JOURNAL OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 VOL. 63 NO. 18

David David David David David Allen to lead Paschal Bible LecturesAllen to lead Paschal Bible LecturesAllen to lead Paschal Bible LecturesAllen to lead Paschal Bible LecturesAllen to lead Paschal Bible LecturesThe thirty-ninth annual William N.

Paschal Memorial Bible Lectures willbe held October 13 and October 15,2009 in the Dorman Memorial Chapelon the campus of Baptist MissionaryAssociation (BMA) Theological Semi-nary in Jacksonville, Texas.

The speaker will be Dr. David Allen,Dean of the School of Theology atSouthwestern Baptist TheologicalSeminary. In addition, he is a profes-sor of preaching at Southwestern Bap-tist Theological Seminary and the Di-rector of the Center for ExpositoryPreaching. He and his wife of 30 years,Sherri, have four children–Jeremy,Jared, Melody and Kali.

Dr. Allen will lead four sessions onPreaching through Hebrews

Lecture 1—Tuesday,10:00 a.m., Au-thorship and Background of Hebrews

Lecture 2—Tuesday, 3:00 p.m., He-brews as a Sermon: Use of the OldTestament

Lecture 3—Thursday, 10:00 a.m.,Preaching Hebrews 6

Lecture 4—Thursday, 3:00 p.m.,

Preaching Key Themes and Passagesin Hebrews

Dr. Allen trusted Christ at the ageof nine and was baptized in the WestRome Baptist Church in Rome, Geor-gia. At the age ofsixteen, he feltGod’s call to preach,was licensed topreach in 1977, andordained in 1978.Dr. Allen’s educa-tional backgroundincludes a B.A. de-gree from CriswellCollege, Dallas,Texas, an M.Div.degree from South-western Baptist Theological Seminary,Ft. Worth, Texas and a Ph.D. in Hu-manities from the University of Texasat Arlington.

Dr. Allen has served on severaltrustee boards, has led revivals, con-ferences and workshops in variousparts of the country. He has also par-ticipated in international study toursand mission trips. In addition, he has

two publications in process: The Au-thorship of Hebrews: The Case forLuke. (Nashville: B & H PublishingGroup, 2005, forthcoming 2010) andHebrews in the New American Com-mentary Series (Nashville: B & H Pub-lishing Group, 2005, forthcoming fall2009).

William N. Paschal, a successfulbusinessman and pastor, passed awayin 1978. In 1984, Dessarine (Paschal)McNeill of Waldo, Arkansas, andKathleen (Paschal) Fullenwider ofMagnolia, Arkansas, established anendowment to fund the William N.Paschal Bible Lectures in honor oftheir father. Among his grandchildrenare the late Dr. Harold McNeill, Jr.,who was mental health chaplain atRusk State Hospital and Professor ofChristian Education at BMA Semi-nary and Norita (McNeill) Higgs,whose husband, Grady Higgs, is Ex-ecutive Director of the Department ofMissions for the BMA of America, LittleRock, Arkansas.

Everyone is invited to attend theselectures.

Ministering To Ministers And Their Wives

Pastors Oasis Celebrates TPastors Oasis Celebrates TPastors Oasis Celebrates TPastors Oasis Celebrates TPastors Oasis Celebrates Ten en en en en YYYYYearsearsearsearsearsThe Pastors Oasis, a time of rest,

relaxation, and renewal, is one of thebest events the Baptist MissionaryAssociation offers to its pastors andtheir wives. Offered by DiscipleGuideConference Ministries, the event seeksto minister to those on the front linesof ministry and church leadership.Participants in Pastors Oasis in pastyears continue to make it the one “can’tmiss” event each fall. This year’s Oa-sis, the tenth anniversary of the event,promises to be one of the best ever.

The ’09 edition of Oasis will be Octo-ber 6-8 at the Chateau on the Lake inBranson and will feature guestspeaker, Dr. John Greene. John hasserved as Lead Pastor for the Har-

mony Hill Baptist Church of Lufkin,Texas for more than thirty years. Dur-ing his tenure the church has experi-enced tremendous growth. An inter-esting twist to this year’s Oasis is thatDr. Greene and Kirk Shelton, Con-sultant for Pastoral Ministries andhost for Pastors Oasis, both were fea-tured speakers at the very first Oasisin 1999. “I am really excited to haveJohn as our speaker this year, he isone of the best preachers I know andhis walk matches his talk!” Sheltonsaid.

This year’s talent and artists aresecond to none. Worship will be led byDavid Attebery from Antioch BaptistChurch in Conway, Arkansas. David

is a favorite around Pastors Oasis hav-ing led worship several times in thepast. In addition, there will be re-nowned singing artists Avalon andSelah, along with David Pendleton, aventriloquist who will “make you be-lieve anything can talk.”

DiscipleGuide Conference Ministryhas worked hard to make Pastors Oa-sis affordable for pastors of all sizechurches. The event itself only costs$60 per person ($70 after September5th) which doesn’t even cover the ac-tual expense. Shelton explains, “Wewant to invest in the lives, marriages,and ministries of our pastors. It’s ourconviction that a spiritually healthypastor, with a healthy marriage, can

build and lead a healthy church.”October of every year is Pastor Appre-ciation Month across the United States.Churches are encouraged to honortheir, pastors and wives by sendingthem to Branson for this life-changingtime of rest, relaxation, and renewal.You may register online atwww.discipleguide.org or call the DCMoffice at 501.513.3726.

October isPastor Appreciation MonthDiscipleGuideprovides annual‘Pastor’s Oasis’Dear Deacon:Dear Deacon:Dear Deacon:Dear Deacon:Dear Deacon:

I hope this letter finds you and yourchurch family enjoying the very best ofthe Father’s blessings. On behalf ofDonny Parrish, Kevin Clayton and theentire DiscipleGuide staff I want tosay “thanks” for the faithful serviceyou give to Christ and His church. Thechurches of the Baptist MissionaryAssociation of America are blessed tohave men like you assisting pastors inthe work of ministry.

Not only has God blessed Hischurches with faithful laymen likeyourself, He has also given us wonder-ful, God-called pastors who faithfullyand unselfishly lead His churches.Many times we take for granted thesacrificial service they render to theFather and to us. We may never know,this side of heaven, how many timesour names are called-out to God inprayer by our pastor-shepherd as he“stands in the gap” for us. I, for one, amvery thankful to have a God-calledand God-anointed man to call my pas-tor.

How can we express our apprecia-tion, thanks, and love to our pastors.There are many ways but I want tomention just one. October has beendesignated as “Pastor Appreciation

continued on page 2continued on page 2continued on page 2continued on page 2continued on page 2

Dr. David Allen

2 September 15, 2009 • Mississippi Baptist

News articles shouldcontain information that will beof interest to the general public

who are not members of thechurch that is reporting.

CHURCHNEWS

Family Ark Ministries

Travis Plumlee

PO Box 163Mountain View,

AR 72560

Month” across our nation. It isa special month set aside to letour pastors know how muchthey are loved and appreciated.In recognition of Pastor Appre-ciation Month, DiscipleGuideChurch Resources has sched-uled our annual Pastors Oasisfor October 6-8, 2009. PastorsOasis is three days of inspira-tional teaching, outstandingmusic, relaxation and wonder-ful fellowship. The location forthis year’s Oasis is the beauti-ful Chateau On The Lake inBranson, Missouri. The cost forthe conference is $60 per per-son ($70 if paid after Septem-ber 5th). Additional costs foryour church include: hotel($125 per night for 2 nights),travel, and a few meals. Hotelaccommodations can be se-cured by calling the Resort at888.333.5253. Please call bySeptember 5th to receive thespecial reduced rate.

