Seminary luncheons draw alumni, guests
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Campus updates and award presentations highlighted the alumni luncheons hosted by Southern Baptist Convention seminaries June 20 during the SBC annual meeting in New Orleans. Following are reports from the luncheons: NEW ORLEANS — Beautiful weather, good food, good music and Christian fellowship created a celebratory atmosphere during New Orleans Baptist […]
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. [QUOTE@left@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."
Southwestern report highlights Scrolls
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson invited Southern Baptist Convention messengers to come experience the Dead Sea Scrolls at the seminary during his report to the convention June 19. Patterson was referencing the seminary’s Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition, which begins July 2 and runs through January 13 […]
Ezell: bivocational pastors are SBC’s ‘Iron Men’
NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Called the "Iron Men of the SBC," some 180 bivocational pastors and their wives from 17 states attended the third annual Bivocational Luncheon Wednesday, June 20, during the SBC annual meeting in New Orleans. The luncheon was sponsored by the North American Mission Board.
NAMB, at SBC, spotlights spiritual need of North America
NEW ORLEANS, La. (BP) -- Last year at the 2011 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix, Matt Mowrey took the stage as a testimony to God's work in Norwich, Conn., through North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionary Shaun Pillay. This year Southern Baptists saw video of Matt's dad who, shortly after watching last year's presentation, became one of Norwich's newest believers. Recently, Matt's grandmother also accepted Christ.
During the NAMB report and presentation at the 2012 SBC annual meeting in New Orleans, NAMB President Kevin Ezell highlighted the importance of ongoing and sustainable efforts, like those in Norwich, in penetrating lostness in North America. "We're not planting churches that will make a difference for a week or a month or a year," Ezell told messengers. "We're planting churches that will continue to reach people year after year after year." To highlight the need for more churches in North America, Ezell offered a historical glimpse into the SBC's nearly two centuries. "When we started back in 1845, we started churches at a great pace. By 1900 there was one church for every 3,800 people," Ezell said. He added: "Today there are two different North Americas. One very well churched and one that's not." Ezell shared that some Southern states have one SBC congregation for every 1,400 people. But in Canada there is one church for every 117,000 people. In the northeast United States, the numbers aren't much better.Hawkins reminds messengers of founder’s pledge
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins, in his report to messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention, cited GuideStone founder William Lunsford and his first report to messengers. “In 1918,” Hawkins said, “our founder William Lunsford stood before this group and made this pledge to the pastors, ‘Give yourself wholeheartedly to the […]
SBC seminary presidents report to messengers
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Messengers to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention were reminded of the importance of theological education through reports from the convention’s six seminaries during the June 19-20 annual meeting in New Orleans. MIDWESTERN — Robin D. Hadaway, interim president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, updated messengers on the school’s […]
WMU notes benefits of RA, Challenger role
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Missions education and involvement for boys, a new tagline and social media were the focus of Woman’s Missionary Union’s report to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting. WMU Executive Director/Treasurer Wanda Lee said the return to WMU of responsibilities for Royal Ambassadors and Challengers will benefit local churches, providing a more […]
Resolutions address sinner’s prayer, gay marriage
NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention approved resolutions Wednesday reaffirming their convictions regarding the means of salvation and the inerrancy of Scripture while indicating their intention to continue cooperating in the Great Commission despite some theological differences.
Luter, Lino, Miller elected SBC officers
NEW ORLEANS (BP) — In a historic vote, Fred Luter was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 19 at the SBC annual meeting in New Orleans. He is the convention’s first black president. Luter, who was unopposed, is pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, one of the largest churches in […]
