I participated in two Cooperative Program celebrations in the past two weeks. One in Murray, Ky., at First Baptist Church recognizing the origins of the Cooperative Program and the other in Memphis, Tenn., commemorating its adoption by Southern Baptists nationally as our primary Great Commission funding tool.  

When I started my third year of teaching history at Poynor Junior High in Florence, South Carolina, following graduation from Furman University in 1962, I could not have imagined that I would start the 1965 school year at Newton Memorial School in Osogbo, Nigeria. Newton existed as a boarding school for Southern Baptist missionary kids in grades 5 to 10.  

“The House of David” has been a surprise hit this season on Amazon Prime. With a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 91%, this series focuses on the life and times of Israel's beloved earthly king. 

We now live in a world and society of skepticism. Most people no longer believe the Bible is true or that it is God’s Word. Things Christians hold sacred are now considered myth.

One of the joys of pastoring is celebrating the milestone achievements of the people you serve and love. Over the previous few weeks, I have had the distinct joy of attending numerous graduations, from kindergarten to college, marking the significance of a completed goal.

Saying “no” to ministry opportunities can feel painful. But the reluctance to say no, even to good things, can negatively impact one’s life and ministry. 

One of the most important new sentences in the proposed revised Business and Financial Plan is in the first section – The Cooperative Program.

Recently, my aunt, who resides in an assisted living facility, celebrated her 92nd birthday. My mom wanted to call her sister, but she no longer has a cell phone. We decided to call the nurse’s station and request someone bring a phone to her so Mom could wish her happy birthday.

The Great Commission is more than a command—it’s a calling to be a disciple and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Every church has a discipleship culture, whether intentional or not. The question is: Is your church’s culture actively making and multiplying disciples? 

Doctors Bryson and Taylor (Building Sermons to Meet People’s Needs) said, “What you think about the Bible will not change what the Bible is. However, what you think about the Bible will determine the person you become.” They went on to claim, “The Bible has been uniquely inspired, marvelously preserved, and thoroughly proven.”

Located just 500 miles northeast of Vancouver, the Fraser River in British Columbia divides into two streams. One flows eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. The other runs westward to the Pacific Ocean. Dubbed as the Great Divide, just six inches after the fork in the river, each new conduit is unchangeably fixed.

The term “sister churches” refers to communities of like-minded Christian faith and practice who see themselves as united in relationship and mission — committed to following Scripture faithfully and working together to fulfill the Great Commission.

Teaching Sunday school or leading a Bible study is both a profound responsibility and an incredible privilege. On the one hand, you're speaking for God—teaching and explaining the deep truths of Scripture. On the other hand—you are speaking for God. That reality brings with it an overwhelming responsibility we must not take lightly, and an awesome honor we should gladly embrace.

According to the Bible. “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews (9:27 NASB). Believers will face the Judgment Seat of Christ, a time of exposure, loss, and reward. Those who die without Christ can expect a separate judgment, the Great White Throne of God.

On March 16, a storm passed over our town and it knocked out electrical power at our house for ten hours. This was much longer than usual and long enough to prove very inconvenient to us. It also demonstrated just how dependent we have become on modern conveniences and luxuries. My wife said we had become spoiled, and she was right.

Hoschton sits just beyond the edge of Atlanta’s suburbs. It’s the small-town Georgia living experience that many across our state enjoy. With fewer than 5,000 residents, it’s easy to see it as little more than another exit with a Cracker Barrel. But God is doing something new in this community.

Yale University was founded because Harvard University was deemed too liberal. How ironic is that, considering both universities are light-years away from their founding principles.

In a matter of days, 135 eligible cardinals from around the world will gather in Rome for a papal conclave in order to choose the next pope for the Roman Catholic Church. Meeting beneath the artistic scenery of the Sistine Chapel, these electors will vote as many as four times per day until their chosen leader receives a two-thirds majority.

​Several years ago, in Peachtree City, Georgia, a community known for its extensive multi-use path system, a golf cart crashed into a car. Interestingly, the cart was steered by a blind man who drove two miles before wrecking into a parked automobile in a restaurant parking lot.

The days of Baptist pastors changing churches every 18 months are long gone. Many pastors and ministry leaders now stay 10 years or more in their assigned place of ministry.  

During the recent Easter season people around the world heard much about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of the Son of God, the Savior of the world, is, of course, the centerpiece, the cornerstone, the lynchpin of our faith.

The Apostle Paul can arguably be considered the best Christian who ever lived. But he was not always such a man. Far from it. In fact. Paul was originally Saul of Tarsus, an evil man who hated Christ …

I’ve been encouraged recently by all the posts about Easter on social media. I love the family photos. I love watching children hunt eggs. I love seeing families come together for meals. But most importantly, I love the truth behind this special day on the calendar.

What is an emotional affair and why must pastors, elders and ministry leaders fight against succumbing to this temptation?  According to one online source, “An emotional affair is a non-sexual relationship involving a similar level of emotional intimacy and bonding as a romantic relationship.”

Many things run through the minds of college students at the end of the academic year. Exams are over, and summer is here! Families and friends ask when you’ll be back, and you begin counting the weeks and days of relaxing, maybe working, or going on exciting trips. Looking at your calendar, you see six to eight weeks of being away from school and back “home.”