Because your pastor wouldnever ask the church to sendhim and his wife to the Oasis,we are asking you, as the Chair-man of Deacons to lead yourchurch in sending them. Wouldyou please use your leadershipand influence to lead yourchurch to present this trip as agift to your pastor? A gift suchas this will mean more thananything you can do for yourpastor…and it could be one ofthe best things you will ever dofor your church!

Thanks in advance for hon-oring and blessing your pastorand wife in this special way!We look forward to hearingfrom you.

Kirk SheltonDiscipleGuide PastoralMinistries Consultant

Pastor'sOasisfrom page 1from page 1from page 1from page 1from page 1

Helping Your Children to be Stable PeopleConsistency. Consistency.

Consistency. It is one of thefoundational principles forparenting. Whether we aretalking about discipline, chores,homework, etc., it is very im-portant for you to offer consis-tency to your children. It is thisconsistency that creates astable home environment. Chil-dren thrive and flourish in ahome where there are consis-tent rules that everyone mustfollow. Younger children inparticular, need a great deal of

structure. Yes, teens need moreflexibility in their schedules,but even teens are more securein a home with structure.

Years ago, I used to work ina child/adolescent psychiatrichospital. Did you know thatthe first thing we did to getthese kids under control andstabilized, is to offer them asafe, secure and consistent en-vironment. They had a sched-ule. Meals were served at con-sistent times in the same place.Expectations were clearly com-municated and there were re-wards or consequences basedupon whether or not you actedresponsibly. This cut the anxi-ety levels in half for these kidsalmost immediately.

The children were not incharge of their environment.They had an authority figurein their life who was loving, yetlaid out the code of conduct andthe rules of behavior. This wasnever found in their home en-vironment. Before there wasever one counseling session,there was dramatic change inbehavior by offering a consis-tent environment for these kidsto operate in.

Let’s examine three thingsthat will make immediatechanges for the better in yourchildren if you give them whatthey need. These areas are eat-ing, sleeping and exercising.

1. Sleeping - Most kids todayare not getting enough sleep.This leads to behavioral and

academic problems. They areirritable, fatigued, argumenta-tive, explosive in anger, whinyand just plain difficult to live

with. Just because they startgetting enough sleep does notmean all of this will disappear.It could be caused from some-thing else. However, it willgreatly help the entire processof your child’s life to get enoughsleep. It helps them grow, de-velop muscles, perform betterin school and be more gentle innature.

You know how miserable youare if you don’t get enoughsleep. Just imagine operatingfor months without proper rest.All children should generallysleep a minimum of 8 hours.However, young children need10. Teens often times need 10.Their bodies are growing at arapid rate and the body buildsduring sleep. You cannot makeup your sleep on the weekend.This means a bedtime.

Your children will automati-cally get sleepy at the sametime every night if you developa habit of them going down atthe same time every night. I

know some parents don’t dothis because you allow yourchild to manipulate you. Butyou are doing your child harmby not establishing consistencyin the time to go to bed andsleep patterns.

2. Exercising - Most childrendo not get enough exercise.They play too many videogames, text too much and watchtoo much TV. Back in the olddays, kids had to work aroundthe house. Then, when it wastime to play, they had gamesthat required running, jump-ing, walking or swimming. Par-ents think that if their kidsplay ball, that is enough exer-cise. However, going to play asoftball game two or three timesa week is not consistent exer-cise. They are sitting on thebench a lot of the time. Try andget them to do something eachday for exercise. Why don’t youdo it with them and role modelthe behavior. The whole familywill benefit.

3. Eating - Stop worrying ifyour child doesn’t eat enoughto keep a bird alive. They willtake in enough to survive. Don’tforce eating. Set consistenttimes for meals. A hectic sched-ule where you skip meal times,skip meals, or eat at all differ-ent and crazy times will causeyour children to not want toeat, or to over eat.

As much as possible, createa consistent time for meals.

Remember to help them eatabout 6 times a day rather than3 gorge times. One of the keysto healthy body weight is tokeep the body fueled, and themetabolism burning. Smallermeals every couple of hoursare better. Stop letting themwhine and pitch a fit so theycan have sugar. A burrito andsugar cookies does not make agood future for your child’sphysical development. I know.

You might actually have tolay the law down and disci-pline them and not be manipu-lated by them. Isn’t it tough tobe a parent! Eating atMcDonalds is fun sometimes.But not all the time. Familiesthat are close, eat meals to-gether at home around a tableor kitchen bar.

Finally, offer consistency inyour discipline. When you dis-cipline based upon your stresslevel for the day, you confusethe child. They don’t know whatis expected of them from day today, and this creates chaos andconfusion. All home behaviorshould be based upon the gen-eral rule of “choices and conse-quences”. You have choices.What the child chooses- deter-mines rewards or discipline.

And never forget to consis-tently have a dialogue withyour child regardless of age.Consistently love them, hugthem and develop a new habitof consistently having familydevotions with your kids. It isthe greatest memory you willever leave them with. Consis-tent homes make stable kids.

Small Church in ArizonaSmall Church in ArizonaSmall Church in ArizonaSmall Church in ArizonaSmall Church in Arizonaseeking a pastorseeking a pastorseeking a pastorseeking a pastorseeking a pastor

Mt. Carmel Missionary Bap-tist Church in Safford, Arizona,is in need of a pastor that isself-supporting or who canwork outside the church. Wesupply a parsonage, utilities,phone and a small love offeringweekly to supplement your in-come. Safford is a town with apopulation of approximately12,000 and is located in the

southeastern part of the state.The town is also the countyseat of Graham County. Youmay get in contact with us byphone or e-mail at 928-428-4783, 928-965-1540, or emailnolanslockandkey@hotmail.com.Please remember Mt. Carmelin your prayers. Pastors areprecious and are hard to find.

Bro. Nolan C. Jones

Arkansas church seeks pastorArkansas church seeks pastorArkansas church seeks pastorArkansas church seeks pastorArkansas church seeks pastorDenver Street Baptist

Church in Greenwood, Arkan-sas is seeking a full time Pas-tor. Resumes may be sent toDenver Street Baptist ChurchSearch Committee C.O. Ken-neth Colvert, 2326 Skye Road,Fort Smith, Arkansas 72908 orkrcolvert@cox.net. If you haveqestions you may call kennethat 479 -629 - 3258.

East Main to holdEast Main to holdEast Main to holdEast Main to holdEast Main to holdordination serviceordination serviceordination serviceordination serviceordination service

Bro. Lester Davis will be or-

dained into the Gospel Minis-try September 18, 2009 at EastMain Baptist Church,Lumberton, Mississippi at 7:00p.m. Bro. Davis has acceptedthe position as Associate Pas-tor &Youth Minister of EastMain Baptist Church. PastorBuddy Cameron and the mem-bership of East Main invite allordained Preachers and Dea-cons to come and assist in hisordination

Bethel, FultonBethel, FultonBethel, FultonBethel, FultonBethel, FultonGreetings from Bethel,

Fulton. We had an awesomeVBS. Average attendance was161.The Penny Parade broughtin over $1,600. We had a Sun-day School Teacher's Workshopon August 15. Speakers wereDr. Martin Jameson, Bro. TracyMcMillen, and Bro. GeorgeReddin. Brother Reddin wasthe speaker in the MorningServices on Sunday. We havehad several people serving on

Mission Trips this summer:Kaitlin Turner to Nepal, Mar-garet Bean to Malaysia, SarahHebert to Peru & Thailand,David Christian & MelanieGreenhaw to Chicago andKeith and Shawn Glissen toMexico. You are always wel-come at Bethel. If, you are inthe area please stop in for avisit.

