July 12 2018 by
Diana Chandler, Baptist Press
Safe flights from Haiti following a violent citizen uprising have allowed most Southern Baptist mission teams to return to the U.S., Baptist Press has learned. Teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee returned to the U.S. beginning July 9 after air travel resumed from the island nation.
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July 11 2018 by
Keelan Cook
Let me just come out and say it: pornography is a problem that impacts the mission field. In our #MeToo era, we’re used to seeing web articles speaking of the dangers of pornography. We hear – and it is most certainly true – that pornography is both the result of and fuel for the objectification of humanity.
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July 10 2018 by
K. Allan Blume, BR Editor
Forty-eight of 50 North Carolina senators signed a senatorial statement urging the Turkish government to release Pastor Andrew Brunson. A Presbyterian minister from Black Mountain, N.C., Brunson has been imprisoned by Turkey since Oct. 7, 2016. He was arrested and wrongly associated with a group that Turkish authorities say …
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July 10 2018 by
Diana Chandler, Baptist Press
About 200 Southern Baptists on mission were trapped in Haiti after violent riots closed airports, sources told Baptist Press, but at least one team returned home July 9. “The Woodland Community Church (Bradenton, Fla.) and The Glade Church (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) team arrived safely at the airport in Port-au-Prince this morning!
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July 10 2018 by
David Roach, Baptist Press
The Filipino president’s offer to resign if anyone can prove the God of the Bible exists has drawn reactions from Christians across the globe. Dan Santiago, president of the Filipino Southern Baptist Fellowship of North America, said Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte lacks “solid biblical knowledge of the Judeo-Christian God.” Meanwhile, Filipino Catholic leaders …
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July 10 2018 by
Karen L. Willoughby, Baptist Press
The world is the common denominator – and the focus of prayer – for an array of ministries of Semihan Church in Carrollton, Texas, site of the 2018 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist fellowship known informally as the “Korean Council.” Even Semihan’s name reflects the link: “Se” is part of a Korean word for world; “mi” …
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July 9 2018 by
Liz Tablazon & Seth Brown, BR Staff
As North Carolina’s population continues to shift toward greater ethnic and cultural diversity, the Peoples Next Door N.C. (PNDNC) strategy to bring the gospel to unreached people groups across the state hasn’t changed. That is because “we already had the mentality that we’re equipping people to go to these individuals,” said Zac Lyons, senior consultant …
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July 9 2018 by
Diana Chandler, Baptist Press
Thousands have viewed and shared an open letter signed by Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore and a related video endorsing just and fair immigration following a full-page ad in The New York Times. Moore, a longtime supporter of the just treatment of immigrants, is among eight faith leaders included in 65 initial and ethnically diverse …
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July 6 2018 by
Caroline Anderson, IMB
Pavan* grew up feeling unsettled in his destiny. As the firstborn son in his family, he thought he would have to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a Buddhist monk. But music intervened into this cultural tradition that should have dictated his future. Pavan, now a Christian pastor, recounted his past and the persistent …
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July 6 2018 by
David Roach, Baptist Press
Canada’s nationwide legalization of recreational marijuana, said a Canadian Baptist leader, should spur churches to adopt a “more aggressive approach” to warning believers about the spiritual and physical dangers of drug use. “Everyone is going to be exposed to” legalized marijuana use, said Gerry Taillon, national ministry leader for the Canadian National Baptist Convention.
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