Age catches up with us all. Over the last few months, I noticed that while reading or writing, my eyes were straining, and my bifocals were not getting the job done to my liking. I made an appointment with my optometrist and endured the exams. As I expected, the bifocal part of my glasses needed some additional strength.

Many of the letters in the New Testament follow a common pattern. The first part of the letter sets forth the doctrine, and the second half provides discipleship content.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Federal Judge William Campbell has granted the defense’s request and dropped all but one claim in Johnny Hunt’s lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC Executive Committee, and Guidepost Solutions.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Harold “Preacher” O’Chester presented his library of more than 5,000 books, collected over decades of ministry, to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on March 26, with the goal of assisting students and encouraging others to do the same.

BANGKOK, Thailand — A devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed more than 1,600 people in Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, March 28. Send Relief, the compassion ministry of Southern Baptists, is responding through local partners and churches to provide essential supplies, including food, water, emergency shelter, clothing, blankets, hygiene and sanitation items, and flashlights.

Last summer, International Mission Board missionary Holly Smith was feeling discouraged about her language skills. She longed to be able to share Christ with people in the local language, but it was a struggle. She recalled crying out to God, “Lord, I don’t feel like I’m doing anything.” 

When Grant Falls was born in 2022, his parents, Laura and Seth, had a traumatic start to life with their son. His condition was far worse than they expected when the doctors noticed he had a heart problem in utero.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Prestonwood Baptist Church and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary formally marked the opening of Prestonwood Pregnancy Center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, March 26, on the seminary’s Fort Worth campus.

Kentucky Baptists, working with the International Mission Board, is embarking on a new emphasis with the goal of reaching Chile with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

CICERO, New York (BP) — Frank Williams has been voted the next executive director/treasurer of the Baptist Convention of New York, the group announced in a press release Thursday, March 27..

The National Parent Retreat, hosted by the International Mission Board last week on March 20-23, brought 148 parents of IMB missionaries together for a time of encouragement and connection. 

LAPLACE, La. (LBM) – Guoybing Tang first came to faith as a member of a Chinese underground church in 2023, but only recently did he publicly celebrate his new life in Christ, having been bap­tized by the First Baptist Church, LaPlace.

WASHINGTON (BP) — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom continues to call for Nigeria, Afghanistan, India, and Vietnam to be added to the U.S. list of Countries of Particular Concern for religious liberty violations.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — How can ministry effectively breach the eventful schedule of a college athlete without forcibly dragging him from the practice field to the pew? Will an ultimatum of “Sunday morning church or else” really win the heart of a non-believing teammate for Christ?

ATLANTA — Senate Bill 36, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed the House Judiciary Committee 9-6 on Wednesday after amendments washed away prior changes, restoring the bill to the version that the Senate approved in early March.

Makayla came out of the cell first. With purpose. Last Sunday morning at 7 a.m., female inmates at the county jail milled into the multi-purpose room for Bible study. It was coffee day, so they made a line for freshly brewed coffee with flavored creamer. There were also Little Debbie cakes.

MONROE, Ga. — Reaching the 7 million plus lost people in Georgia with the gospel of Jesus Christ is a priority for Georgia Baptists. Thomas Hammond, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, is meeting with pastors across the state to encourage and find ways to focus on evangelism. Also, this year’s annual meeting of the convention will include an evangelism conference.

Today is my last day of full-time work because I am retiring. It feels so foreign to even type that sentence. I am excited and anticipating retirement, but also a little scared and uneasy.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Southeastern Seminary hosted its first Redeem and Restore Counseling conference last week, designed to encourage and equip Christians to counsel with care and to think redemptively about the ministry of counseling. Over the course of three main sessions, over 250 attendees heard from Southeastern counseling faculty Kristin Kellen, Nate Brooks, Brad Hambrick, and Sam Williams (retired).

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Kindness and acceptance were not things David usually experienced in his interactions with other people. Despite being described as covered in tattoos and looking “scary,” that’s what was shown to him when he attended Port Arthur City Church on the first day it launched as a church plant last year.

DALLAS — Organizers of Crossover 25 are urging Southern Baptists nationwide to pray as preparations ramp up for this year’s evangelistic outreach on June 2-8. Held annually in the host city of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting, Crossover brings churches together to share the gospel with residents during the week before the Annual Meeting.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Anecdotes often portray parents and student ministry leaders at odds, but both groups share a desire to see the next generation grow spiritually. Each also believes they have a positive, healthy relationship with the other.

DALLAS (BP) – A preliminary schedule for this year’s SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas June 10-11 was released Tuesday, March 25, by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Committee on Order of Business.

POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — Members of the Executive Committee of the Georgia Baptist Conventions were encouraged to remain faithful at their meeting March 11 at Burnt Hickory Baptist Church in Powder Springs.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program and the seminary’s role in its beginning during a Founder’s Day chapel service on March 13 on the Fort Worth campus.