Senior Pastor Dr. MartinJameson

Reporter Martha Duncan

Fall Revival SetGood Hope Baptist Church,

StringerEvangelist - Collin Jones

Former Missionaryto Honduras

September 27th - 30thSunday morning

& afternoonMonday - Wednesday

7:00 pm

3September 15, 2009 • Mississippi Baptist

SoutheasternBaptist College4229 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, Mississippi 39440, (601) 426-6346 Dr. Medrick Savell

President

Serving Christ With a Biblical World View In A Christian Atmosphere

New Year begins atNew Year begins atNew Year begins atNew Year begins atNew Year begins atSoutheastern Baptist CollegeSoutheastern Baptist CollegeSoutheastern Baptist CollegeSoutheastern Baptist CollegeSoutheastern Baptist College

The Lord’s blessings con-tinue to be upon the college aswe begin the new academicyear. The enrollment contin-ues to increase, as it has for thepast four years. The eighty-onestudents enrolled is an increaseover last fall, but the most ex-citing thing about the enroll-ment is an increase of full-timestudents of 26% over last falland 16% increase of total hoursof classes taken. The numberof ministers is up also. We arealso excited about the 24 peoplein the choir this year.

We thank the Lord for bless-ing our efforts to be the collegethat He can use in spreadingthe gospel to the world. Werequest your prayers through-out this year.

Special EmphasisSpecial EmphasisSpecial EmphasisSpecial EmphasisSpecial EmphasisOfferings are being received

regularly at this time for the

Special Emphasis. These con-tributions are filling a need andwe appreciate all who are pray-ing and helping with extra fi-nances.

Memorial giftsMemorial giftsMemorial giftsMemorial giftsMemorial giftsContributions have been

sent to Southeastern BaptistCollege to purchase books forthe library in memory of Mr.John Ward Davis, Mr. J. C.Millwood, Mr. Junior Hudson,Mr. Stewart James Graham,Mr. Bobby Ray Morgan, Mr.William M. “Bill” Smith, Mrs.Agnes Johnson Kelly, and Mrs.Agnes Winnie Bunch Johnson.May the Lord bless these fami-lies.

Also, a contribution has beengiven to the Southeastern Bap-tist College Foundation inmemory of Brethren Thomas“Bud” Dixon, Duane Arender,and John Loden. May the workdone by these ministers con-tinue to be used of the Lord.

MoreMoreMoreMoreMoreChurch NewsChurch NewsChurch NewsChurch NewsChurch News

Perkinston ChurchPerkinston ChurchPerkinston ChurchPerkinston ChurchPerkinston Churchto Celebrate 100 yearsto Celebrate 100 yearsto Celebrate 100 yearsto Celebrate 100 yearsto Celebrate 100 yearsof Ministryof Ministryof Ministryof Ministryof Ministry

Little Creek Baptist Churchin Perkinston, Mississippi, willbe celebrating 100 year's ofministry on October 11, 2009.Former Pastor Bro. John B.Stonecypher will be bringingthe message. Sunday Schoolbegins at 9:45 with worship at10:45. There will be dinner onthe ground and singing afterthe meal. There will be a pre-sentation on the history of thechurch and a reading of formerpastors. Pastor Billy C. Ferrelland our church family inviteyou to attend this celebrationof 100 year's of service to ourLord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Red Creek CelebratesRed Creek CelebratesRed Creek CelebratesRed Creek CelebratesRed Creek Celebrates72 Year Homecoming72 Year Homecoming72 Year Homecoming72 Year Homecoming72 Year Homecoming

Red Creek Missionary Bap-tist Church of Lucedale, Mis-sissippi will celebrate their 72Year Homecoming on Sunday,

is invited to come and be a partof this exciting day.

Pine Grove, PurvisPine Grove, PurvisPine Grove, PurvisPine Grove, PurvisPine Grove, PurvisPine Grove Baptist Church,

Purvis, has recently calledBryson Hayden as their newmusic and youth director. Hewill begin his ministry withthem on September 27.

Kenneth Flynt, pastor

Sumrall church plans revivalSumrall church plans revivalSumrall church plans revivalSumrall church plans revivalSumrall church plans revivalMidway First Baptist

Church, 85 Midway ChurchRoad, Sumrall, Mississippi willbe in Revival September 20-23.Bro. Kenneth Bobo of Hope,Arkansas will be the speakerfor these services. Sunday ser-vices will be at 10:45 AM and6:00 PM. The week night ser-vices will be at 7:00 PM. Lunchwill be served following theSunday morning service.

Harmony Association meetsHarmony Association meetsHarmony Association meetsHarmony Association meetsHarmony Association meetsThe Harmony Association

met on September 11 at NewHope Baptist Church inMantachie. The focus of theSeptember meeting was theChildrens' Home. We wereblessed to have Bro. SydneyDavis and his wife Pat with us.

They were accompanied by sev-eral children from the home.Bro. Sydney introduced each ofthe children, who then pre-sented the special music. Bro.Davis then brought the eveningmessage.

We had 11 churches repre-sented with 60 present, alongwith 9 visitors. Bro. JohnAdams gave a report on boththe Moral Action Commissionand The Christian Action Com-mission. Bro. Vern Holifieldreported on the Senior AdultCommission.

Daniel Brookman,Asst. ModeratorTony Marolt,Promotional Secretary

Tiger Creek NewsTiger Creek NewsTiger Creek NewsTiger Creek NewsTiger Creek NewsOn September 6, 2009, we

started a new church year withgood teachers and leaders whoare willing to work, teach andlearn more about God's Word.Our Annual Harvest Supperwill be on October 24th at 6p.m. Please come eat a goodmeal and fellowship with us.Pray for us always.

Tiger Creek Baptist ChurchBro. Dana Williams, PastorBetty Holifield, Reporter

September 20. Service will be-gin at 11:00 am with BrotherSam McClure as speaker.There will be lunch and specialsinging following service.

Pastor Charles McClure andcongregation invite everyoneto attend. For more informa-tion call 601-947-2200.

Shelly Stringer-Reporter

Church to holdChurch to holdChurch to holdChurch to holdChurch to hold"Health & Resource Fair""Health & Resource Fair""Health & Resource Fair""Health & Resource Fair""Health & Resource Fair"

Midway First BaptistChurch, 85 Midway ChurchRoad, Sumrall, Mississippi willhold its second annual "Health& Resource Fair" on Saturday,September 19, from 9:00 a.m.to 2:00 p.m. There will be over150 booths of area health ser-vice and community serviceproviders, an antique car show,fun activities for children andadults, crafts and a free gospelconcert and variety show. Platelunches will be available as wellas valet parking. Free bloodsugar, blood pressure and cho-lesterol checks and vision andhearing screenings will be of-fered. There will be complimen-tary refreshments. Everyone

Joseph Harris

miniedition

www.miniedition.net

Why God Doesn't Always Meet Needs"But my God shall supply all

your need according to hisriches in glory by Christ Jesus."The promises of provision fromGod for His children are nu-merous and wonderful. Godprovides our every heartbeat,the food we eat and even luxu-ries that we could essentiallydo without. He is a great Godand every time in every way,always and without fail, sup-plies our basic needs, ensuringthat no child of His goes with-out the necessities of life. Thatlast sentence is very comfort-ing, yet sometimes, basic needsof life are not always suppliedfor the child of God.

