Resources from 1995

"In other decades Baptists were better indoctrinated than they are today. The environment in which they lived, sometimes inimicable to them, was conducive of the mastery of their principles. Of later years, a tendency to depreciate doctrinal discussion is easily discernible, and young converts particularly are not rooted and grounded in the faith. Modern nonchalance […]

            As he walks to Wednesday night dinner, Pastor Paul reads the phone message again: "Complaint at high school: Christian teens can't wear t-shirts at school. See Red Moore before prayer meeting." "T-Shirts?" ponders the pastor. "I guess now the ACLU wants to regulate our underwear. They'll call it Separation […]

Is it a spiritual discipline or a spontaneous response to a deepening relationship with God? And why are Baptists more known for their feasting than fasting? Fasting: A Discipline? Fasting is both an Old and New Testament teaching, mentioned more times in Scripture than baptism, says Don Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. […]

When Isaiah had a vision, he "saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up!" (Isaiah 6:1) Vision is seeing into a faith dimension, something which cannot be seen with the physical eye, yet something which requires enormous concentration, dedication, meditation, precise focus, and spiritual insight. Vision is seeing God in and through […]

      Bethlehem Boulevard: A Drive-thru Christmas Kingsland Baptist Church, in Katy, TX, presents the gospel for those on the go. The congregation brings to life more than 100 biblical characters in authentic dress and ancient settings as people drive down Bethlehem Boulevard. The cost of the drive is $4 per car, regardless of […]

Brother Bob delivered a masterpiece of homiletical eloquence. His studies had uncovered untold gems of biblical exegesis, myriad details of textual background, stirring quotations from Spurgeon and Shakespeare, and a gripping story to conclude the sermonic performance. Bob was still wondering what size his "Preacher of the Year" plaque might be when it all came […]

Over the past few years, editorials in state papers across the SBC have lamented the arrival of conservative leadership on our seminary campuses. The latest round of commentaries have included a call by one editor for churches to actually boycott graduates from Southeastern, another called for the creation of a seminary to compete with Southern […]

In more than a handful of Baptist churches, it's the "board of deacons" that seems to rule the roost at business meetings — no longer waiting tables, instead exercising great authority in the midst of congregational rule. "What this means is that all the recommendations of the church have to come back through (the deacons) […]

Denying my part of the post-Nintendo generation, I do not keep company with video arcades or computer games. However, seeing young people lost in these pastimes I decided to have a go at one myself in the Atlanta Airport. Stepping into a game niche in the T terminal, I latched onto "Mortal Kombat," deposited my […]

The non-Christian world continues to find ways to shift attention away from God to material things, and at Christmas, the problem is even more noticeable. Our society has moved from a time, several hundred years ago, when gifts at Christmas were almost non-existent to the current material focus where we feel guilty if gifts don't […]