifted Pilgrim Rest's sanctuary off its foundation and set it down again. Two large trees fell on Pisgah's building, damaging the roof, ceiling tiles, walls and floor joists. It suffered an estimated $60,000 to $70,000 in damage extending all the way to the basement. North of Piedmont, the Goshen community was ravaged by a tornado that touched down less than two miles from the site of a deadly twister on Palm Sunday in 1993 that killed 20 worshipers at Goshen United Methodist Church. On April 27, an EF4 tornado wiped out numerous homes and buildings in the area but there were no fatalities. Further south, in Calhoun County, the area of destruction was 30 miles long and five miles wide in some places. Ohatchee, Piedmont, Webster's Chapel and Wellington were especially hard hit. The county was hit by the morning line of storms and then received more extensive damage when more storms passed through in the afternoon. At least nine people died, and 284 homes and buildings were destroyed. Another 120 sustained major damage, requiring them to be demolished. More than 300 other homes and buildings were damaged or affected by the storms. Several churches in Calhoun Baptist Association were hit, including Mamre Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Wellington. In Tallapoosa County, an evening storm centered its destructive forces around Lake Martin and Dadeville. At least one person died. Properties in neighboring Chambers County were damaged. In Elmore County, an EF4 tornado obliterated the 115-year-old Mount Hebron East Baptist Church in Eclectic. Choctaw County in south Alabama also took a direct hit. More than 200 homes were destroyed or received significant damage. At least seven people in Hale and Bibb Counties lost their lives. In Bibb Baptist Association, Eoline Baptist Church was damaged. A few days earlier, on April 15, a tornado following almost the same path felled trees and damaged a cemetery in Bibb County. Also damaged in the state were two churches. The April 15 tornadoes claimed seven lives in the state. --30-- Carrie Brown McWhorter is a correspondent for The Alabama Baptist (www.thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- Alabama's tornadoes: A time to remember By Rick Lance Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37715 MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) -- Some experiences in life you really want to forget because the pain is too much to bear. That is quite understandable. All of us could cite a chapter and verse about such episodes of failure and sadness. [IMG=30149@left@110]On the other hand, there are experiences, even the most anguishing and painful ones, that demand our personal reflection and remembrance. Let's think about one very close to home for all of us. For the people of Alabama, we are facing one of those sad but memorable moments. On April 27, we mark the first anniversary of the worst weather-related tragedy in the history of our beloved state. You remember this horrific day. It was when 62 tornadoes, five of them rated EF5, came roaring through Alabama and other states with a fierce force of power unforeseen by almost all of us. Forty-two of our 67 counties were impacted, some of them catastrophically, by this unprecedented outbreak of tornadoes. Those of us who witnessed the scenes of destruction in the early hours after the incidents were moved to tears and almost speechless as we viewed the indescribable debris and rubble. Those memories are deeply etched in our minds. [QUOTE@right@180='The individuals and families of those impacted by the tornadoes remember their painful experiences as if they had just happened.' -- Rick Lance]I vividly recall being interviewed by a Birmingham television station reporter who said to me, "I do not know what to ask you. I am going to let you just look at me and at the camera and talk to the audience." Never before has a reporter said anything resembling that comment to me. The camera light came on, and with adrenaline flowing from a body tired from travel and interacting with those severely impacted by this disaster, I began to thank Alabama Baptists and other disaster relief workers. I shared my raw emotions of what I had seen and felt during those early hours of response. Now a painful anniversary is upon us. The individuals and families of those impacted by the tornadoes remember their painful experiences as if they had just happened. They mourn afresh the loss of lives and the damage to homes and other property. They recall the sounds of unspeakable terror that only tornadoes can make. They recall the calm aftermath of the storms, which seemed so surreal given the major destruction around them. How are Alabama Baptists taking time to remember the first anniversary of the unprecedented outbreak of tornadoes? Many Alabama Baptist churches observed a special time of worship April 22. There is no better response, in good or bad times, than that of God's people gathering to worship Him. Many churches also are including a special time of remembrance of all affected by the tornadoes, especially the families of the victims -- an appreciated response on this day of reflection. Another way is through giving. As Alabama Baptists, we have chosen this day for a special offering for general disaster relief, which will help us be prepared for future events. The funds will be used for first response approaches to the catastrophic occurrences as disaster relief workers are called out following hurricanes and tornadoes in Alabama and beyond. Gifts given for disaster relief will make a huge difference in challenging times of need. In this special season as we worship, remember and give, let us give thanks to our Lord, who sustains us through the roughest times and blesses us always so that we may bless others in His name. --30-- Rick Lance is executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. -- End of story -- Ala church has seen 2 tragedies in past year By Anna Keller Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37716 CENTRE, Ala. (BP) -- The small congregation of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Centre, Ala., has faced two life-changing obstacles in the past year. First its church building was largely destroyed by a tornado April 27, 2011. Then its pastor, Steve Tierce, was in a July 3 car accident that broke his neck and left him a paraplegic. [QUOTE@right@180='God's been great to us, and we've been really blessed.' -- Dennis Tierce]But "God's been great to us, and we've been really blessed," said Dennis Tierce, a deacon at the church and Steve Tierce's cousin. To enable the pastor to continue preaching intermittently, the church has fashioned a ramp that leads into the mobile chapel unit it's using as a sanctuary since the tornado. Tierce is still on a ventilator and has a trach tube, but he has been able to deliver sermons in between his surgeries and extended rehabilitation time in Atlanta. "One of the other deacons, he and his dad built a ramp to help Steve get into the mobile unit," Dennis Tierce said. "They salvaged awnings and things from the old church and then built a ramp from it." The church is just beginning the process of tearing down the old building, which the EF4 tornado literally lifted off its foundation and set down again, and they hope to have the new one finished by the end of the year. The building -- though it was remodeled in the mid-1950s -- was constructed in 1896, so there is significant sentimentality attached to it. "Some of the older members hated to see it go and I did, too," Dennis Tierce said. "After all, I've been going to this church since I was a kid. There's a lot of history there." Still, he said, the congregation seems excited for the new church to be built, and everyone is playing a role in the planning process. "The morale of the people has been great," said Patty Tierce, Steve Tierce's wife. "Everyone has pitched in to help, and the community has been a blessing." --30-- Anna Keller is a correspondent for The Alabama Baptist, online at thealabamabaptist.org. -- End of story -- The Ala. Baptist marks anniversary of tornadoes By Jennifer Davis Rash Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37717 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- The Alabama Baptist, the state's weekly Baptist newspaper with an estimated 225,000 readers, distributed a 56-page commemorative issue of the anniversary of the April 2011 tornadoes to churches and associations throughout the state. [QUOTE@left@180=The special issue 'describes the heroic ways Baptists responded' to the tornadoes.]Titled "We Are The Body: A story of rescue, recovery and rebuild," 246,990 copies of the special issue were mailed to the state's 3,324 Baptist churches and associations. Each church was asked to give free copies to their members during the April 22 special day of remembrance that was observed in many Alabama Baptist churches. The issue also is available online at thealabamabaptist.org. "April 27 will always live in Alabama history because it was the day of the worst natural disaster in our history," Bob Terry, president and editor of The Alabama Baptist, said. "This anniversary issue not only marks that day, but it describes the heroic ways Baptists responded to people in need and the wonderful way Baptists have helped their neighbors recover and rebuild." According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alabama's 62 twisters recorded on April 27, 2011, ranks number one for the greatest number of tornadoes in a single event. Two hundred and seventy-two deaths directly related to the severe weather were reported in the state. The special issue reviews what happened, shares the various recovery and rebuilding efforts by Alabama Baptists and showcases 15 "where they are now" features on the most devastated churches. Additional copies are available for a small cost-recovery fee while supplies last. --30-- Jennifer Davis Rash is executive editor of The Alabama Baptist (www.thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist Convention. -- End of story -- Pastors' Conference to spotlight Father's Day By Amanda Sullivan Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37670 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Change is in the air for the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference, June 17-18 in New Orleans, themed "Changing: Lives, Communities, the World." "I am changing. You are changing. The world around us is changing," said Grant Ethridge, president of the Pastors' Conference and senior pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton, Va. "But there is one thing that has not changed. God's plan for getting the Gospel to the ends of the earth is still the local church. Changing lives, communities and the world is not optional. It is the command of Jesus." Ethridge is praying that the Pastors' Conference will impart "a burning desire to see lives changed in their community," to encourage pastors in "believing that their church, no matter the location or size, can be used of God to change lives around the world." David Jeremiah, David Platt, Fred Luter Jr., Johnny Hunt, Jack Graham and Herb Reavis, Jr. are among speakers. Charles Billingsley, Jeff Askew, Sounds of Liberty, the Liberty Worship Choir and Chi Alpha will lead in worship. Honoring Father's Day, the Pastors' Conference will spotlight four father-son teams as speakers: Don and Rob Wilton, Ronnie and Nick Floyd, Tony and