Entity heads address messenger questions
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Messengers had opportunities to ask questions of the presidents of Southern Baptist entities during those entities’ annual reports to the convention in New Orleans. Following are accounts of questions posed by messengers on the convention floor and responses by entity presidents. Not all entity presidents were asked questions. INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD […]
Laos native receives WMU’s O’Brien award
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Laos native Mycie Vue of Brooklyn Park, Minn., has been named as this year’s recipient of the Dellanna West O’Brien Award for Women’s Leadership Development by WMU and the WMU Foundation. With the encouragement of her pastor, Vue, a member of First Hmong Baptist Church in St. Paul, discovered WMU in […]
Students ‘prayer’-cache across New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Students used GPS-enabled devices to “prayer”-cache from downtown New Orleans to the French Quarter and across the city as part of youth activities during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. The prayer thrust was based on “geocaching,” a modern-day treasure hunting game in which players try to locate hidden containers, called […]
‘Bible storying’ is key to reaching 2/3 of world
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to reach two-thirds of the world’s population who “learn through stories or music, drama or poetry.” “If you hand them a book to read, they either can’t read it or they won’t read it,” IMB worker Annette Hall said of chronological Bible storying’s […]
God-given femininity: Value it, Kassian says
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — A sold-out crowd of 1,800 ministers’ wives heard Mary Kassian speak on “The Hidden Person of the Heart,” drawing from 1 Peter 3, at their luncheon during the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in New Orleans. Kassian, a women’s studies professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a national speaker for […]
Mary Cox honored by ministers’ wives
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Mary Cox, who has served alongside her husband, Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Ga., for the past 30 years, was honored with the 2012 Willie Turner Dawson Award during the Ministers’ Wives Luncheon at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans. Cox also […]
IMB, NAMB presidents address DOMs’ queries
NEW ORLEANS — The Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Directors of Missions held its annual meeting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary June 17-18. Nearly 225 associational leaders attended the SBCADOM sessions in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 19-20 in New Orleans. Day one of the conference was highlighted by interviews […]
Evangelists underscore ‘power of God’
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Two former presidents and the new president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists focused on “The Gospel: The Power of God Unto Salvation” during the group’s Sunday morning worship June 17 in New Orleans prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Braxton Hunter expressed impatience with division over the […]
Israeli tourism ministry honors 3 SBC leaders
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Three Southern Baptist leaders were recognized by the Israel Ministry of Tourism with a Faithful Ambassador Award June 18 for their support of Christian tourism. Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, was honored at a “Celebrate Israel” breakfast, along with Jack Graham, senior pastor of the Dallas-area […]
Bedouin tent at SBC inspires Great Commission prayer
NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Jill Welton quickly discovered that the Bedouin tent inside the convention center wasn't a marketing gimmick. It was a place for prayer and reflection. Welton, a pastor's wife from Berryville, Va., had come to New Orleans for the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting and visited IMB's booth in the exhibit hall. [[email protected]@200="Some of the nicest people I've ever met are Muslims.... They're actually more open to talk about religious things than many Christians in the United States." --Luke Bray]The prayer tent, which dominated IMB's display, was modeled after the desert dwellings of the nomadic Bedouin tribes of North Africa and the Middle East. It was created to inspire SBC messengers to deepen their commitment to be Jesus' heart, hands and voice, following Him in obedience to the Great Commission no matter the cost. It featured five stations that focused prayer on Jesus' commands in Matthew 16:24-25 for believers to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him. Welton was overwhelmed by the words of Karen Watson, a Southern Baptist worker martyred in 2004 in Iraq. Before Watson went overseas, she penned a letter to be read by her pastor in the event of her death. Excerpts of the letter were displayed at one of the prayer stations: "When God calls there are no regrets.... To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory is my reward." "I wrote down every word," Welton said. "I'm going to print it up and post it in my cubicle at work because it is incredibly inspirational." Two years ago, Welton helped her husband Van start Apple Valley Baptist Church in Berryville. The congregation averages about 40 people on Sundays. She said the prayer tent was a good reminder that success isn't measured in numbers but in obedience. "It's so easy to get caught up in the world's idea of success, and when you don't think that you fit that mold, you may see yourself as a failure," Welton said. "And I think that's a good way for me to encourage my husband as pastor of a small, growing church."
