June 18, 2013 in Make A Comment
A Pensacola News Journal cartoon took a hard slap at Southern Baptists this week. The SBC passed a resolution regarding the Boy Scouts and their recent decision to include openly homosexual scouts into their membership. The SBC has stood against this action for many months during the discussion. Now that the Boy Scouts have made their decision, many churches are weighing their future involvement. In a recent article the PNJ stated it is just a matter of time before homosexual leaders are also embraced. So far the Scouts have said no to that step. The recent editorial cartoon says that the SBC loves all the children of the world, except for the gay children. To say the Southern Baptist churches do not love children because they disagree with their lifestyle is rank ignorance. To use that logic on the PNJ would mean that the writers at the paper do not have love for any Baptist they disagree with. Surely the local press is better than this. Click here for the Baptist Press article listing the full text of Resolution 6 on the change of membership policy of the Boy Scouts of America.
June 14, 2013 in Make A Comment
It has been a great week at Olive VBS. It all started with a BANG on Monday with a big lighting and thunder storm. But the rest of the week the weather calmed down. The church campus has been an ant hill of activity. Worship services, Bible teaching, activities, snacks and more were abundant every day. I was saved in VBS 49 years ago, so this week is always special to me. On Thursday I gave the Gospel appeal to the older children. Many responded and we are still following up. Friday has been a great day of baptism. It was a joyful celebration of salvation and public profession of faith. Yes, the Gospel works! I met one family who had two brothers in attendance. The boys are 7 and 9 years old. They had never been to church before Monday. This is one of the reasons we do VBS. It is still one of our best outreach tools. An army of volunteers make the event possible. And our staff team is first class! It has been a fruitful week!
June 11, 2013 in 1 Comment
The 2013 Southern Baptist Convention began today. Recent statistics from LifeWay Research show that our denomination of churches is in a downward trend. We are baptizing fewer people and membership is declining. We have work to do. And no one in a denominational headquarters building is going to fix this problem. We have work to do in the local church. That is the true Baptist headquarters. There are some good signs. A church planting movement is stirring among us. Churches are taking action to start churches in dark places. I am hearing more talk about the need of repentance and revival. And revitalization of existing churches is becoming a priority. I ask you to pray for your church and your pastor today. If the pastors heart is not on fire, the church will never blaze!
June 4, 2013 in 5 Comments
The Boy Scouts have been in the news with the vote to approve open homosexuality in scout troop membership. They have not acted on allowing homosexual leaders. All of this has placed many of their sponsoring partners in a tough spot. The tension arises when a Bible-believing church is the troop sponsor. And there are many of those. I enjoyed my days as a scout. I accomplished First Class. The Merit Badge work was good for me. The induction into the Order of the Arrow was a fearful but growing experience for me. Recently I had the privilege to preach the funeral for Bryce Slater. He was one of the men who served as our Scout Master. Troop 256 did some great things for boys. The camping experience was wonderful. The program stretched us. We learned to BE PREPARED. I remember clearly reciting the Boy Scout Oath: On my honor, I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. Now the Scouts are changing membership requirements. Can a church which believes homosexuality is a sin sponsor ...
May 31, 2013 in Make A Comment
It is graduation time! I walked across the stage in the Pisgah gym 41 years ago. When young people receive a high school diploma they have taken a significant step. They did not quit, drop out or fail the grades. They have been successful. This Sunday we will honor high school graduates. In August of last year I took the seniors on the roof of our worship center. We had prayer and I challenged them. I also gave each one of them a red key. My lesson was that Jesus would unlock doors for them if they would follow. I love these kids. They have been through change at Olive with our youth leadership. They have been faithful. I am proud of them.