Anthony Evans, and Bailey and Josh Smith. Josh Smith, lead pastor at MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church of Irving, Texas, said he's excited about God's work in and through the SBC. "Too often the statistics we give and the messages we communicate at the SBC paint a grim picture of the current and future state of the SBC. I don't buy it. God is at work," Smith said. "My desire is to simply encourage pastors to continue to be faithful to their local church, faithful to the mission of the church and faithful to their cooperation with the SBC in fulfilling the Great Commission." Smith wants to give and gain encouragement at the Pastors' Conference. "I don't want to gather together this year and leave discouraged by statistics that communicate all we are not doing," Smith said. "I want to leave encouraged, equipped and empowered to continue to work hard for the sake of the Gospel." Smith said Ethridge, in planning the Pastors' Conference, "has done a great job of honoring the past and looking forward to the future. "We must not forget those who gave so much to get us where we are as a convention today, but we must also not forget to pass the baton to the next generation of pastors who are ready to run. I believe Grant is helping with that," Smith said. Such encouragement and motivation is essential, Smith said. "Every pastor needs to be encouraged and motivated in the hard work of pastoral ministry. That is the point of the Pastors' Conference," he said. "I need it." Pastors’ Conference sessions at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans will be at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, June 17, and at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 and 6 p.m. Monday, June 18. For more information, visit www.sbcpc.net. --30-- Amanda Sullivan is a writer for Innovative Faith Resources (www.innovativefaith.org)and the SBC of Virginia state convention (www.sbcv.org). -- End of story -- SBC Pastors' Conference Schedule By Staff Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37719 Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference Schedule June 17-18, 2012 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans www.sbcpc.net Theme: "Changing: Lives, Communities, the World" President, Grant Ethridge, senior pastor, Liberty Baptist Church, Hampton, Va. SESSION 1 -- Sunday, June 17, 5:30 p.m. The Sunday evening session, with a Father's Day emphasis, will include father-sons Josh and Bailey Smith, Don and Rob Wilton, Ronnie and Nick Floyd and Tony and Anthony Evans. Josh Smith, lead pastor of MacArthur Blvd. Baptist Church in Irving, Texas, will be introduced by his father, evangelist Bailey Smith of Atlanta. Don Wilton, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, S.C., will be introduced by his son Rob Wilton, lead pastor of Vintage Church in New Orleans. Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., will be introduced by his son Nick Floyd, campus pastor of Cross Church in Fayetteville, Ark. Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, will be introduced by his son Anthony Evans, recording artist and worship leader. SESSIONS 2-4 -- Monday, June 18, 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. & 6 p.m. Speakers for Monday include David Jeremiah, David Platt, Fred Luter Jr., Johnny Hunt, Jack Graham, Herb Reavis Jr., James MacDonald, Wayne Robertson and Phil Hoskins. David Jeremiah is senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif.; David Platt is lead pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala; Fred Luter Jr. is senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans; Johnny Hunt is senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga.; Jack Graham is senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas; Herb Reavis Jr. is senior pastor of North Jacksonville Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla.; James MacDonald is senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago; Wayne Robertson is pastor of Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Ga.; and Phil Hoskins is senior pastor of Higher Ground Baptist Church in Kingsport, Tenn. Worship Leaders Worship leaders for the conference include Charles Billingsley; Meredith Andrews; Anthony Evans; Jeff Askew; Sounds of Liberty of Liberty University; Liberty Worship Choir and Chi Alpha of Liberty Baptist Church, both from Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton, Va. For more information and updates, visit www.sbpc.net. -- End of story -- 'Story lives on' at WMU sessions By Julie Walters Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37669 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- With the theme "The Story Lives On," Woman's Missionary Union will hold its Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting June 17–18 in New Orleans. Missionary testimonies, music led by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary staff and students and theme interpretations by Aaron House and Piercing Word Ministry will highlight the WMU sessions. "Sharing ideas, learning new ways to be involved in missions, and hearing stories of how God is at work through missions efforts around the world are all a part of these two days in New Orleans," Wanda Lee, WMU national executive director, said. "Join us to experience it all and find renewal for you and your church in helping equip future missions leaders." Featured speakers will include Lee, author of the 2012 WMU emphasis book, "The Story Lives On: God's Power Throughout Generations"; David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans; Jay and Kathy Shafto, International Mission Board field personnel; Damian Emetuche and Stacey Smith, North American Mission Board field personnel; and Debby Akerman, national WMU president. WMU will meet in the La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, from 3-7 p.m. on Sunday, June 17, and all day Monday, June 18, beginning at 9 a.m. The Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting follows June 19-20, also at the convention center. Breakout sessions will be offered both days on a variety of topics, including WMU's Project HELP: Human Exploitation, which addresses the human exploitation issues of bullying, human trafficking, the media's exploitation of children and families, pornography and the exploitation of natural resources for personal gain. Other sessions will include WorldCrafts, which develops sustainable fair-trade business for impoverished populations; using social media in missions; and leading missions experiences in the church for all ages. "Leaders who are anticipating what's coming in September for Royal Ambassadors and Challengers will especially be interested in attending conferences about leading boys in missions," Lee said. "We have been working hard all year on these new resources as we incorporate boys back into our missions programming. These are exciting days as we see God answering our prayers for a coordinated missions focus across all age levels in our churches." Also, IMB field personnel will lead a two-hour training session on Chronological Bible Storying and how to use this approach on missions trips and in sharing the Scriptures with those who cannot read. Participants are encouraged to bring items to donate and sort for area ministries, such as items for hygiene kits for Global Maritime Ministries which ministers to seafarers and port workers; snack pack items for Baptist Friendship House, a ministry offering transitional housing for women with children, various programs and classes, and outreach to the homeless; and items for Inward Ministry, an outreach to women working in the sex industry on Bourbon Street. In addition, gifts cards could readily be used by all of these ministries. Check wmu.com for a detailed list of needed items. WMU's Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting is free; preregistration is not required. Onsite registration opens at 2p.m. June 17. Visit www.wmu.com for more information and updates. --30-- Julie Walters is corporate communications team leader for national WMU. -- End of story -- WMU meeting schedule By Staff Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37725 WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting June 17–18, 2012 New Orleans Morial Convention Center 900 Convention Center Boulevard La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 Registration opens at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, June 17. There is no charge to attend any of the general sessions or breakout sessions, and no preregistration is required. Music for all sessions is provided by the Church Music Ministries Division of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary under the leadership of Greg Woodward. A variety of breakout sessions will be offered on Sunday from 4:00–5:00 P.M. and Monday from 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. and 4:00–5:00 P.M. Topics include leading missions for all ages, Chronological Bible Storying, WorldCraftsSM, missional living, using social media in missions, missionary conferences, and more. SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 3:00–3:45 P.M. Opening Session, WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting Welcome to New Orleans -- Debby Akerman, president, national WMU; Salli Perry, president, Louisiana WMU; Janie Wise, executive director, Louisiana WMU Introduction of Local Arrangements Committee -- Kay Bennett and Cherry Blackwell, co-chairs The Story Lives On -- Wanda S. Lee, executive director, national WMU 4:00–5:00 P.M. Breakout Sessions 7:00–8:30 P.M. General Session, WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting The Story Lives On Through Scripture -- Aaron House, Piercing Word Ministry Through Chronological Bible Storying -- Annette Hall, IMB Through WMU -- 2012 National Acteens® Panelists The Story of God at Work in New Orleans -- David Crosby, pastor, First Baptist Church of New Orleans MONDAY, JUNE 18, 9:00–10:30 A.M. General Session, WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting The Story Lives On Through Scripture -- Aaron House, Piercing Word Ministry Through Prison 2 Purpose -- Stacey Smith, NAMB Through Prison Ministry in Angola -- Chuck Kelley, president, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Breakout Sessions 2:00–3:00 P.M. General Session, WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting The Story Lives On Through WMU Around the World -- Debby Akerman, national WMU Through Missions in Burkina Faso -- Jay and Kathy Shafto, IMB 3:00–4:00 P.M. New Orleans Style Break to meet missionaries and program guests 4:00–5:00 P.M. Breakout Sessions 7:00–8:30 P.M. General Session, WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting The Story Lives On Through Scripture -- Aaron House, Piercing Word Ministry Through Church Planting -- Damian Emetuche, NAMB Through the Work of WMU -- 2012 National Acteens Panelists A WMU Bookstore managed by LifeWay® will be open on Sunday, June 17, 2:00–7:00 P.M.; and Monday, June 18, 8:00 A.M.