Bells clanging, bodies burning, smoke rising — I’ll never forget my first experience of the Aarti along the banks of the Ganges. People were passionately worshiping. Not the Most High God, but the goddess of the Ganges River. Every year hundreds of thousands of worshipers make the pilgrimage from around the world to Varanasi. Every night thousands gather along those banks and in small boats on the river to experience this unique and well-choreographed worship service.

DULUTH, Ga. – Georgia lawmakers will see a renewed effort from the state’s largest religious group to protect biblical definitions of gender and to oppose efforts to expand gambling when they convene next month in Atlanta for the start of the 2023 legislative session. Messengers to the 1.4 million-member Georgia Baptist Convention approved a series of resolution last month, including one that reiterates their opposition to allowing male athletes to compete as females in sporting events.

The Georgia Baptist Pastors Day at the State Capitol will take place Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Combining the annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast and Pastors’ Day into one helped make last year’s event such a success. Because of that, this year’s event, hosted by the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s Public Affairs department, will once again combine the two. We encourage you to join us at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast and to hear from legislators, public policy experts and activists.

“Will you make the first and most expensive Christmas gift this year a gift to our Global Missions Offering?” Sitting in the sanctuary of Calvary Baptist Church in Winston Salem, North Carolina, on the first Sunday of December, I heard Pastor Will Toburen ask that question of his congregation.

Most people no longer get a tax deduction when they donate to charity. That shouldn’t keep you from making donations, but you may want to change your approach. Typically, only taxpayers who itemize deductions can write off charitable contributions.

America’s largest Christmas tree is no longer found at Rockefeller Center in New York City. America’s tallest Christmas tree now resides in Enid, Oklahoma, standing at 140 feet, 75 percent taller than the Rockefeller Center tree. Last year’s tree, dubbed the “Christ Tree,” was ringed with 20,000 multi-colored LED lights, decorated with 10,000 ornaments, and circled with 12 smaller trees.

Georgia’s largest religious organization is still growing both numerically and ethnically. In November, 17 new congregations joined the Georgia Baptist Convention, which has some 1.4 million members in about 3,600 churches.

The ruling that overturned Georgia’s heartbeat law on Tuesday risks the lives of countless unborn babies whose best hope at this point is that the attorney general’s office prevails on appeal.

As we think about all elections, we need to remember that it is imperative that Christians vote and be engaged in this process. It’s one of the most basic rights that we have as Americans and one of the great responsibilities we have as followers of Christ.

It’s always something. Last year supply chain issues caused a turkey shortage. This year bird flu (Avian Influenza) is running rampant and impacting chicken, eggs, and turkeys as our Thanksgiving dinner approaches. Hormel tells us to expect a turkey shortage of at least 20 percent, which will drive up turkey prices.

Once again people can get a close-up look at the Christmas decorations at the Georgia state Capitol during a series of Christmas prayer tours which are scheduled starting December 7th. We welcome you to join us! Our prayer tours are designed to give participants the opportunity to be informed about what happens at the Capitol and to pray for those who are making public policy decisions.

International Baptist Church of Debrecen, a collaborative effort church plant between International Mission Board missionaries Gary and Carolyn Miller, national believers and other Christian workers, has grown to reach 50 people each week. In this international city, the church focuses on college students and young adults who come to Debrecen to make their home while studying.

One of the easiest things to find for many people is fault.  There’s always a critic.  In fact, criticism is the one thing many believe is more blessed to give than to receive.

In Bible times, the name was more than a label, but was given to communicate character or designate mission. When the angel told Mary she would bear a son and call his name Jesus (Luke 1:31), he told her how great Jesus would be. Philippians 2:9 says His name is a name above every name, the most important name in all the earth.

Only a few decades ago, the Bugkalot people were one of the fiercest tribes in the Philippines, known for beheading their enemies. No outsider who contacted the tribe survived, and the people around them lived terrified of them. Then, in the 1950s, the gospel slowly took root in the tribe after some of the leaders met believers and came to faith.

NAKURU, Kenya – If you are looking for an example of humility, you can find it in Pastor David Mwangi. He was the Provincial Education Officer for the Rift Valley Province of Kenya and the pastor of the African Inland Church in Nakuru, perhaps the most prestigious church in Kenya where the second president of the nation was often in attendance.

Hurricane Ian, the fifth strongest hurricane to hit the U.S., made landfall September 28 with sustained winds of 150 mph, almost category 5 status. Over a hundred people died, over one thousand were …

The Christian Index has had nearly a quarter of a million people log in to read articles so far this year. Google analytics track that for us, and I’m encouraged by the trends that suggest the nation’s oldest religious newspaper remains relevant to our Georgia Baptist community. Newspapers across the country have been in decline for several decades. Subscriptions and advertising have been in free fall, and industry executives have been at a loss as to what do about it. We’ve taken a number of steps to ensure the Index remains strong.

As Hispanic Heritage Month draws to a close, it seems fitting to reflect on some of the victories and opportunities we have seen in terms of reaching the lost among the Hispanic communities, both inside and outside the U.S.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. – In God’s remarkable plan of creation He made man in his own image. Every person has the privilege of daily writing a new chapter of his/her life on beautiful parchment pages provided by God. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world where sin abounds. Consequently, our lives are scarred by sin, failure, guilt, heartache, disappointment, pain, sorrow, loss, and death; and as we daily write the chapters of our lives, the pages are often tattered and torn by those experiences that cause us to stumble and fail.

God specializes in taking our broken lives, shattered dreams and colossal failures and puts us back together again.

MARIETTA, Ga. – As a pastor for over 40 years I encountered several people who were suffering from bipolar disorder. My heart went out to them because I could tell that they were in a merciless struggle for survival. They seemed to live at the mercy of their impulses. They were easily agitated and irritable. Their minds catastrophized everything that went slightly awry. I discovered that people who are beleaguered with bipolar have major manic and depressive episodes that are frighteningly alarming, and the whispering voice inside often insists that the only way of escape is suicide.

There’s just something about this place called Pinnacle. From the moment I first stepped foot on these grounds, I recognized that Pinnacle is a hallowed place – a place we regard as holy because of our personal encounters with the Living God on this hallowed ground, a place that belongs to God, and not to us.  We simply steward His gift. It is a place where God consistently meets our needs abundantly beyond all we ask or imagine.

It is the people that we put in office that ultimately are responsible for good or bad legislation. This is why it is important that you should know as much as possible about the candidate’s position on issues before you vote.

In a remote location outside of Richmond, Va., missionaries appointed with the International Mission Board undergo a season of training before embarking on their first term of mission service. Within the next three years, IMB hopes to have increased its missionary force by an additional 500 personnel carrying the gospel to some of the least reached people in the world. Just prior to leaving American soil, these will come through this International Learning Center, and many of these will come from Georgia Baptist churches.