If you believe God alwaysand without hesitation, sup-plies every basic need at alltimes for all His children with-out discrimination, then youhave been watching too muchTBN, or at least the wrong pro-grams on TBN. As a generaltruth, God does supply ourneeds and even some desires.Some like to say that God willalways supply our needs, notour greeds. Sounds spiritual.

Need is determined by God,not man. That which we thinkwe need and that which GodKNOWS we need, may notmatch. Does this include evenbasic needs such as food, wa-ter, clothing, sleep and health?YES!

Consider Job. There was atime in his life when his great-est need seemed to be goodphysical health. His body wascovered in boils, which broughtfever, meaning he was in se-vere pain. One boil can causegreat discomfort. Imagine notbeing able to sit, turn, or relaxwithout extreme pain. Yet, Goddid not immediately heal him.And remember, Job had no ideawhy all this was happening. Atthe time, he was not aware ofthe dialogue between God andSatan found at the beginningof the book. Though Job wasLATER healed and blessed,God's divine plan for Job at thetime was to glorify Him throughsuffering. God's divine call forJob overruled any healing orprosperity for the moment.

Consider Lazarus the beg-gar in Luke 16. One thousandyears earlier, David said hehad never seen the righteousforsaken or His (God's) seedbegging for bread. Yet notice,

Lazarus was God's child, buthe was lacking (1) good health,for he was full of sores (vs. 20),(2) he also lacked money for hewas a beggar, and (3) he waslacking food, for he was eatingcrumbs from a table. If onlypoor Lazarus could have justheard Benny Hinn or Kenneth

Copeland preach, he wouldhave been well and wealthy . .. if he had enough faith. Or justmaybe God's calling for himwas to glorify God through ad-versity. Abraham did sayLazarus received "evil things"in life, verse 25.

Consider the great ApostlePaul. If anyone was in the willof God, and super spiritual, itwas this rabbi from Tarsus whowas changed on the Damascusroad. He was even the one whosaid God would supply all need.By the way, he wrote this fromprison. You would think hisgreatest need was being re-leased so he could be free topreach the gospel. Strangelyenough, Paul gives a list of sev-

eral needs of his that were notmet, all while in service forGod.

In II Corinthians 11:27, hementions being "In wearinessand painfulness, in watchingoften, in hunger and thirst, infasting often, in cold and na-kedness." This verse specifi-cally states Paul had need ofsleep, good health, food, water,shelter, and clothes, yet thesebasic needs were not met. Why?God's specific calling for Paulwas that he endure these needsand glorify God through hissuffering. And notice, Paulwasn't complaining, he was glo-rifying God.

This little nugget of truth,glorifying God through suffer-ing, is ignored and denied be-cause it goes against the flesh.If the modern day prosperitycrowd preached this, offeringswould bottom out tomorrow.You will not hear this messagefrom these purveyors of pros-perity whose sole purpose inlife is to latch on to your loot.These "Profits" will continue tobeguile the masses (even inBaptist churches, imagine that)while padding their pocket-books. God help them on theday of judgment and may Godhelp us to glorify Him throughwhatever calling He has givento each of us individually.

Great is Our GodAnd Great Is His Mercy

4 September 15, 2009 • Mississippi Baptist

Opinion PageJournal of the Baptist Missionary Association of Mississippi

Letters FromOur Readers

Letters reflect the opinion of thewriter and not necessarily this

publication or the BMA of Mississippi

Don J. Brown, EditorE-Mail - editor@msbaptist.orgWeb site www.msbaptist.org

USPS 353-960P.O. Box 8181

Laurel, Mississippi 39441-8000

Phone 601-426-3293Fax 601-763-4430

PRICE$20.00 Per Year by Mail

$10.00 Per Year by EmailCHURCH PLAN

$ 1.30 Per Month

Published on the 1st and 15th of each month by the Baptist MissionaryAssociation of Mississippi. Periodical postage paid at Hattiesburg, Missis-sippi 39402.

Postmaster: Send address changes to the Mississippi Baptist Paper,P.O. Box 8181, Laurel, MS 39441-8000.

Church of the Covered Dish BY THOMAS TAPP

Listing of names does notindicate endorsement.

This column is forinformation purposes only.

AVAILABLEFOR SERVICE

Don BrownEditor

ChangeWe have heard a lot about

change in the past couple ofyears. I think change for thesake of change is usually awaste of energy and time. Asconservative Baptists we be-lieve in the "old paths" whenit comes to salvation and bib-lical standards. They have al-ways worked and they alwayswill. They are God's ways!

Change inevitably comesto organizations, churches,and individual lives. A num-ber of years ago the BMA ofAmerica made some signifi-cant changes in its organiza-tional structure. There weremany who opposed ANYchange. There were aspectsof the changes that were fi-nally made that did not have100% approval from ourchurches.

Overall it appears that thechanges have been success-ful and have added to theprogress and effectiveness ofour associated work.

One area that has workedwell is the area of conference

"Our Family is trying one of those 'RETRO'churches . . . they read out of the Bible and

have sermons and stuff!"

Sam McClureSam McClureSam McClureSam McClureSam McClureBro. Sam McClure is avail-

able for pulpit service wher-ever the Lord may lead. Hemay be contacted by calling601-947-9686 (Days), 601-947-9914 (Evenings) or 601-508-1053 (Cell).

RerunMy wife and I seem to watch

a lot of "reruns" on TV. We areparticular about what showswe watch and when the seasonends and reruns begin, we justget to enjoy our favorite showsall over again. One advantageof growing older (I supposethere are many) is that we donot always remember the out-come of the shows. It's almostlike watching them for the first

time. My good friend Barbara"Sofilthy" White has the sameblessing.

Below you will find a 'rerun'of an editorial I ran in May2009. As we approach our an-nual meeting it is not too earlyto begin thinking of those im-portant business items wegather annually to care for.

I have been in some localmeetings and heard variousreports concerning our YouthDepartment. It is my under-standing at this writing that

the trusteeswill not bepresenting anominee fordirector atthe meetingin October.

That be-ing the case,I thought itprudent toa g a i npresent my thoughts from thispast Spring. Your thoughtswould also be welcomed.

ministries. The Departmentof Church Ministries was in-tegrated into DiscipleGuide,but still functions accordingto its original structure andgoals.

State ApplicationState ApplicationState ApplicationState ApplicationState ApplicationWith the current vacancy

in the State Youth Depart-ment, it may be prudent toconsider all options before fill-ing this position.

The Youth Departmentgrew out of our camp minis-try and many consider thatthe main focus today. Cur-rently in our state work thereare other groups and com-missions who have engagedin camps, retreats, confer-ences, etc. It seems now wouldbe a good time to consider adifferent direction if therewere advantages found inthat direction.

A Department of ChurchMinistries for the BMA ofMississippi may be worth con-sidering. A new departmentcould be formed by the reor-ganization of our Youth De-partment, Commission on

Senior Adults, Pastor's Con-ference, etc. The potential ofa newly formed departmentset up for the sole purpose ofmanaging and providing con-ferences, retreats, trainingprograms and other eventswould seem to be unlimited.Currently held events wouldcontinue and be enhanced bysuch a move and the poten-tial for additional eventswould be unlimited.