–5:00 P.M. Selected items from WMU®, New Hope® and WorldCraftsSM will be available for purchase. Go to www.wmu.com for additional information. -- End of story -- Penetrating lostness drives NAMB's plans at SBC By Mickey Noah Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37685 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The North American Mission Board is seeking to show Southern Baptists how to be involved in penetrating lostness across North America, as NAMB plans for the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in New Orleans in June. During the SBC Pastors' Conference on Monday, June 18, a crowd of 3,000 is expected to attend NAMB's Send North America luncheon from noon-1 p.m. in Hall F at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Speakers for the luncheon -- themed "Building Vision and Celebrating Missions in North America" -- will include Kevin Ezell, NAMB president, and Aaron Coe, vice president of mobilization for NAMB. In addition to Pastors' Conference attendees, other special invitees will include SBC church leaders representing churches from throughout North America who will be honored for their congregation's 2011 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering; SBC-endorsed chaplains; bivocational pastors; church planters; state executive directors; and state directors of missions and evangelism. "We're excited about the Send North America luncheon because it's going to give us an opportunity to celebrate those who are involved in penetrating lostness in North America -- church planters, missionaries, sending churches and those who give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering," Coe said. "A special highlight will be recognition of all bivocational pastors, who we think are the iron men of the SBC." Online registration for the banquet-style luncheon is now open, with tickets priced at $10 each. To register, visit snaluncheon.com. Credit cards will be accepted until June 18, when cash only will be required. Also slated for Monday, June 18, will be "Avance Hispano," a conference for Hispanic pastors and leaders to celebrate Hispanic ministries, beginning at 9 a.m. in convention center rooms 213 and 218. The conference, including a luncheon (rooms 220-221), is jointly sponsored by NAMB, LifeWay Christian Resources and the International Mission Board. Speakers at the Hispanic conference will include Josh del Risco of NAMB church mobilization and Robert Amaya, a Hispanic Southern Baptist pastor who starred in the film "Courageous." Also debuting June 18 will be NAMB's 40-by-60-foot Send North America exhibit, which will depict Southern Baptist efforts to penetrate lostness through evangelistic church planting and local church evangelism in the major cities throughout North America. NAMB church planters and staff will be on hand to answer questions and mobilize individuals and churches to help reach North America with the Gospel. A separate NAMB exhibit will showcase Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, volunteers and equipment. Adjacent to its exhibit, NAMB is sponsoring "The Many Faces of the SBC," featuring the role of the SBC's 27 ethnic fellowships and networks. For urban church planters, NAMB is sponsoring a "Rebuild Urban Church Initiative Rally" on Tuesday, June 19, from 6-8 p.m. in convention center rooms 218-219. Several urban church planting experts will speak to urban church planting practitioners. A free two-hour concert featuring several Reach Records Christian rap artists will follow on Wednesday night, from 7-9:30 p.m., in the Conference Auditorium on level 2 of the convention center. For more information, visit therebuildinitiative.org. During the SBC annual meeting itself -- on Wednesday, June 20 at 4:55 p.m. -- Ezell will present NAMB's official annual report and presentation on the convention floor. Earlier that day, Ezell will also speak at a NAMB luncheon, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., for 200 SBC bivocational pastors and their wives in rooms 255-257 of the convention center. For more information, email rgilder@tnbaptistconvention.org. On Saturday, June 16, the New Orleans Baptist Association -- with support from 35 New Orleans Baptist churches, the Louisiana Baptist Convention and NAMB -- will coordinate Crossover, an evangelistic outreach encompassing the greater New Orleans area. Crossover 2012 leaders are anticipating 1,500 Baptist volunteers who will share the Gospel via a variety of means -- including prayerwalking, block parties, door-to-door evangelism and servant evangelism. An experienced Intentional Community Evangelism (ICE) team -- some from outside Louisiana -- also will reach out to inner-city New Orleans with the Gospel during the week leading up to Crossover. Southern Baptists in New Orleans plan to start four new churches in 2012, with two of those launched during Crossover and the SBC annual meeting, according to Jack Hunter, executive director of the New Orleans Baptist Association. "Our churches are becoming well-trained in evangelism and will lead the way in reaching our communities through Crossover events," Hunter said. "Our leaders want to create a culture of evangelism in the association, and Crossover -- followed closely by other outreach events in succeeding weeks -- will help do that. "It's a good time to be Baptist in New Orleans," said Hunter, a lifetime resident of the Crescent City. "Our prayer is that the cross of Christ would be lifted up across the greater New Orleans area to the end that many souls would be saved and that the church would be increased and that our faith community would have an increased culture of evangelism." For more information on Crossover 2012, visit joinnoba.com/crossover. --30-- Mickey Noah writes for the North American Mission Board. -- End of story -- NAAF hopeful in historic SBC election By Diana Chandler Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37684 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Attendance at the National African American Fellowship's annual meeting will break records as the Southern Baptist Convention seems poised to elect its first black president, NAAF President James Dixon Jr. predicts. Up to 1,000 messengers may be in attendance for NAAF's various sessions June 16-20 in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting June 19-20, said Dixon, senior pastor of El-Bethel Baptist Church in Fort Washington, Md. "Because this is a historic moment in the SBC, as far as electing a black president, our numbers are going to be large," Dixon said. "I'm optimistic." Dixon's optimism stems from the nomination of Fred Luter of New Orleans for SBC president. Luter, who to date is unopposed, would be the first African American to hold the post. He currently is the SBC's first vice president. "We've been praying on it for years. I never thought I would live long enough to see it come to pass," Dixon said. "I think we're moving in the right direction. This will be a great, great act on [the SBC's] part." Luter's anticipated election would be a healthy moment for the SBC, Dixon said, helping dispel a myth that the SBC is not ethnically inclusive in leadership. Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, has accepted Dixon's invitation to preach at NAAF's annual banquet, Tuesday, June 19 from 6:30–9:30 p.m. in rooms 220-221 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Dixon will forgo the customary final presidential address in view of Luter's sermon. "Changing: Lives, Communities, the World" is NAAF's conference theme, by design, the same theme for this year's SBC Pastors' Conference. NAAF will encourage messengers to impact their communities and the world by working to change individual lives. "It will challenge our churches to be intentional about making disciples. That's the only way we're going to affect our churches," Dixon said. "That's the only way we're going to affect our community." He said NAAF will focus specifically on promoting healthy families as the catalyst for community improvement. Joining Luter at the annual banquet will be leaders of several SBC entities and its one auxiliary, whom Dixon has invited to make remarks. Already expected to attend are presidents of the SBC Executive Committee, Frank Page; LifeWay Christian Resources, Thom Rainer; Guidestone Financial Resources, O.S. Hawkins; and the North American Mission Board, Kevin Ezell. Ken Winter, an International Mission Board vice president; Wanda Lee, executive director and treasurer of Woman's Missionary Union; David Lee, executive director of the Maryland/Delaware Convention, and David Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, also have accepted invitations, Dixon said. Jeffery Friend, pastor of Suburban Baptist Church, 10501 Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans and host of the June 17 NAAF worship and fellowship at 6:30 p.m., will preach during that service. NAAF, at its annual meeting, will present its new strategic plan, Dixon said, as well as affirm new officers and regional directors, adopt changes to the NAAF constitution and policies, and renew and rekindle fellowships with new and less active members. New officers, selected at NAAF's March board meeting, are president A.B. Vines, pastor of New Seasons Church, Spring Valley, Calif.; vice president K. Marshall Williams, pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church, Philadelphia; treasurer Mark A. Croston Sr., pastor of East End Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va., and secretary Byron Day, pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Laurel, Md. The business meeting is slated for Monday, June 18, from 4–6 p.m. in room 222 of the convention center. Dixon expects NAAF to confirm as regional leaders Brian King, East; Roscoe Belton, Midwest, and Garland Moore, Mountain. The West region's leadership post is currently vacant. Dixon described this year's theme emphasizing healthy lives -- a building block to healthy families -- as dear to his heart. "I strive within my own family to make sure my family is healthy," said Dixon, married 40 years to his childhood sweetheart, Dessie. The two have four children and 11 grandchildren. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -- End of story -- Black network theme: 'The Father's Business' By Diana Chandler Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37720 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The Black Southern Baptist Denominational Servants Network will focus on "The Father's Business" and issue its annual awards June 17 in conjunction with the 2012 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans. The network's theme, drawn from Luke 2:49, is aimed to encourage its members as vital servants in Kingdom building, network President Willie McLaurin said. "Everyone who is engaged in the Father's business is ... significant," said McLaurin, strategist for leadership development/seminary extension with Tennessee Baptist Convention. "I really want to remind our network that our journey is not a journey to find significance." The group's June 17 meeting, from 2–5:30 p.m., will be at Suburban Baptist Church, 10501 Chef Menteur Hwy., with Jeffery Friend as host pastor. "The Father has chosen each of us for such a time as this to transact business on His behalf," McLaurin said in reference to the focus of his scheduled presidential address. The Holy Spirit has authorized, endowed and entrusted the network members to conduct the Father's business of spreading the Gospel, McLaurin said. The network will honor several Southern Baptist Convention servants, presenting the awards at both the network meeting and the June 19 National African American Fellowship banquet. Jay Wells, director of African American ministries in LifeWay Christian Resources' church resources division, will receive the Sid Smith Denominational Leadership Award, given in honor of the network's late founder. Robert Anderson and Dexter Hardy will receive Denominational Appreciation Awards. Anderson is pastor of Colonial Baptist Church in Randallstown, Md., and a member of the SBC Executive Committee; Hardy is an African American church starter strategist with the Baptist State Convention of Michigan in Fenton. Ken Weathersby, North American Mission Board presidential ambassador for ethnic church relations, will receive the Kennedy-Boyce Award, named for the pastors of the first two African American churches to join the SBC in 1953. McLaurin said he hopes the network's June fellowship will give members an opportunity to reenergize and reconnect in advance of the annual Black Church Leadership and Family Conference in July at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -- End of story -- Chinese fellowship intent on planting churches By Diana Chandler Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37722 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Church planting again will be the focus of the Chinese Baptist Fellowship of the U.S. and Canada during its June 18 meeting in New Orleans. The fellowship has planted 15 churches in the past year toward its goal of 800 churches by 2020, said Peter Leong, the group's president. Chinese churches in the fellowship currently number 275. "Church Planting: Past, Present and Future" will be the fellowship's theme, drawn from John 4:30-38, for the noon-4 p.m. gathering at New Orleans Chinese Baptist Church, 3413 Continental Drive in Kenner, a New Orleans suburb. Ted Lam, ambassador of the fellowship's church planting project, Jeremy Sin, a church planting specialist with the North American Mission Board and Leong will be the fellowship's featured speakers. The fellowship adopted its church planting emphasis in 2010. Many Chinese immigrants have not embraced the Gospel, Leong said, and several northern states, such as the Dakotas and Wyoming, do not have any Chinese Southern Baptist churches. The fellowship has created a database of prospective church plants, he said. Mobilizing and training laymen in church planting is a main strategy the fellowship will use to reach its goal, Leong said. "You have to produce so many trained ministers to [plant churches]," he said. "We hope to enlist the laymen." Utilizing the resources of several churches to cosponsor a church mission is crucial to success, Leong said. Already, the fellowship's churches utilize friendship evangelism, Bible study, visitation and evangelistic meetings and retreats in spreading the Gospel. Greater attendance of Chinese pastors at the SBC annual meeting is also a fellowship goal, though bivocational commitments and limited financial resources constrain participation, Leong said. He expects 30 to 50 fellowship members to attend this year's convention sessions in New Orleans. Leong said he encourages Chinese ministers to attend the SBC annual meeting and enthusiastically support the SBC's entities and concerns, including the Cooperative Program, NAMB, the International Mission Board and the Annie Armstrong and the Lottie Moon offerings. Concurrently, the SBC should embrace Chinese representation in its leadership, Leong said. The fellowship's biannual conference will be Sept. 18–20 at the First Chinese Baptist Church of Los Angeles, with Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, as keynote speaker. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -- End of story -- Filipinos to report on church planting By Staff Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37693 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The Filipino Southern Baptist Fellowship of North America will meet Tuesday, June 19, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans. The group, with about 220 affiliated churches in the United States, will gather for a luncheon and meeting from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Kenner, La., at 1400 Williams Blvd. [QUOTE@left@180='We're a strong fellowship, and we're united.' -- Roger Manao]Ken Weathersby, presidential ambassador for ethnic church relations at the North American Mission Board, will be the guest speaker. Weathersby recently was named to the position to help the entity maintain a strong focus on minority ministry needs and to facilitate leadership opportunities for minorities throughout Southern Baptist life. During the meeting, the Filipino Fellowship plans to hear reports about Filipino congregations that have been planted in the United States during the past year. Roger Manao, president of the fellowship, told Baptist Press the group is "on board" with the church planting emphasis led by NAMB within the Southern Baptist Convention. He said church planting is the focus of the fellowship during the annual meeting and throughout the year. "If we're just having an annual fellowship and not doing some sort of intentional church planting, the meeting is just a fellowship," Manao said. "We would just come and enjoy seeing one another. That's part of it, to see pastors and friends, but we would like to report on something that's exciting." The Filipino Fellowship, which was founded 19 years ago and meets each year during the convention, recently established the Asian Multiplication Evangelical Network and divided the United States into nine regions. Within each region, the fellowship facilitates Filipino church planting conferences, such as one held last November at the offices of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. Manao, pastor of Philadelphia Bible Church International in North Philadelphia, anticipates that those who attend the annual fellowship will receive inspiration for church planting in the year ahead. "The Filipino fellowship is really working hard," Manao said. "We are aware of the growing population of the Filipino community in the United States. It's growing to 4 million now, so that's our passion. Engaging in church planting is something we can do in the years ahead. "We're alive. We're a strong fellowship, and we're united. We love to support churches by networking and collaborating in new works. We would like to see more churches in the growing Filipino population of the United States," Manao said. To register for the meeting, email Manao at rmanao@aol.com or call him at 610-580-8635. The fellowship also has a Facebook page. --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Erin Roach. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- Native Americans name executive director By Diana Chandler Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37683 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The Fellowship of Native American Christians will install Gary Hawkins as FoNAC's first-ever executive director during its June 18 meeting in New Orleans as a step toward a greater national presence. Hawkins, a church planting associate at the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, will work to strengthen FoNAC's network of churches and evangelistic efforts, said Emerson Falls, the group's president. "That will enable us to have a day-to-day presence," Falls said. "There's a lot of interest. But we just need to get out there and make the connection. When we do things together [as FoNAC churches] we can accomplish much more." Meeting at 9 a.m. in Room 333 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, FoNAC will install Hawkins and conduct its business meeting, in advance of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Hawkins will begin working full-time in January 2013 and will raise funds on the national mission field to support the position. The fellowship's theme, "Together We Can," is drawn from Ecclesiastes 4:12, emphasizing progress the group hopes to make as a more cohesive unit, Falls said. In the past year, the fellowship of some 450 congregations has added two churches. Falls, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma, estimates that 90 percent of Native Americans are non-Christian. He ministers to Native Americans by relaying the message of Jesus Christ while respecting cultural sensitivities and acknowledging past mistakes of Christian missionaries. "Native Americans do not have a great history with Christians. What we want to do is present Jesus Christ and what Christ can do for them as Native Americans," Falls said. "We're having to make up for the mistakes that missionaries have made in the past. They were making Anglo persons out of Native American persons. Today, Indian churches look just like Anglo churches." During the June 18 business meeting, Falls will ask fellowship churches to give FoNAC 1 percent above their Cooperative Program gifts to fund the new central office, to be based in Tulsa, Okla. "We're going to make a concerted effort to contact the churches," said Falls, who is expecting up to 70 messengers to attend the FoNAC session. "We want to put CP first. I'm very much a strong Southern Baptist." Developing indigenous leadership, working in new territory, strengthening its existing work and securing new funding sources, such as grants, are among the priorities the fellowship will address in New Orleans, Falls said. The group, organized in 2008, also will elect officers. "We just feel like the resources are in the harvest" for indigenous leadership, Falls said. In evangelizing non-Christian Native Americans, FoNAC will work in conjunction with state Baptist conventions. "We do have a lot of potential churches in Mississippi and Louisiana," he said. Currently, the Choctaw Baptist Association in Ackerman, Miss., has about 20 churches. There are no Native American fellowship churches in Louisiana, the annual meeting's host state. