Southern Gospel Celebration draws 1,200
RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)–Like so many of the 1,200 attendees, Jean and Lee Barham were hoping to hear inspirational music and messages at the inaugural Senior Adult Southern Gospel Celebration at the LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. “Seniors tend to go to things like this,” said Jean Barham, who’s been married to Lee for […]
RESOURCE: ‘Spirit-Led Preaching’
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)–Greg Heisler was interested in how the Holy Spirit affects preaching when he was in seminary. His interest in the subject led him to write his Ph.D. dissertation on “A Spirit-Driven Methodology of Expository Preaching” in 2003 at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. The dissertation critiqued his Ph.D. instructor’s definition […]
Small churches vital to SBC, Page says
LEWISVILLE, N.C. (BP)–David didn’t ask for a break when he faced Goliath. And a church shouldn’t have an inferiority complex because it is small in size, said Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention. If a church reaches out to the “unchurched,” then it’s large in the eyes of God. Page exhorted small-church pastors […]
Challenges listed by small-church pastors
LEWISVILLE, N.C. (BP)–A LifeWay Research study reveals that the top challenge facing small-church pastors is finding enough hours in the day to do the Lord’s work. Brad Waggoner, vice president of B&H Publishing Group and former LifeWay Christian Resources vice president over the research and ministry development division, shared the findings at “Impact 2008,” a […]
Small-church concerns aired at conference
LEWISVILLE, N.C. (BP)--Steve Schenewerk pastors Winston Community Baptist Church, a small congregation about 80 miles south of Eugene, Ore.
Ex-Mormon harassed for Nauvoo witness
NAUVOO, Ill. (BP)–Nestled along the banks of the Mississippi River about 270 miles southwest of Chicago, the Illinois town of Nauvoo is just a dot on the map for most people. Nauvoo had seen better days as a thriving producer of cheese and wine until the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built a […]
It’s good to go ‘fishing,’ speakers say
RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)--Mike Smith sat in a wooden rocking chair overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains and spoke about why people have trouble with evangelism. "Jesus said, 'Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men.'
Sessions convey multi-faceted discipleship
RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)--Wanting ideas for starting a men's ministry at his church, Bill Morris was typical of those who attended the annual National Evangelism and Discipleship Conference at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center.
Chaplains represent the ‘church at large’
RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)–For many people, the image of a chaplain is Father Francis Mulcahy from the long-running television series “M*A*S*H” who gently ministered to military personnel of all religious denominations -– and some who never attended church. While chaplains do provide much-needed comfort to military personnel, they are dispersed in all walks of life -– […]
Centrifuge: then & now
RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)–In 1979, Andy Anderson was recruited from his seminary studies in Texas to work as an outdoor education director at a summer camp being started by the Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) of the Southern Baptist Convention. That camp was Centrifuge, which has become LifeWay’s biggest summer camp for youth. That […]
