News

“We are all part of an amazing story — God’s story,” said Global Women Executive Director Cindy Dawson, sitting at a table set for tea at the 2014 Global Women Summit in St. Louis on March 7-8.

Five Midwestern pastors find bivocational ministry both rewarding and a bit frustrating. Asked what they would share with a roomful of seminarians, they offered advice from their church and secular experiences.

Bivocational ministers live in two worlds — in part to support themselves and their families economically but also, at least for some, as a way to translate the world to the church and the church to the world.

Economic and other factors are driving a bivocational ministry trend. But bivos still juggle two jobs and family obligations.

Africa is a large continent, with a variety of terrain — from desert to lush jungle to towering mountains — and a diversity of people and languages — from French to English to tribal tongues. As African Christians immigrate to other parts of the world, they look for the familiar, a taste of home and an opportunity to praise God in their heart language. Many have found that -- in spite of tribal differences -- with the African congregation at First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo.

Mediation between the Missouri Baptist Convention and four formerly affiliated agencies has ended without a resolution. The primary issue — who would control those organizations — could not be settled.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Concentrating on similarities opens doors to lasting friendships and opportunities to build bridges, 14 University of Missouri students learned recently in Cuba. The students and three adults spent part of winter break in January assisting Cuban university students to practice English and developing relationships with students and members of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ciego de Avila.

Not that long ago, many Baptist youth ministers warned students about the dangers of interdenominational dating. After all, it could lead to marrying a Methodist, and would a child from that home be sprinkled or immersed? Today, ministers to students are more likely to raise questions about a Christian marrying someone of a different faith tradition. And they probably discover young people who wonder why that would matter.

A Baptist pastor with experience in interfaith dialogue offers suggestions for couples considering marriage.

Missouri Baptist University President Alton Lacey recalls the day he became hooked on running and the steps that led him to become a fitness believer and now an advocate on the campus he leads.