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -- End of story -- Messianics to discuss congregation planting By Staff Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37695 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship will meet June 15-16 in New Orleans to focus on discipleship and congregation planting and to gain encouragement for the task of reaching Jews with the Gospel. [QUOTE@left@180=The Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship will meet June 15-16 at First Baptist Church in Kenner, La., in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting.]"We are living in exciting times. Look at what is happening around the world and in the Middle East in particular," the fellowship's leadership team said in an email about the annual meeting. "We look forward to what the [Lord] will do in Jewish evangelism this next year." The fellowship's annual meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, June 15, with praise and worship and a teaching session at First Baptist Church in Kenner, La., at 1400 Williams Boulevard. On Saturday, worship will begin at 9:30 a.m. with Stuart Lee, a Messianic Jew who has served in music for more than 20 years. "My desire and goal as a worship leader is to remind people that we serve and worship a holy God who is more than we can ever fathom," Lee said. "Sometimes I feel that we take God for granted and go about our week without ever encountering Him and recognizing Him for the Holy One that He is." Lee is a worship leader at The Rock of Israel Messianic congregation in Long Grove, Ill., who also previously planted a Southern Baptist Messianic Jewish congregation. Also on Saturday morning, Sam Nadler, president of Word of Messiah Ministries, will speak about a balanced Messianic approach to discipleship, particularly as it relates to congregation planting. "Sam is a dear brother and a good friend of the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship," the group's website said. "He has compiled a congregational planting training program that is a powerful addition to the SBMF, 'New Works Leadership' discipleship program. In December there was a congregational leadership boot camp at the Word of Messiah facilities where several of our members attended." Nadler is described by the fellowship as a Jewish believer in Jesus who has a passion to communicate the Good News to his people and to see discipleship established in Jewish communities around the world. He has been in fulltime ministry since the 1970s, first as a leader with Jews for Jesus, establishing their New York City ministry. At noon on Saturday, the group will dismiss for lunch offsite, and they'll reconvene at 1:30 p.m. for worship with Lee followed by a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. and a business meeting at 3 p.m. Dinner will be offsite at 5 p.m., and at 7 p.m. they'll have a Havdalah service, which will include music and teaching. The fellowship voted last year to change its membership policy, effective this year. As part of that, a revised constitution will be available in June. Individual membership dues for the Messianic fellowship are $25 per year, and congregational membership for a congregation of fewer than 50 people is $250 per year. Congregations with 50 to 100 members are asked to submit membership dues of $350 per year. Along with dues, congregations should provide the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of members who desire to be listed as members of the Messianic fellowship. Membership dues may be mailed to Marjorie Bohning, the fellowship's treasurer, at 5943 North Kansas Avenue, Gladstone, MO 64119. The fellowship's leaders have asked that members consider including donations to offset annual meeting costs, such as for brochures and other literature to be distributed in the exhibit hall at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans. The Messianics will be included in an SBC ethnic ministries booth sponsored by the North American Mission Board at the annual meeting. "Our booth activity in the past has been a wonderful networking resource for the SBMF," the leaders said on the website. "We meet local church leadership people who can help us send missionaries and plant Messianic congregations. "This year all the ethnic ministries of the SBC can come together to make new friends and tell the brothers and sisters about our specific evangelism outreaches." The leaders added a word of gratitude to NAMB for the mission board's assistance through the years. "What a blessing they have been to our fellowship," the group said. For planning purposes, the Messianic fellowship's leaders would like to know in advance who will attend their annual meeting. Those who plan to attend may email sbmf@sbmessianic.net. --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Erin Roach. For more information about the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship, visit sbmessianic.net. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- Korean Council to meet in Maryland By Karen L. Willoughby Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37694 LEWISVILLE, Texas (BP) -- The Council of Korean Baptist Churches in America has announced that its 31st annual meeting will be June 18-20 in suburban Baltimore. The guest speaker will be a South Korean pastor, Sun Ro Kim of Han Ma Eum Baptist Church where about 1,500 people participate in Sunday morning worship in the city of Chuncheon in the country's Kangwon province. "His specialty is evangelism and planting churches," said Chongoh Aum, executive director of the Korean Council, which encompasses about 1,000 Southern Baptist churches in North and South America. "He has started many churches." About 40 Korean Southern Baptist churches are in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Members from those churches will provide meals for pastors, leaders and their families attending the Korean Council's sessions, which include children and youth activities at the Westin Baltimore Airport Hotel, 1110 Old Elkridge Landing Road in Linthicum, Md. Colossian 1:28-29 is this year's Scripture verse: "We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me" (HCSB). This year's meeting will include the election of officers and the once-every-four-years election of the executive director. Aum said he is willing to serve another term; no other candidates have announced. "We want to go to New Orleans, to be with the SBC annual meeting," Aum said, "but in New Orleans, only two Korean churches." A sizable number of Korean churches is needed with enough members to prepare the quantity of Korean food needed for the gathering. "Next year we will be in Houston," Aum said, referring to the host city of 2013's annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. Aum expressed his regret that the annual meetings of the Korean Council and the SBC were set for the same dates. Leaders of the Korean Council would prefer to meet on different dates when unable to meet in the same city, so that Korean pastors could participate in the SBC sessions, Aum said. "Maybe five or 10 Korean pastors will attend the SBC this year," the Korean Council executive director said. "This year, we don't have a choice." To accommodate the large number of attendees with children and teens wanting to come to the Washington, D.C., area, the meeting needed to wait until children were out of school, Aum said. Because of the conflict with the SBC annual meeting, no leaders from the International Mission Board or the North American Mission Board are expected to make presentations at the Korean Council this year. Because of room availability at the hotel, no small group breakout sessions have been planned. About 400 people participated at the 2011 annual meeting of the Council of Korean Baptist Churches in America, which took place at New Song Church in Carrollton, Texas. Of the 190 churches represented, 52 committed to the "Embrace" initiative of the International Mission Board for unengaged, unreached people groups, as challenged by Tom Elliff, the IMB's president. A report on the churches' Embrace efforts is expected at the 2012 meeting. --30-- Karen L. Willoughby is managing editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message. -- End of story -- Pam Tebow to address pastors' wives session By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37702 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The annual Pastors' Wives Conference will feature testimonies from Pam Tebow and Jeannie Elliff and a roundtable discussion about parenting children of ministers. The conference is scheduled from 8:30-11:45 a.m. Monday, June 18, in Hall B-1 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. There is no cost for the event and registration is not required. Women who serve in any facet of local church leadership, missions and denominational work are invited to attend. Tebow, mother of NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, is a former missionary to the Philippines and the wife of an evangelist. She and her husband Bob have five children and four grandchildren. The notoriety of the Tebow family increased when Tim, their youngest son, won the Heisman Trophy following his sophomore football season with the Florida Gators. Because ESPN aired the portion of an interview with Pam that focused on her refusal to abort "Timmy" when she was advised to do so, she has gained a national platform for the pro-life message. Elliff spends much of her time traveling with her husband Tom, who serves as president of the International Mission Board. The Elliffs served as Southern Baptist missionaries to Zimbabwe in the early 1980s. He also pastored churches in Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. Eleven of their 25 grandchildren live overseas. Music will be led by Eric and Kristin Yeldell of Naples, Fla. He serves as associate pastor of contemporary worship and ministries and they are parents to three preschoolers. Susie Hawkins, author of "From One Ministry Wife to Another" and wife of GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins, will lead the roundtable discussion on parenting. Hawkins will be joined by Elliff and Carmen Howell, a pastor's wife from First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., and mother of two daughters; Elicia Horton, a church planter's wife from Koinonia Bible Church in Kansas City, Mo., and mother of two daughters; and Cindy King, a pastor's wife from Ezekiel Baptist Church in Philadelphia and the mother of six children. LifeWay Christian Resources and the North American Mission Board are assisting with funding for this year's Pastors' Wives Conference. --30-- Tammi Reed Ledbetter is news editor of the Southern Baptist Texan, newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. -- End of story -- Ministers' wives to view inward beauty By Erin Roach Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37682 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Ministers' wives will view inward beauty at their annual luncheon in New Orleans as they study "The Hidden Person of the Heart," drawn from 1 Peter 3:3-4. In the passage, Peter tells wives that their beauty should come not from outward adornment but from a "gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." The Ministers' Wives' Luncheon will begin at noon Tuesday, June 19, in Hall B-1 of the Morial Convention Center. Janet Wicker, president of this year's luncheon, said it's countercultural for women to follow the leadership of their husbands, but the concept is paramount for pastors' wives. "It's one of the things that I learned early on as a pastor's wife -- to trust my husband as God spoke to him," said Wicker, whose husband Hayes Wicker is pastor of First Baptist Church in Naples, Fla. "Cultural messages are coming to us about what a woman is and what she can do, but we need to hear what God's perspective is," Wicker said. Mary Kassian, an author and professor, will be the luncheon's guest speaker. A New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary jazz band and Kristin Wicker Yeldell will provide music. As Wicker prayed over the theme, she said she knew immediately she would ask Kassian to speak because of her skillful teaching of biblical womanhood. "She's outstanding and so balanced. She's intelligent, she's witty, she's cute," Wicker told Baptist Press. "My daughters, who are 33 and 22, absolutely love her, so she has the ear of women of all ages. "Her husband is a chaplain, so she understands what it's like to be married to someone who is called to ministry," Wicker said of Kassian. "I'm confident in her handling of the Scriptures and know that our women will leave the luncheon not just with inspiration but with wonderful teaching from the Word of God, so I could not be more thrilled." Kassian, a women's studies professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, most recently wrote an eight-week study on biblical womanhood with Nancy Leigh DeMoss titled "True Woman 101: Divine Design." "Having Mary to interpret that theme I think will be so incredibly encouraging because our culture has objectified women and