The National DCM direc-tor is a part time position andthe various conferences andretreats are directed by dif-ferent individuals who haveexpertise in different areas.This same concept could beused (and would be neces-sary) in such a move. It isincumbent on us as stewardsto consider all options.

Prisoners BiblePrisoners BiblePrisoners BiblePrisoners BiblePrisoners BibleCrusade ReportCrusade ReportCrusade ReportCrusade ReportCrusade ReportDear Editor,

We had a good month in Au-gust, 1,260 English KJV's &320 Spanish Bibles. For theyear 2009 PBC have given freeto prisoners 4,574 EnglishBibles; 1,285 Spanish Bibles;40 New Testaments; All StudyBooks 6,450; 2,176 Study helps,all totals to date in 2009 is14,495. These were sent into47 prisons. Chaplains report2,487 people saved (18,209since 1/1/2000). 8 new Chap-lain requesting Bibles for the1st time. I have traveled 9,491miles, I have personally seen 4confessions of Faith in JesusChrist 2009 (304 since 1/12000),visited 20 churches, 13 asso-ciations meeting & 49 prisonsvisits, taught 32 bible studyclasses, taught 3 volunteerworker's class. I have preached12 sermons in churches, 15 inprisons. PBC's EvangelisticTeam has conducted 15 Wor-ship services in prisons in 2009.Since 1973 we have given188,996 Bibles; Total for all

bibles and materials: 550,652I am requesting that God's

people pray about beginning a"Prisoners Family Ministry" inyour Church. Its purpose is tominister the hope and love ofGod to people with love ones inprison. In the beginning weare asking the Ladies in ourChurches to seek out the wivesand mothers in your commu-nity with love ones in prison.Then, go to them in love show-ing, sharing, and ministeringthe love of God in their time ofneed. I have a brochure en-titled, "Ever Present Help" (intime of trouble) to help begin aministry in your church topeople with love ones in prison.

We also have a manual withguide lines that will help guideyour ministry. These guidelines will address some of thedifferences between a FamilyPrison Ministry and other min-istries in your Church. As yourPrisoners Family Ministrygrows, I encourage the men toget involved in ministering tomen with love ones in prison inyour community.

Remember them in bonds! -Heb. 13:3; You visited! - Matt.25:34-40

I would be happy to sendinformation and/or speak toyour Church or Group aboutthis prison ministry, the Pris-oners Family Ministry or theone day Bible Study HelpsSeminar.

Again, our thanks for yourprayers and support for thisBible Ministry to people in pris-ons.

Paul E. Lee, Director PBC601-798-6497

5September 15, 2009 • Mississippi Baptist

Commission on Senior AdultsVern D.Holifield, Director

4226 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, Mississippi 39440

GreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetingsIt is a joy to greet the readers

of the Mississippi Baptist Pa-per in the name of our wonder-ful Lord and Saviour. Here it isSeptember 2009. Summer hasended and fall will soon be inthe air. When the Spider Liliesbegin to bloom you know theseason is changing, and theyare blooming in South Missis-sippi. It is time to plant thegreens and get the onion sets inthe ground.

RevivalRevivalRevivalRevivalRevivalDot and I enjoyed a week of

revival services with PastorDale Broom and Rocky BranchBaptist Church. Brother andMrs. Broom, along with thechurch family, made us feelright at home. The attendancewas good and the spirit washigh all week. It is good tomake new friends among God'sdear people.

Rocky Branch has organizeda ministry to their SeniorAdults. We look for good re-ports from that ministry.

ShilohShilohShilohShilohShilohDot and I have enjoyed thir-

teen months at Shiloh BaptistChurch near Mt. Olive. Theyhonored me with a birthdayreception on my 83rd birthday.The church elected me as Pas-tor Emeritus. I appreciate thishonor. I love Shiloh BaptistChurch. They have calledBrother Dewitt Bain to be theirpastor and he accepted the call.He began his ministry withthem on September 13.

New Support WelcomedThe Corinth Baptist Church,

Runnelstown, and pastor VirgilAinsworth have joined theCommission with regular bud-get support. The BallardsvilleBaptist Church, Tupelo andpastor Thelbert Hill have alsojoined the Commission withregular budget support.Thanks pastors and churchesfor helping us help your senioradults. Your support gives usmuch needed encouragement,and helps us with a great min-

istry.

A Dear FriendA Dear FriendA Dear FriendA Dear FriendA Dear FriendBrother John T. Loden re-

cently went home to be close tothe Lord. The Lodens and I goway back. Many years ago whenI was Director of Missions forour BMA of Mississippi theirhome was my home when Iwould be in their area of thestate. I counted the Lodens asdear, personal friends. BrotherJohn was a BMA Baptist rightdown to his heart. He was agreat soul winner. BrotherJohn and Mrs. Mae are nowhome and together again for-ever. Thank God for friends.

ConferencesConferencesConferencesConferencesConferencesWe are already making plans

for the 2010 Conferences. I amtalking with pastors about host-ing the meetings. I am prayingabout the programs. We wantto know God's will about thepreachers and the music. I doask that you pray with me aboutthe Conferences.

The National ConferenceThe National ConferenceThe National ConferenceThe National ConferenceThe National ConferenceThe National Senior Adult

Conference will soon be here.A great program is planned.This is a good meeting to at-tend. Make plans now to be inBranson on November 17-19.

Church Buys Missionary MotorcycleOn Sunday Night, August 30th, the First Baptist Church of

Henleyfield, pastored by Bro. Vernon Watts, presented a checkto Bro. John Lindsey, BMA missionary to Ghana, Africa. Themoney is to be used to purchase a motorcycle for a nativemissionary. This was our VBS mission project where approxi-mately $575 was raised. Our WMA put in $100. The rest wasraised in a special offering by the church.

Jeff Burks, Treasurer [left] and Christi Spencer, VBS Director[right] present a check for over $1,000 to Bro. John Lindsey

2009 Church Letter Form Now Onlineby Bobby L. Hudgens

DiscipleGuide’s church let-ter form is online as a service tochurch clerks. After aclerk completes the formonline, he or she will receive

the completed form as a PDFfile attached to an e-mail. Itcan then be saved to their com-puter, printed, and submittedto annual local and state asso-ciation meetings. Check to see

if your local and state associa-tions are using the form. If theyare, church clerks will only haveto complete one form, one time.Paper copies have been mailedout, and the form is also lo-cated in the back of the 2009-10BMAA Directory and Hand-book. Regardless of whetheryour association is using theform, we ask that clerks com-plete it for DiscipleGuide In-formation Services. This is ourprinciple source of informationfor the annual BMAA Direc-tory and Handbook. Thanks foryour cooperation.

The Great Escape CruiseBy Steven Carroll

Southwest airlines use a slogan in their commercials thatsays, “Want to get away?” Each commercial asks that questionafter something awkward or embarrassing happens to someone.Well, in Student Ministry it seems like something awkward orembarrassing tends to happen all the time, so DiscipleGuideConference Ministry wants to ask the same question, “Want toget away?”

