HOW TO HELP: LOUISIANA BAPTISTS HAVE A CONTACT PAGE Tens of thousands of people displaced. Whole towns submerged under water. Livingston Parish has seen most of its homes destroyed. The town of Denham Springs was 90% under water. The Louisiana Floods caused by a low pressure system dumped over SIX TRILLION gallons of water on Louisiana. 2 feet of rain. Homes flooded. People have lost all of their possessions. Shelters have filled up with thousands of people. The Red Cross and FEMA are saying that this is the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast. The cost of damage … [Read more...] about Southern Baptists: Time to Help Louisiana Flood Victims
Bruce Ashford Interview, St. Louis Baptists and Refugees, and Reaching the Nations in North America Conference
The When Heaven and Earth Collide podcast, Episode 06 with Dr. Bruce Ashford, Provost and Professor of Theology & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians and One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics. Bruce also has a fantastic blog called Christianity for the Common Good at bruceashford.net. If you aren’t reading his stuff, you really should. Bruce Ashford is becoming one of the most significant voices on theology and culture in the SBC today – and beyond. In … [Read more...] about Bruce Ashford Interview, St. Louis Baptists and Refugees, and Reaching the Nations in North America Conference
Ed Stetzer Interview on Immigrants, Refugees, and How the Church Can Respond
In the latest When Heaven and Earth Collide podcast interview, Ed Stetzer and I talk about the changing ethnic landscape of America with the presence of immigrants and refugees and how the church can respond to what is happening demographically – but more importantly, respond to what God is doing in all of this and to the opportunities that are before us. We talk about the mission of the church and even a little about how the church can respond to our current political situation. Ed is the former president of Lifeway Research and the brand new Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center for … [Read more...] about Ed Stetzer Interview on Immigrants, Refugees, and How the Church Can Respond
Interview with Bryant Wright on Reaching Refugees with the Love of Christ
Continuing my series of interviews with Southern Baptist leaders on immigration/refugee ministry/advocacy from a Biblical perspective, I next air Episode 4 of the When Heaven and Earth Collide podcast: an interview with Pastor Bryant Wright of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia . Wright is also the former president of the SBC. In this interview, we talk about how local churches can help refugees who come to America experience the love of Christ. Wright and Johnson Ferry Baptist were thrust into the middle of controversy last December when they agreed to follow through on their … [Read more...] about Interview with Bryant Wright on Reaching Refugees with the Love of Christ
Update From Baptist Press: Alabama Pastor Calls His Church to Reach out to All Races with the Gospel. Church Fires Him.
UPDATE from Baptist Press Article. Church now says they did not fire the pastor because of racism. They said it was because of the message he preached on racism and the way he preached it. See link here. See below after the original article for the full BP article. Original Article: This morning, I was alerted to a story that seemed to belong to another era - but sadly it happened yesterday. A young pastor in a small Southern Baptist church in small town Alabama tries to lead his church to do outreach and invite children from the community to their upcoming VBS. The church is all white … [Read more...] about Update From Baptist Press: Alabama Pastor Calls His Church to Reach out to All Races with the Gospel. Church Fires Him.
Danny Akin Interview on the Great Commission, Immigration, and Rejecting Fear
The next When Heaven and Earth Collide podcast interview is up with Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Akin and I have a wide-ranging conversation about how loving and ministering to immigrants coming to America relates to Scriptural commands involving the Great Commission and loving our neighbor. Dr. Akin calls upon Christians to engage immigrants with the gospel, with service and sacrificial love, and to put aside fear of others and trust Christ in what God is doing in the people movements around the world. I asked Dr. Akin what he thought should … [Read more...] about Danny Akin Interview on the Great Commission, Immigration, and Rejecting Fear
Richard Land Interview On Immigration Reform and the Rule of Law
The When Heaven and Earth Collide podcast airs next an interview that I conducted in June at the Southern Baptist Convention with Dr. Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, NC. Dr. Land is the former long-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) where he also helped organize the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) and was a founding member. I hosted an Evangelical Immigration Table booth at the SBC and was able to conduct almost two dozen interviews with Southern Baptist pastors and leaders, including Dr. … [Read more...] about Richard Land Interview On Immigration Reform and the Rule of Law
Podcast Interview on Immigrant Ministry/Advocacy and Religious Freedom with Bart Barber
I am launching a new podcast on my blog entitled When Heaven and Earth Collide, based on concepts that I covered in my 2014 book by the same name about how Jesus enables us to "tell a better story" in a world full of strife, violence, and division. Back at the SBC in June, at the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) booth that we hosted, I interviewed around 20 SBC leaders about their thoughts on immigrant ministry/advocacy, what God might be doing in and through global people movements (Diaspora Missions), what the church could do, and what the church had to say to a watching world that was in … [Read more...] about Podcast Interview on Immigrant Ministry/Advocacy and Religious Freedom with Bart Barber
Why the SBC Refugee Resolution Is Important, Especially Now
I was very glad to see the resolution on Refugee Ministry be adopted by the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention's Annual Meeting last week. Today is World Refugee Day and a report was just released that states that the world now has 65 million+ refugees - now more than in the time period after World War II. We are facing a global crisis of tens of millions of displaced people from war, violence, terrorism, persecution, genocide, and forced migration. The Southern Baptist Convention chose to make a strong statement calling upon SBC churches to respond to this global humanitarian … [Read more...] about Why the SBC Refugee Resolution Is Important, Especially Now
Southern Baptists See Rise in CP Giving, Continued Drop in Baptism/Membership
Image from SBCthisweek.com. Cooperative Program Giving is up. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering giving is up. These are things to praise God for! But, as the image above shows, church membership is down. The number of churches and missions are barely up. Attendance, small group attendance, and baptisms are down significantly. Much of this is driven by demographics. When I go to SBC gatherings and conferences in my state convention and in other parts of the South, I am consistently one of the youngest people there. I am 41. At a recent meeting, a large number of the people there … [Read more...] about Southern Baptists See Rise in CP Giving, Continued Drop in Baptism/Membership