has put so much emphasis on external appearances, and we need to remember that the greater beauty is an attitude of humility before the Lord, even in response to our husbands," Wicker said. Also at the luncheon, women will receive gift bags filled with books and with items unique to New Orleans. The bags this year are made by women in India through Freeset Global who were caught up in prostitution but then came to faith in Christ. About 120 bags made by Women of Hope in Nigeria will be available for purchase at the event. During the luncheon, ministers' wives will have an opportunity to submit personal prayer requests that prayer warriors at First Baptist Naples will respond to over the next year. "I believe pastors' wives will be very much refreshed and challenged by coming to this particular meeting. We're trying to foster wonderful relationships with everyone around the table," Wicker said. "I also believe that they will hear from Mary a message that will be such a great exhortation to us that it could impact their ministries when they go home," she added. "It will encourage them, I think, to be courageous in their stand for biblical womanhood and their modeling of this as wives of ministers." Advance tickets are $15 at Lifeway.com/sbcwives; $20 at the door. The SBC Ministers' Wives' Luncheon dates back to 1955 when two Georgia pastors' wives realized the importance of that state's ministers' wives' conference and decided that the national convention would benefit from such an organization. They made plans for a tea at the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City during the 1956 convention and were overwhelmed by the response. Always held on Tuesday during the SBC annual meeting, the luncheon is open to wives of all ministers, including pastors, staff members, chaplains, missionaries and denominational workers. --30-- Erin Roach is assistant editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- Associational leaders 'Igniting Passion' By Diana Chandler Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37680 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions will emphasize passion in ministry at its June 17-18 meeting in New Orleans. The conference is open to all associational leaders. Registration and more details are available at www.sbcadom.org. With the theme "Igniting Passion," drawn from the May 20–27 Week of Prayer for Associational Missions, the sessions will challenge conference attendees to live as the early disciples did in modeling Jesus, said Johnny Rumbough, SBCADOM president and director of missions for the Lexington Baptist Association in South Carolina. "We're asking associational leaders to look at their vision and then choose their focus," Rumbough said. "This would allow each local association to focus on their specific ministry passions." SBCADOM will meet in Leavell Chapel at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 3939 Gentilly Blvd., in advance of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Rumbough said SBCADOM will use a variety of communication techniques, including sermons, presentations and interviews, as well as key leaders to address the importance of passion in various areas of ministry. "When we look at the way the disciples did it in the New Testament, it worked. [Jesus] changed the world beginning with 12," Rumbough said. "My goal is that when [the DOMs] leave, they feel like together we are able to accomplish what we've been commissioned and equipped to do." The conference is offering online a free download of the booklet, "Igniting Passions," as its 2012 Associational Missions Emphasis Study Book. Fred Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans and to date the lone nominee for SBC president, will speak on "Igniting Passion to Encourage Pastors." Richard Blackaby, president of Blackaby Ministries International, will address "Igniting Passion to Grow Deeper with God." Addressing an array of topics will be Tom Billings, executive director, Union Baptist Association, Houston; David Smith, executive DOM, Austin Baptist Association in Texas; Jim Goodroe, DOM, Spartanburg County Baptist Network in South Carolina; David Lee, director of lay mobilization, Lexington Baptist Association in Kentucky; Tom Elliff, president, International Mission Board; Kevin Ezell, president, North American Mission Board; Stan Albright, national director for associations, NAMB; and John Bailey, a church planter enlistment manager, NAMB's mobilization group. Also on the program are Rick Robbins, DOM, Northern Kentucky Baptist Association; Sid Hopkins, executive DOM, Gwinnett Metro Baptist Association, Lawrenceville, Ga.; Terry Sharp, director/lead strategist, state and associational relations, IMB; Charles Westbrook, senior pastor, Saluda River Baptist Church, Lexington, S.C. Conference attendees will meet June 17 from 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and June 18 from 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., with breakout sessions from 1:30–4:30 p.m. The registration desk will open at 8 a.m. each day. Among the breakout sessions: a financial management seminar led by Gregg Capin and Dan Campbell of the national accounting firm CapinCrouse, LLP Certified Public Accountants, specializing in serving nonprofits. Valerie Rumbough, a CPA, certified financial planner and chief operations officer of the Baptist Foundation of South Carolina, also will provide financial expertise. Additional breakout session topics will include New DOM Orientation, led by Robbins; Spiritual Leadership, Blackaby; Missions 101: Developing a Missional Strategy, Sharp; and Church Planting Centers, Bailey. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has graciously partnered with the SBCADOMs, Rumbough said, in allowing the use of it facilities and offering economical lodging. Conference registration is $100; $25 for spouses. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -- End of story -- Evangelists to proclaim Gospel's power By Diana Chandler Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37681 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Messengers arriving in advance of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in New Orleans are invited to worship at a June 17 service hosted by the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. COSBE will feature three evangelists who will emphasize the theme "The Gospel: the Power of God Unto Salvation," in the 9:30 a.m.–noon service in the Napoleon Room of the New Orleans Hilton Riverside, Two Poydras St. The theme is drawn from Romans 1:16 and embodies the evangelist's call, COSBE President Dean Forrest said. "That's what our ministry is about. It's our heartbeat," Forrest said. "Our cry to our convention and to ourselves is we need to remember to keep the main thing the main thing. Stay focused on the Gospel." COSBE will announce at the worship service its latest Hall of Faith inductees, who will join Billy Graham, Mordecai Ham and 33 others honored as stalwarts of the faith and the cause. COSBE former presidents Keith Fordham of Fayetteville, Ga., and Braxton Hunter of Evansville, Ind., will preach, along with evangelist Eric Ramsey of Mountainburg, Ark. "They'll each have individual sermons surrounding the importance of the Gospel," Forrest said. COSBE music director Russell Johnson and his wife Kristi of Conway, S.C., will lead music for the worship. COSBE will hold a mini-retreat from 1:30–3:30 p.m. and its annual business meeting from 4-5 p.m., both at the Hilton. Various COSBE members will speak during the retreat, and it will be a time of fellowship and networking for COSBE members, Forrest said. The group will elect officers during the business meeting. "We are on the road and it's rare that our paths cross," Forrest said. "It's a time for us to get together and fellowship as well as learn from each other." He said about 100 COSBE members are expected for the retreat and business meeting. COSBE recognizes the gifting and calling of evangelists and shares with the SBC evidence of the spiritual gift of evangelism in daily life, Forrest said. "It's always a goal of COSBE to relate that information to the convention, that God is calling evangelists and it takes all of us for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry," Forrest said, referencing Ephesians 4:11. While COSBE is composed of vocational evangelists, "its members most often minister alongside local church pastors to equip believers in evangelism and help them reach their communities with the Gospel," Forrest said. --30-- Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. -- End of story -- Seminary gatherings slated for June 20 By Staff Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37721 NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- For New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, it will be a campus picnic. For the other five seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention, it will be a convention center setting. In each case, alumni and friends of the six seminaries will gather Wednesday, June 20, in New Orleans to hear updates from their respective schools and renew their ties of friendship. A list of the seminaries' plans follows: NEW ORLEANS -- For alumni and friends of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, attending a Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in the Crescent City wouldn't be complete without a trip to the NOBTS campus. Scheduled for this year's alumni and friends, reunion, then, are a campus picnic and a worship gathering in Leavell Chapel. The seminary's alumni relations office will host the June 20 campus event following Wednesday morning's SBC business session. The picnic will be served in Leavell Chapel Quad. In addition to seeing the campus since its recovery from 2005s Hurricane Katrina, NOBTS President Chuck Kelley will relay an update on the previous year's developments and activities at the seminary. The Distinguished Alumni for 2012 will be named and an alumni treasurer will be elected. The program also will include a report from national alumni president Jay Johnston on the accomplishments and activities of alumni chapters for the past year, a 50-year anniversary recognition of the class of 1962 and a remembrance of the alumni who have died during the past year. The meal, to be catered by Corky's Bar-B-Q, will include pulled pork sandwiches, spaghetti, cole slaw, baked beans and brownies. Tickets are $8 per person if purchased by June 11, $10 afterward. A limited number of tickets are for sale, so those who plan to attend are encouraged to purchase tickets early. To purchase tickets before the convention, visit NOBTS' online ticket site at www.nobts.edu or send a check payable to NOBTS to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Attention: Alumni Relations, 3939 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70126. Checks mailed to purchase tickets must be received by June 11 and can picked up at the seminary's exhibit hall booth in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. GOLDEN GATE -- Jeff Iorg, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary's president, will be the featured speaker at the alumni and friends luncheon June 20 at noon in rooms 240/241 on Level 2 of New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Iorg will report on the seminary's activities over the past year and discuss new initiatives for the coming