The Great Escape provides a chance for Student Ministers,Leaders, and Volunteers along with their spouses to “Get Away”for a few days. The 2nd “Cruisin’ Escape” will set sail January 16-21st. The theme this year is “When Life and Ministry Collide.”The sessions will be dealing with relevant issues and questionsthat Student Ministers and leaders face. This year’s conferencewill provide teaching sessions as well as open discussions so thatstudent leaders and their spouses can find answers to issues theywrestle with every day in their ministries and families. Thesesessions and group discussions will be facilitated by StevenCarroll and Terry Kimbrow. Small group discussions will beutilized so that these needs and questions can be addressedtogether in more intimate settings so that relationships can beformed to help these leaders long after the Conference is over.Worship and specific sessions will be led by Drew Cline over theweek.

Anyone who works with students will find this week bothbeneficial and refreshing. If you are a Student Minister, leader,teacher either paid or volunteer we want you to be there! Localchurch, make sure this opportunity is offered to your StudentMinister, leader, or volunteer. They will find connections withother student ministers and workers, and will come back revital-ized, refreshed, and better equipped to lead students at yourlocal church.

Registration has been extended to September 27, 2009 andspace is still available, so call today to ensure your cabin!Information and details can be found at www.DiscipleGuide.com.Click on the conference tab and then click on the Great EscapeLink! Don’t miss this amazing week to get away with men andwomen who are working on the front lines of Student Ministryeveryday!

6 September 15, 2009 • Mississippi Baptist

Mississippi W.M.A.Mrs. Ruby Bynum, President

43 Bear Pen Creek Rd., Laurel, MS 39440601-428-1901

Corresponding SecretaryMrs. Shirlene Smith

730 Hwy 533, Laurel, MS 39443601-729-5638

Ten Mile WMA MeetingTen Mile WMA MeetingTen Mile WMA MeetingTen Mile WMA MeetingTen Mile WMA MeetingTheme: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave-OurFathers trusted in thee-Psalm 22:4

The Ten Mile W.M.A. held their July meeting atVardaman Street Baptist Church, in Wiggins. Themeeting was patriotic in nature as we sang ouropening song, ”My County ‘Tis Of Thee” and thenwere blessed with a special by Jena Smith, “Americathe Beautiful.”

Louise Crawly brought our devotional on “TheLiberty Bell.”

Savannah Smith, missionary to China, gave usher testimony and a brief talk of about her excite-ment concerning her upcoming trip, “Operation NewGeneration.” Our 10 Mile District approved a $100.00blessing for Savannah and Ryan.

Mrs. Louise Crawly presided over the installationof our new officers serving 2009-2010. The followingpositions were filled: President Louise Crawly, 1stVice President Mertis Mallett, 2nd Vice PresidentGeraldine Necaise, 3rd Vice President Pat Allen,Sec/Treasurer Julie Lee, Asst. Sec./Treasurer CherieBreland, Reporter Maria Ochoa, Song Leader SheliaSwansey, Historian Megan Brewer, District ProjectKathy Rhodes, State Project Promoter CarolynRoberson, Sunbeam Promoter Diana Williams, Asst.Sunbeam Promoter Angela Givens, GMA PromoterNancy Brewer, Asst. GMA Promoter Nikki Prickett.

The District Project for the year will be 75% Bro.Ed Duvall Missionary and GMA and Sunbeams inCleveland with 25% to General Fund Treasury. Weenjoyed a great fellowship after services withVardaman Street Baptist Church. Our next meetingis on First Baptist Orange Grove, Gulfport on Octo-ber 12, 2009.

Reporter Maria Ochoa

BMA OF MISSISSIPPI

MISSIONS DEPARTMENT4226 HIGHWAY 15 NORTH, LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI 39440

601-428-8616

RayburnFreeman,Director

Over The StateOver The StateOver The StateOver The StateOver The StateAugust 23, 2009, Bro. Ray Boone (former pastor of

Broadmoor, Meridian) and I visited with Bro. Oyeleyeand Maple Street Baptist Mission of Columbus,Mississippi. Their attendance showedsigns of steady growth, and Bro. Booneand I were impressed with the num-ber of college age students attending.Bro. Oyeleye is also experiencing fre-quent professions of faith and bap-tisms. Maple Street is looking for-ward to the future when they will beable to organize into a New Testa-ment Baptist Church and become selfsupporting. Pray for this young con-gregation.

In the afternoon, Bro. Boone and I then passedthrough Mooreville and picked up Bro. Bryan Wil-son, chairman of the State Missionary Committee.From there we proceeded to Ripley to be with theFirst Hispanic Baptist Mission in their evening ser-vice. They were having an open-air service at theircampground which is provided by Bro. Walker, amember. According to Missionary Garcia, therewere 80 in attendance. They have people comingfrom New Albany and Tupelo who are faithfulattenders. It appears that both New Albany andTupelo will be future mission sites. Bible studies arenow being conducted in the two areas.

From Ripley to Laurel is a pretty fair distance, butwe made it back in the same day.

Sunday morning August 30, 2009 - On my trip tothe fellowship of the Delta Churches being hosted byMissionary Donnie Hogan and First Nation BaptistMission of Indianola, I stopped by Good Hope Bap-tist church of Yazoo City for the morning worshipservice. Good Hope is without a pastor and evange-list Jack Munday of Hattiesburg filled the pulpit.Bro. Munday delivered an informative message.Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious meal served bythe ladies of the Church

After Good Hope, next on the agenda was thefellowship of the Delta churches. Bro. Donnie Loganis a self supporting missionary working under theauthority of Homestretch of Cleveland. Homestretchis under the authority of New Beginnigs of OliveBranch. The fellowship was well attended with Mis-sionary Duvall moderating. Bro. Logan deliveredthe afternoon message on the subject of Love. Loveoriginating in the Lord is the answer to solvingpersonal, church, and national problems. Love is theelement that leads us in reaching the LOST andbuilding more soul winning Churches.

On my return home I stopped by Oakland BaptistChurch in Vicksburg for the evening service. Bro.Justin Rhodes, Oakland's new pastor, extended avery cordial welcome and delivered a challengingmessage. During the invitation one came by transferof letter. Needless to say, after services an invitationto McAlister’s for food and fellowship by severalmembers of Oakland was not refused. Following aday with three good meetings of worship, fellowshipand food, my head met with my own pillow about1:30 A.M. with an exhausted body and happy heart.

Monday August 31, 2009 - Bro. Ray Boone and I,together with Bro. Bryan Wilson, chairman of themissionary Committee, scouted the Tupelo area fora possible mission site. Afterwards, we visited withBro. Maddox, a member of Hopewell, Dorsey, atComponent Builders and placed an order for thetrusses and exterior walls of Homestretch Baptist

Mission in Cleveland. At 5:00 P.M. we attended thefuneral of former Missionary and Pastor Bro. JohnLoden. Following the funeral we made a number ofstops and then headed home arriving around mid-night.

On the morning of September 6, Faye and I,together with Bro. and Mrs. Charles Bobo, formermissionaries to Japan, enjoyed visiting with Park-way Baptist Church of Petal, Mississippi. Relocatingto the East Petal facilities on Highway 42 East ofPetal appears to a blessing for East Main BaptistChurch which is now renamed Parkway. The atten-dance shows signs of growth and the new locationgives the Parkway more visibility.

The tentative plans for the former Main Streetproperty is to develop it into a hispanic church.According to Bro. Marroquin, the BMA of Missis-sippi Hispanic Coordinator, Hispanic home Biblestudies are scheduled to begin this week in the Petalarea.

