Monday, October 09, 2017

• Pitman to Las Vegas: 'Run to God' amid tragedy

  by Joe Westbury/The Christian Index, posted Monday, October 09, 2017 (2 years ago)

  

  Hope Church photo

  LAS VEGAS (BP) -- When Vance Pitman stood before the Hope Church congregation in Las Vegas Sunday morning, he looked over a group of people who had been forever changed in a matter of days.

  Everyone in the service could recount exactly where they were in the late evening hours of Sunday, Oct. 1, when the worst mass shooting in the nation's history unfolded just seven miles across town.

  Fifty-eight dead, not counting the shooter. Some 500 wounded. At least 20,000 ... Read More

• Clergy housing allowance struck down again

  by David Roach, posted Monday, October 09, 2017 (2 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required.

  MADISON, Wisc. (BP) -- For the second time, a federal judge has ruled the U.S. tax code's ministerial housing allowance is unconstitutional.

  Mississippi College law professor Matt Steffey told Baptist Press the ruling, unlike U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb's previous attempt to strike down the housing allowance, could be upheld on appeal to the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Mississippi College is affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention.

  The judge appears "bound by existing law to decide the case this way," Steffey ... Read More

• Federal memo on religious freedom draws praise

  by Tom Strode, posted Monday, October 09, 2017 (2 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required.

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Southern Baptist and other religious freedom defenders have hailed the Trump administration's new guidelines to safeguard in federal law the free exercise of religion.

  Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum Oct. 6 to executive branch departments and agencies that provides guidance on religious liberty protections. In introducing 20 principles of religious freedom, Sessions said, "[T]o the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, religious observance and practice should be reasonably accommodated in all government activity, including employment, ... Read More

• San Juan pastor serves meals, Gospel after Maria

  by Diana Chandler, posted Monday, October 09, 2017 (2 years ago)

  

  Submitted photo.

  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (BP) -- Hungry and thirsty two weeks after Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico, the teenage girl approached as Southern Baptist church planter Johnny Baez was serving beans, rice and filtered water.

  "I'm hungry and I don't have nothing at home," she told Baez, "and I just start walking to see if I find something to eat."

  Baez shared the girl's story with Baptist Press by telephone Oct. 6, recounting... Read More

• Chin points to the father in prodigal son story

  by Kathie Chute, posted Monday, October 09, 2017 (2 years ago)

  

  ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) -- Gateway Seminary honored Peter Chin, senior pastor of Global Mission Church in Korea, during chapel services Oct. 5 for his friendship and partnership with the seminary in shaping leaders who expand God's Kingdom around the world.

  Global Mission Church is the largest Baptist church in Korea, with more than 30,000 members and 24 worship services each week in the greater Seoul area.

  The chapel service was followed by a luncheon dialogue between Chin and Jeff ... Read More

• Social-media coaching now available from LifeWay

  by Aaron Wilson, posted Monday, October 09, 2017 (2 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required.

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- LifeWay Christian Resources recently launched an online coaching service to help Christians manage social media and other digital platforms from a biblical perspective.

  This subscription-based service, known as LifeWay Social, is designed for churches, nonprofits and individuals who want to discover more effective ways of using social media to grow God's kingdom. Registration opens Oct. 23.

  Chris Martin, author development specialist for LifeWay, sees social media as ... Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Service station theology

  by Tim Patterson, posted Monday, October 09, 2017 (2 years ago)

  Back when Tim Patterson worked at his dad's service station and gas was 19.9 cents per gallon, he began to learn discernment about people's character and actions. Today, he also sees some spiritual lessons from pumping gas years ago. Read More