year. In addition, Golden Gate's distinguished alumni award will be presented. Reserved tickets, at $10 per person, are available by calling 1-888-442-8709 or emailing rsvp@ggbts.edu. Tickets also be purchased at the SBC annual meeting at Golden Gate's exhibit hall booth #531. MIDWESTERN -- Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will host its annual alumni & friends luncheon June 20 at noon in rooms 220-222, Level 2, of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Pastor Steve Dighton from Lenexa Baptist Church will give a devotional and Midwestern's interim president, Robin Hadaway, will give a seminary update. To purchase a $15 luncheon ticket, call Carol Mack in Midwestern's institutional advancement office at 816-414-3747 or email IAoffice@mbts.edu and include complete names of all attendees, a cell phone contact number and email address. Reservations are due before Thursday, June 14. Reserved tickets can be picked up and paid for at Midwestern's exhibit hall booth on Monday or Tuesday during the SBC annual meeting. SOUTHEASTERN -- Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary will host its annual alumni and friends luncheon on June 20 from noon to 1:30 in the La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom, Section C, on Level 2 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Daniel Akin, Southeastern's president, will address a "Vision for the 21st Century Great Commission Seminary." Luncheon tickets are $25 per attendee. To register or for more information, go to www.sebts.edu/alumni/events/default.aspx. SOUTHERN -- Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's luncheon for alumni and friends will be June 20 at noon in the La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom, Sections A & B, Level 2, of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. will present a ministry update on behalf of the seminary. Tickets, at $25 each, may be purchased by calling the institutional advancement office at 502-897-4142 or by e-mailing Retta Draper at rdraper@sbts.edu. Remaining tickets will be available at the seminary's exhibit hall booth. SOUTHWESTERN -- Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's national alumni luncheon on June 20 will begin at noon in rooms 243-345 on Level 2 of the Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center. SWBTS President Paige Patterson will present the seminary's annual report and the 2012 distinguished alumnus award. Tickets, at $20 per person, may be purchased online at www.swbts.edu/sbclunch or by calling 1-877-GO SWBTS (467-9287). Tickets also will be available during the SBC annual meeting at Southwestern's exhibit hall booth. --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press editor Art Toalston. -- End of story -- CULTURE DIGEST: Tony Blair establishes 'Faith Foundation' to promote respect for religions By Staff Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37713 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Calling faith "a powerful force for good in the modern world," former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has established the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to promote respect and understanding about the world's major religions. The idea for the foundation was formed during Blair's time in government, he said. [QUOTE@left@180='I began to analyze conflict in the world and found the majority had a religious or cultural element.' -- Tony Blair]"Even before 9/11 and certainly since then, I could see that the use of hard power and even the use of traditional systems of soft power were inadequate to deal with a strain of fundamentalist ideology that was religious in nature," Blair said at the Global Philanthropy Forum in Washington April 16. The extremism, Blair said, was not based simply on a set of political aims but on a "profound distortion of faith." "I began to analyze conflict in the world and found the majority had a religious or cultural element. I became convinced that we could not confront the extremism unless we were prepared to engage with religion as religion, not as a derivative of politics," Blair said. As people of different cultures and faiths "mix together, live together and work together as never before" amid the unstoppable force of globalization, understanding and learning to accept other religions becomes crucial to securing peace, the former prime minister said. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation is designed in part to improve young people's religious literacy, according to its website, helping them understand that "faith is an essential part of the modern world" and "is not something either old-fashioned or to be used for extremism." "Rather, faith is something that has much to give and to teach a world in which economic globalization and political change is offering many opportunities but also presenting many dangers," Blair wrote on the website, tonyblairfaithfoundation.org. GROUPON BOYCOTTED OVER PORNOGRAPHY PROMOTION -- Morality In Media is leading a boycott of the popular coupon company Groupon after it offered discounts on tours of a pornography studio in San Francisco. The studio, housed in a historic armory, is particularly known for its use of torture, and visitors may encounter live filming in process, according to an NBC Chicago blog. Groupon's market is primarily composed of women customers, and Morality In Media decried the company for supporting the objectification and humiliation of women, including teenage girls. When Dawn Hawkins, executive director of Morality In Media, wrote to Groupon urging that the company stop offering discounts for the tours, a customer support representative wrote back saying the company "didn't intend to offend anyone." "We've run deals with this specific business before, and while we realize it may not appeal to everyone, we've received positive customer feedback on past offers," the Groupon representative wrote. "We thoroughly vet the businesses we feature, which is why we take these concerns seriously," the email continued. "Fortunately, this business has proven to be a responsible member of their community and the tour offered in this deal is historical and informational in nature." For more information about the boycott, visit waronillegalpornography.com. ALA. REP CONFESSES ABORTING FIRST CHILD -- Alabama state Rep. Ed Henry confessed he "murdered [his] first child" to fellow pro-lifers gathered April 12 outside the state capitol in Montgomery. Henry, a sponsor of a pro-life life bill in his first term as a Republican in the state legislature, told the rally audience he went with his girlfriend for her abortion 20 years before, the Times Daily of Florence, Ala., reported. While they both chose abortion, he accepts most of the responsibility, said Henry, 41. "There was discussion and talk about it, but I do feel a heavy burden from the decision," he said. The reality of what he had done struck him when he accompanied his wife for a check-up when she was 12 weeks pregnant with their first of two daughters. "I saw that ultrasound of my baby, my child, and it came down on me like a ton of bricks that I had murdered my first child. And I will carry that with me to the grave," Henry told the pro-life audience. He was 30 years old at the time. Henry proposed legislation to bar Alabama's exchange plan under the 2010 federal health care reform law from covering abortion. He said he had not intended to tell his post-abortion story at the rally, but he also has not tried to hide it. He has shared it with his church and at least one other group, Henry said, according to the Times Daily. "I will fight to save babies all day long, and I will live with my regret for the rest of my life," Henry said. PLANNED PARENTHOOD SPOKESMAN JOINS OBAMA ADMINISTRATION -- The Obama administration has hired a Planned Parenthood spokesman to be one of its spokesmen. The Department of Health and Human Services announced April 20 its hiring of Tait Sye, media director of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, as its deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, Politico reported. Sye had served in the PPFA position for more than four years before accepting the HHS offer, according to the report. Sye participated in PPFA's defense of the HHS abortion/contraceptive mandate issued in January. That rule requires all health plans to cover contraceptives and sterilizations as preventive services without cost to employees. The contraceptives, as designated by the federal government, include some drugs that can cause abortions by blocking implantation of tiny embryos. Sye is expected to deal with abortion and contraception as part of HHS communications involving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, Politico reported. "Personnel is policy.... This is one more example of how intertwined the Obama administration is with the abortion industry and Planned Parenthood," Americans United for Life President Charmaine Yoest told Politico. FERTILITY CLINIC ADVERTISES SEX SELECTION -- A fertility clinic in Washington state is promoting its sex-selection business to Indians living in British Columbia. The Washington Center for Reproductive Medicine in the Seattle-area city of Bellevue is advertising its "gender determination" service in the Indo-Canadian Voice, a newspaper that targets people from India living in the far western province of Canada, the Vancouver Sun reported April 17. The ad has appeared in the paper's print edition and on its website. The ad shows a young boy and girl in traditional Indian dress with the headline: "Create The Family You Want BOY or GIRL." It describes the service this way: "Pre-conception gender determination for family balancing purposes." The clinic tests embryos it creates to determine their sex, then implants in the mother's womb those chosen for in vitro fertilization. Embryos not implanted typically are placed in frozen storage, destroyed or donated for research, which kills them. The ad demonstrates the low esteem of females in the Indo-Canadian community, said Sabrina Atwal, a project director for the Indo-Canadian Women's Association in Edmonton. "A lot of times, girls are fighting for their lives before they're even born," Atwal said, according to the Sun. A preference for sons is common among Indians in their home country and other countries, and advanced technology has enabled them to act on that preference in implantation and giving birth. That preference exists in the Indo-Canadian community because of dowries and the perception sons are more able to take care of their parents, Atwal said. "There's a belief that the family's not complete until there's a boy," she told the Sun. A study issued April 16 found Indian- and South Korean-born women in Canada have boys as second babies at a disproportionately high rate, according to the Sun. "Our findings raise the possibility that couples originating from India may be more likely than Canadian-born couples to use prenatal sex determination and terminate a second or subsequent pregnancy if the fetus is female," the study reported. --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Erin Roach and Washington bureau chief Tom Strode. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: The dark side of prenatal testing By Penna Dexter Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37723 DALLAS (BP) -- As Rick Santorum left the presidential race, he also left the nation better educated on the sanctity of human life. His daughter Bella's recent hospitalization, her second during heavy campaigning months for her dad, took him off the campaign trail and to her side. An "inconvenience," some might say, but one the Santorum's chose, when they chose life for Bella, their seventh child. Bella has a genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18, or Edwards Syndrome, which impairs development and often leads to death in childhood. Increasingly, prenatal testing allows this disorder to be detected before birth. About 90 percent of babies diagnosed prenatally with a serious disability, even Down syndrome -- which can be relatively mild -- are aborted. But for Bella, the Santorum's chose life. Jeanne Monahan, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, fears this phenomenon, which she calls "the next genocide," will get much worse with a new, easier prenatal test -- a highly accurate molecular test for Down syndrome, called MaterniT 21. Ms. Monahan says this test, which requires only a sample of the mother's blood, will be covered by the national health care law ("ObamaCare"). Ms. Monahan says prenatal testing is not "inherently evil." Sometimes these tests detect conditions for which doctors can then treat the baby in utero. But she told CNN, "the fact that it leads to so many abortions is absolutely troubling." Family Research Council held a conference recently for medical students and health care professionals. One of the speakers was Kristal Dahlager, a third year law student at Liberty University. Kristal said prenatal testing can be -- and often is -- used as a way to "target persons with disabilities for abortions." Kristal herself faced this. Just as her mother went into labor with her, doctors found problems with Kristal's heart, lungs and brain. They also said she had no arms or legs and a mineral deficiency that would cause her bones to break in natural birth. They told her parents that she was a "completely hopeless defective" and that if she was allowed to be born, "she'll just ruin your life." The Dahlagers were advised to abort. But Kristal's mom had a C-Section to protect the baby's bones. Yes, Kristal was born with a disability. But her heart, lungs, arms, legs and brain were all fine. She speaks to groups, from a wheelchair, and is grateful to her parents for her life. There is a bill making its way through Congress, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, which would ban sex-selection or race-selection abortions. This bill, or another, should also address the disabled. New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, a champion for pro-life legislation, says children, whether they are "sick, disabled or healthy" possess "fundamental human rights that no sane or compassionate society can abridge." Back in the 1960s when prenatal testing emerged, medical technology got ahead of our medical ethics and never caught up. Prenatal testing and the medical personnel involved are convincing far too many women to abort. We must change this. --30-- Penna Dexter is a conservative activist and frequent panelist on the "Point of View" syndicated radio program. Her weekly commentaries air on the Bott and Moody radio networks. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: Why I write so much about the culture By Kelly Boggs Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37724 ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- Through the years I have on occasion been asked why I choose to address issues of a social and political nature in my writing. In my new role as the Louisiana Baptist Convention's liaison to the Louisiana Legislature, the question has changed, but only slightly. I'm now asked why I am willing to invest my time rubbing elbows with elected officials. The short answer to both questions is I want to make a difference. The longer answer to the questions ultimately arrives at the same conclusion. But the lengthier answer does seek to provide some rationale for my willingness to tackle cultural issues that some would not touch with a proverbial 10-foot pole. The focus in my writing and with the Louisiana Legislature is on ideas and issues, and not on individuals. I seek to address policies and laws that will not only impact our culture, but will ultimately shape the attitudes of society. Some contend that morality cannot be legislated. That view is not only misguided, but it is naive. All of our laws and policies are rooted in morality. Even an attempt to be amoral is a moral position. The question is not whether or not morality be legislated. The real question is: Whose morality will be enshrined in law and policy? Over the last four to five decades, activists possessing a liberal view of morality have sought to influence law and policy in the United States. As a result, many issues once deemed purely moral in nature have been pushed into the political arena. Allow me to explain what I mean by "activists." Activism consists of organized efforts to promote, impede or direct social and political change. It can take on a variety of forms: letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, lobbying, boycotts, rallies, street marches and strikes. But the activist's goal is to impose his or her morality on society. As a result issues such as abortion, homosexuality, poverty, animal rights and the environment, all have been politicized. And because politics has the tendency to incite controversy, many believe the followers of Christ should avoid the subjects altogether. There is a scene from "Hoosiers," one of my favorite movies, that I believe adequately sums up the reality of some of our friends on the Left. It also shows why retreating from moral issues that have been politicized is simply not an option. In the film Gene Hackman plays basketball coach Norman Dale. Dale has been hired as the new high school basketball coach in Hickory, Ind. When Coach Dale arrives in Hickory, basketball practice already has begun under the direction of a local man name George. Dale feels he needs to take control of the situation so he tells George, "First of all, let's be real friendly here, okay? My name is Norm. Second, your coaching days are over." George, who takes basketball very seriously takes umbrage to the coach's remarks and replies, "Look, mister, there's two kinds of dumb. A guy that get's naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon, and a guy who does the same thing in my living room. First one don't matter, the second one you're kind of forced to deal with." Many activists on the Left are like the guy in George's analogy that invades his living room. They really cannot be ignored. Now, I am not saying that activists are dumb. They are anything but dumb. What I am saying is they have invaded the living room of society and are pushing to normalize many behaviors that are aberrant. If we avoid the moral issues that have been politicized, then all we are doing is surrendering what we believe. We are allowing another view of morality -- or even immorality -- to shape the future of our society. This is something I am unwilling to do. At the very least, when I write or address legislative issues I want people to realize there are rational people who hold traditional, biblical views on these issues. Ultimately, I hope to change minds. In lieu of that, I hope to at least make people think about the positions they hold. If time reveals all I have really done was impede the encroachment of darkness as it slowly engulfed society, then in the end I hope I still made a difference, even if only in one person's life. --30-- Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press, director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention's office of public affairs, and editor of the Baptist Message www.baptistmessage.com, newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp). -- End of story -- EDITORIAL: Siguiendo y Obedeciendo a Nuestro Dios By Mike Gonzales Apr. 27 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37718 NOTA DEL EDITOR: La columna First-Person (De primera mano) es parte de la edición de hoy de BP en español. Para ver historias adicionales, vaya a [URL=http://www.bpnews.net/espanol]http://www.bpnews.net/espanol[/URL] GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- El ser salvos significa que Dios espera algo de nosotros al vivir en este mundo. Dios espera que le sigamos y que le obedezcamos toda nuestra vida. El problema que vemos hoy en día es que algunos de los seguidores y obreros de Cristo no están haciendo esto. La verdad es que muchos están viviendo vidas derrotadas, vida raquíticas y sin el poder de Dios. Muchos seguidores del Señor están viviendo vidas sin ningunas convicciones bíblicas. En muchas iglesias no se nota mucha espiritualidad en la vida de los miembros. No se está compartiendo abiertamente el evangelio de Cristo en la comunidad y lo peor es que muchas iglesias están viviendo sin el Poder de Dios porque no se predica la Palabra de Dios en los púlpitos. ¡Es urgente poner nuestra mirada en Dios! Dios ha equipado la iglesia de hoy con el poder que viene de lo alto. Jesucristo lo hizo posible cuando él murió en la cruz y resucitó al tercer día. La iglesia es una iglesia de resurrección y no una iglesia derrotada y muerta. Cada congregación debe tener éxito en todo lo que hace porque Dios está control. I de Corintios 15:57 y 58 nos dice: "Mas gracias sean dadas a Dios, que nos da la victoria por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Así que, hermanos míos amados, estar firmes y constantes, creciendo en la obra del Señor siempre, sabiendo que vuestro trabajo no es en vano." Dios espera que la iglesia de nuestro siglo sea fuerte, firme, madura y victoriosa. La iglesia debe saber que la victoria no viene de este mundo pero sólo viene de Dios. Para vivir una vida victoriosa en Cristo se requiere dos cosas de nosotros: que le sigamos y que le obedezcamos. Cuando Pablo se dirigía a la iglesia en Corinto, esa iglesia no era una iglesia modelo, al contrario, era una iglesia llena de pecado, de enojo y de mucha carnalidad aunque la fachada era muy religiosa, y por eso Pablo amonesta a esta iglesia con una mano muy severa porque era una iglesia pecadora. I Corintios 4:14 nos dice: "No escribo esto para avergonzaros, sino para amonestaros como a hijos míos amados." Dios nos ama pero también nos amonesta. Él cubre nuestras vidas con Su amor. Dios disciplina a sus hijos cuando lo necesitan. Y disciplinar significa que Dios nos ama. Pero a la vez Dios nos avisa de los peligros que nos rodea. Debemos tener nuestra mirada siempre en Cristo Jesús y seguirle y obedecerle hasta que Él vuelva. Recuerdo de niño cantar un himno muy a menudo en la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Baytown, TX que se llama "Para Andar Con Jesús." Vale la pena recordar la primera estrofa y el coro de este himno escrito por John H. Sammis en 1887: "Para andar con Jesús no hay senda mejor Que guardar sus mandatos de amor; Obedientes a Él siempre habremos de ser Y tendremos de Cristo el poder. Coro Obedecer, y confiar en Jesús Es la regla marcada Para andar en la luz." --30-- Dr. Mike Gonzales es director de los Ministerios Multiétnicos de la SBTC. -- End of story -- Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press 901 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37203 Tel: 615.244.2355 Fax: 615.782.8736 email: bpress@sbc.net