In the evening service we visited with the Wash-ington Baptist Church of Neely, Mississippi andPastor Frank Panzrino. Bro. Panzrino asked Bro.Bobo to share with the church an update of the workin Japan, some of the experiences of their 39 years oflabor with the Japanese people and bring the eveningmessage. Washington Church is always so cordial tovisitors.

Missionary FellowshipMissionary FellowshipMissionary FellowshipMissionary FellowshipMissionary FellowshipOn September 4, 2009 a day of fellowship with our

missionar-ies in prayerand preach-ing was en-joyed. Eachmissionaryblessed ourhearts witha powerpoint pre-sentation ofhis Missionpoint.

Homestretch Baptist Mission,Homestretch Baptist Mission,Homestretch Baptist Mission,Homestretch Baptist Mission,Homestretch Baptist Mission,Cleveland, MississippiCleveland, MississippiCleveland, MississippiCleveland, MississippiCleveland, Mississippi

Homestretch is on the move with an increase innew visitors, additions, and finances. Preparation isnow underway for the new facilities of Homestretch

including the construction of updating Highway No.8 to a fourlane. The electric power pole has been setand electrified, water meter set, and the septic

system installed. The time of actual construction isnow set to begin on October 26, 2009. We are askingour BMA people who can help with this new con-struction to keep their eye on the Mississippi Baptistand our Web site for the date. When the date ispublished and you can help, please notify me at theMissions Office by calling 601-428-8616 or cell at601-433-2694.

Bro. John Loden, Former Missionary and PastorBro. John Loden, Former Missionary and PastorBro. John Loden, Former Missionary and PastorBro. John Loden, Former Missionary and PastorBro. John Loden, Former Missionary and PastorBro. Loden was truly a friend, pastor and mission-

ary. He was personally known by most BMA mem-bers of Mississippi and neighboring states. Bro.Loden was a man who loved souls and truly de-lighted in soul winning. His personality was mag-netic and inspiring to those around him. He was onewho needed no encouragement to go, his desire toplease the Lord kept him traveling the roads andknocking doors. Even though we may say a lot, yetour comments fall way short of giving adequaterecognition to his usefulness and accomplishment inthe Lord’s work through the Baptist MissionaryAssociation of Mississippi. In this generation, Bro.Loden will not be forgotten.

El Camino Hispanic Baptist Mission, LaurelEl Camino Hispanic Baptist Mission, LaurelEl Camino Hispanic Baptist Mission, LaurelEl Camino Hispanic Baptist Mission, LaurelEl Camino Hispanic Baptist Mission, LaurelTogether with Bro. Pierce, owner of Colonial

Bro. Duvall, Logan & Boone in Cleveland

Missionary fellowship at office

continued on page 7continued on page 7continued on page 7continued on page 7continued on page 7

7September 15, 2009 • Mississippi Baptist

CHILDREN'S HOME118 LOWE ROAD, LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI 39443 - (601) 426-3928

SIDNEY DAVIS

DIRECTOR

Association MeetingAssociation MeetingAssociation MeetingAssociation MeetingAssociation MeetingThe Big Creek Association

met on August 6 with theSharon Missionary BaptistChurch near Laurel and Pas-tor Joe Watson. A special wor-ship service was planned forthis meeting. Special musicwas rendered by a quartet fromthe Hattiesburg area and I hadthe gracious opportunity ofdelivering a message from theWord of God. We enjoyed thistime of worship and fellowshiptogether and afterwards thehost church provided those inattendance with refreshments.

Back To SchoolBack To SchoolBack To SchoolBack To SchoolBack To SchoolWell, the boys and girls at

the Home are all back in schoolfor the new year. The elemen-

tary students got back into theroutine ofschool on Au-gust 10 and ourcollege studentbegan on Au-gust 21. Every-one is excitedabout who theirnew teachersare and whotheir class-mates are intheir individual classes. Thisacademic school year has got-ten off to a good start as thedaily schedule of school activi-ties and homework is back onthe agenda of things to do eachday during the week.

Continue to remember ourgirls and boys in your prayerseach day that the Lord willguard, protect, and surroundthem with His love, mercy, andgrace. May they take advan-tage of the opportunities of ob-taining a good education andbe students who will learn thosethings which will equip themto be a better child of God nowand for the future.

Recent Church VisitRecent Church VisitRecent Church VisitRecent Church VisitRecent Church VisitOn Sunday, August 30, we

were with the First BaptistChurch Oak Grove,Hattiesburg and Pastor GregBennett for their morning ser-vice. The children shared spe-cial music and I preached amessage from God’s Word. Af-terwards we enjoyed a goodmeal together and fellowship.

Annual BMA ofAnnual BMA ofAnnual BMA ofAnnual BMA ofAnnual BMA ofSouth Alabama MeetingSouth Alabama MeetingSouth Alabama MeetingSouth Alabama MeetingSouth Alabama Meeting

I attended the annual BMAof South Alabama meeting onSeptember 8 which was heldwith the Helton Road BaptistChurch, Theodore and PastorWillie Oldenquist. It was goodto report on the ministry of theHome to this association.

Expression of SympathyExpression of SympathyExpression of SympathyExpression of SympathyExpression of SympathyWe would like to express our

sympathy to the family of Bro.John Loden. Bro. Loden wasan encouragement to me as ayoung preacher. He allowedme to preach one Sunday nightat the church he was pastor ofright after I surrendered to theministry. His love, concern,support, and faithfulness to theministry that God had calledhim to was evident. Ourprayers and thoughts are withthe Loden famiy during theirtime of sorrow and loss.

Chapel Funeral Home, Septem-ber 16, 2009 has been set asclose out date for the purchaseof the El Camino property andbuilding. Bro. Estuardo andhis men have visited the build-ing and begun preparing plansfor a slight renovation projectthat will better arrange thebuilding for worship. The dateof the first formal service anddedication will be announcedin the Mississippi Baptist. Ifall moves smoothly an organi-zation date will be set for thenear future after the dedica-tion of the new facility. Pray forEl Camino.

Skyway HillsThe importance of leader-

ship/discipleship is embeddedwithin the Great Commission.The Great Commission is to

Skyway Hills GMAs

MissionsMissionsMissionsMissionsMissionsfrom page 6from page 6from page 6from page 6from page 6

evangelize, baptize, and teach,meaning disciple those we win.We commend Skyway Hills forthe program they have to dis-ciple their Young Ladies/GMAgroup. It is through the leader-ship of ladies like Chris Smith,Lynn McCoy and DianneRainey that this GMA group isable to grow and learn moreabout the Great Commission.We were excited to have them

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visit us here atthe missions of-fice. They camewith such agreat interest toview our facili-ties with whichGod has blessedthe BMA of Mis-sissippi. It isvery importantfor us to encour-age our youngpeople in theLord's work.The response

and participation that youngpeople give back is a strongencouragement for the olderpeople.

It is with joy that we take thisopportunity to commend SkywayHills for the purchase of their newfifteen passenger bus. Our prayer isthat this bus will be a blessing to

continued on page 8continued on page 8continued on page 8continued on page 8continued on page 8

8 September 15, 2009 • Mississippi Baptist

The Gown With theSplit Down the Back

I was digging in my "Attic" a few days ago andcame across this that I've had for several years. I justwondered if there might be some of you who have notread it before.

The Gown With The Split Down The BackThe Gown With The Split Down The BackThe Gown With The Split Down The BackThe Gown With The Split Down The BackThe Gown With The Split Down The Back

I was sittin' here mindin' my business,Kinda lettin' my mind go slack,When in comes a nurse with a bright, sunny smile.And a gown that was split down the back.

