As we come to the end of August, and I reflect on the missions and ministry efforts our Convention staff and churches have participated in this summer, I realize we have all been very busy! For example, this summer middle and high school students,...

An article was recently published in the Biblical Recorder (July 20 issue) and on our Convention website about the first Pakistani church plant in North Carolina. This is a testimony to God's power and grace, as He has brought a man all the...

Last month I came across a New York Times article in which the author described her experience caring for a grandparent with Alzheimer’s. The author shared that although providing care was difficult, her parents raised her to value family. I...

I recently had the blessing of attending the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting in Houston, Texas. I always look forward to this time each year when Southern Baptists are encouraged through wonderful ministry reports, testimonies of God at...

Our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., is home to many monuments and memorials that help us honor and remember those brave Americans throughout our history who fought for the freedoms we now enjoy in these United States.   If you...

About a week ago, members of our staff returned from a Southeast Asia vision tour. They met with International Mission Board missionaries and spent time in villages with local believers. They also explored opportunities for North Carolina Baptists...

Some college students spend the summer break enjoying a little down time after working hard all year to meet the grueling demands of the academic school year, and they certainly deserve this time off during the summer.   However, students...

About two years ago the Barna Group released a research study that concluded only about four percent of Americans tithe. To know that only such a small percentage of believers tithe not only disappoints my heart, but also greatly concerns me...

When their daughter Kenzie was just three weeks old, Eddie and Tracy Martin learned that she had a rare form of Down Syndrome. On that same day, the Martins were told their daughter needed heart surgery, and she needed it immediately.   I...

Mission and vision clarification are essential in organizations of every size. Unless North Carolina Baptists understand and embrace the mission and vision of this Convention there is little motivation for them to support the future direction of...

In his booklet “Awaken,” Chris Schofield tells how a prayer movement began in New York City in 1857 when one person began praying that God would bring people together to pray. On the first day of prayer one man knelt alone to pray...

With each passing year that the Lord privileges me to serve Him, my appreciation, understanding and amazement of all that I observe God doing continues to increase. As I look toward next month and my seven-year anniversary of serving as your...

In Acts 8:26-31 we read about a divine encounter that leads to a spiritual rebirth in Jesus Christ. In this text we read that God sent Philip to meet an Ethiopian eunuch. When Philip met the eunuch he was reading from the prophet Isaiah. He wanted...

Later this year, in November, Billy Graham will celebrate his 95th birthday.   The Lord has used Rev. Graham to proclaim the message of our Savior’s cross throughout much of the world. I have always been encouraged by his humility and...

Several years ago the Barna Group conducted a research study to help determine some of the challenges that evangelicals experience regarding their spiritual growth.   One of the findings especially caught my attention: Of those surveyed...