"Take a shower," she said, "and get ready,And then jump into this sack."What she was really talkin' aboutWas that gown with the split down the back.

"They're coming to do some tests," she said.They're gonna stretch me out on a rack,With nothin' twixt me and the cold, cruel world,But a gown that's split down the back!

It comes only to the knees in front,In the sides there is no lack,But by far the greatest shortcomingIs that bloomin' split down the back.

Whoever designed this garment,For humor had a great knack.But I fail to see anything funny"Bout a gown that's split down the back.

I hear them coming to get me,The wheels go clickety-clack,I'll ride through the halls on a table,In a gown that's split down the back!

When I get to Heaven it'll make me no oddsIf my robe is white, red, or black.The only thing I will ask is, "Please,Give me one with no split down the back."

Sofilthy'sAtticby Barbara White

One Smooth Stone…A shepherd boy stood before the challenge of thegiant. The boy had one shot to make a difference. Heselected one smooth stone and with great precisiondefeated Goliath. Like that one smooth stone, atimeless truth communicated in a timely fashion canslay giants.

If I Had Known Then(Article No. 5)

By Kirk SheltonLast week I celebrated forty years in the ministry.

How well I remember that first sermon, if you couldcall it that. The list of things I didn’t know about theministry and preaching would have read like the IRSTax Code! Somehow I didn’t even know that apreacher was supposed to have an outline for hismessages. Having surrendered to preach on a Fridaynight at church camp I eagerly accepted my pastor’sinvitation to preach on Sunday night, less than forty-eight hours later.

On Saturday night desperation set in – where doyou find a sermon anyway? As I frantically searchedthe scriptures I came to Romans 8. The words seemedto come alive as I read and re-read them. I knew thenthat I had my text, all thirty-nine verses of it. OnSunday evening I read all of Romans 8, with weepingsobs said everything I knew to say about it, and thensat down…seven whole minutes after first standingup!

Well, here I sit forty years later and it seems thatI don’t know much more now than then. The differ-ence, I think, is that now I know how much I reallydon’t know about ministry, about life, about myself,and about God. But while I am sometimes over-whelmed with the challenges of life and ministry,there are a few things I have learned. If I hadunderstood these things earlier I might have saved

myself and others a lot of headaches (and heart-aches?) and would have certainly been more effec-tive in serving Christ. Here are a few things I wishI had learned earlier in ministry.

I need people in my lifeI need people in my lifeI need people in my lifeI need people in my lifeI need people in my lifeI have always been a loner and have often boasted

that I didn’t need people. I love being by myself. Fewthings in life can compare with taking a backpackand a few essentials and heading off on a trail alone.But I’ve learned that God created us with a need forbeing in community with Him, and in communitywith others. Having people that I “do life with” iswhat the Christian life is all about. I need account-ability, and I need people with whom I can be open,transparent, and vulnerable.

God has to work on me before He can work throughGod has to work on me before He can work throughGod has to work on me before He can work throughGod has to work on me before He can work throughGod has to work on me before He can work throughme.me.me.me.me.

We all have baggage, and those of us in ministryhave more than our fair share. We are imperfect,flawed people. While it is true that “God cannot usegreatly someone He hasn’t first of all hurt deeply,”we must experience healing for our hurts, or we justend up hurting others. Hurting people hurt people.But healed people can heal people! God has called usto be healers, and it is out of our pain that we havethe greatest potential for healing others (2Corinthians 1:4). Pastor, for God’s and your people’ssake, get well! Learn a lesson from Peter, let Jesuswash your feet.

Leadership influence is a trustLeadership influence is a trustLeadership influence is a trustLeadership influence is a trustLeadership influence is a trustIt can be lost! Those in ministry used to enjoy a

certain level of respect, credibility, and influencejust because of their calling. That means nothing tomost people today. Influence has to be earned. Mycalling, title, position, or giftedness in the pulpit willnot guarantee respect. I earn it through buildingrelationships with people and caring about themmore than my vision or agenda. We should love

people and use things, not love things and usepeople! Follow the example of Jesus; learn to washpeople’s feet.

It CAN happen to meIt CAN happen to meIt CAN happen to meIt CAN happen to meIt CAN happen to meWhat can happen? Any of those things – moral

failure, ethical lapses, pornography, depression, sui-cide – you name it. It can happen to any of us. Onlyby staying close to God and maintaining healthyrelationships can we make it to the finish line intact.My constant prayer is that God will help me make itto the finish line without messing up. I could go on forGod has taught me many more things through trialand error (mostly error!) over the years. Someonehas said: “It’s a smart man who can learn from hismistakes, but it’s a smarter man who will learn fromanother man’s mistakes.” Maybe God will use one ofthese rambling thoughts to help another young min-ister along the way. If so, then may God be pleased.

them and to the glory of the Lord. It will be an advantage forthe young people to visit all of our mission locations here inthe state. Skyway Hills is doing a very commendable job ofrearing up the next generation in the way that the Lord wouldhave them to go. Prays are continually being poured out asthis church continues to grow and train up their young peoplefor God's great work which He has in store for them.

Missionary ReportsMissionary ReportsMissionary ReportsMissionary ReportsMissionary ReportsHomestretch - During the month of August Bro. Edmade 21 home visits, made 27 soul talks and had 1professions of faith. Homestretch had an averageweekly Sunday school attendance of 22 and morningworship of 27. Their weekly average offering was$729.00.

Maple Street - August was a blessed month for Bro. Joseph.He visited 44 homes, made 77 soul talks, and had 8 profes-sion of faith. Their weekly average Sunday school atten-dance was 20. For morning worship they averaged 27, andhad a weekly average offering of $384.

First Hispanic - Bro. Elvis did a faithful job during the monthof August. First Hispanic made 76 home visits and had 6professions of faith. The church's weekly average offeringwas $764.68.

El Camino - For the month of August Bro. Estuardo reachedout and visited 18 homes, made 39 soul talks and had 7professions of faith. They had an average of 58 in Sundayschool, 70 in their weekly worship service. The Lord blessedEl Camino with an average weekly offering of $667.53.

Missions Missions Missions Missions Missions from page 7from page 7from page 7from page 7from page 7 NEA reveals true stanceon homosexual marriageOOOOOneNewsNowneNewsNowneNewsNowneNewsNowneNewsNow - Does the NEA support same-sexmarriage?

In early July, OneNewsNow was contacted by theConservative Educators Caucus, an organizationwithin the National Education Association (NEA)made up of conservative teachers. They claimed thatthe NEA threw their full support behind the homo-sexual marriage during their annual meeting inCalifornia. Concerned teachers within the NEA con-tacted their local officials, who denied any suchsupport.

However, Jeralee Smith of the Conservative Edu-cators Caucus says those officials are playing "lib-eral word games." She directs concerned teachers tothe NEA's website, which has posted the resolution.

According to resolutions B-13 and I-13, the NEAopposes the "discriminatory treatment of same-sexcouples" and it believes that "such couples shouldhave the same legal rights and benefits as similarly-situated heterosexual couples."

Furthermore the resolution states that the NEAwill support affiliates that seek to "enact state legis-lation that guarantees to same-sex couples the rightto enter into a legally recognized relationship…"And that the "NEA will support its affiliates inopposing state constitutional and/or statutory provi-sions that could have the effect of prohibiting thestate and its political subdivisions from providingthe same rights and benefits to same-sex couples…"