By Josie Rabbitt Baptist Press ALPHARETTA, Ga. — LifeWay Christian Resources’ and the North American Mission Board’s recently-appointed task force on disciple-making met Oct. 17 at NAMB’s building here. The group of 11 Southern Baptist pastors gathered to discuss their task of communicating that “any church of any background can be disciple-making,” according to chairman Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville. Gallaty began the meeting by

Baptist Press BILLINGS, Mont. — Barrett Duke will begin in January 2017 as the new executive director of the Montana Southern Baptist Convention (MTSBC) after his near unanimous election to the post. Messengers to MTSBC annual meeting Oct. 6-7 in Missoula elected Duke to succeed retiring executive director Fred Hewitt by a vote of 87 to 3, search committee chairman Bruce Speer said. Duke, former vice president of the Washington,

By David Roach Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) — During the presidential campaign of 1800, Christian opponents of candidate Thomas Jefferson warned he “abhors the Christian system” and if elected, might send troops to seize Christians’ Bibles. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln’s election was thought by some Southern Baptist leaders to threaten fundamental American liberties. A century later, the presidential campaign elicited the Chicago Sun-Times headline “Southern Baptists Tell Why They Are

By Bob Smietana Lifeway Research NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This Halloween, millions of Americans will carve pumpkins, dress up in costumes, decorate their yards, and gobble down the candy they get while trick-or-treating. America’s preachers also hope they’ll consider coming to church, according to a new phone survey of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. Two-thirds of Protestant pastors say they encourage church members to ask their neighbors to

Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Americans with evangelical beliefs share a great deal in common. They trust in Jesus alone, evangelize their neighbors, and believe the Bible is the final authority in their lives. But when it comes to voting, race and political affiliation still divide evangelicals, according to a survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research taken just before the second presidential debate.

By Gary D. Myers Public Relations, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary NEW ORLEANS (BP) — New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees have approved the establishment of an Adrian Rogers Center for Expository Preaching. Additional initiatives also were approved during the trustees’ fall meeting to enhance the training of local church pastors and other church leaders — a Christian leadership major in the doctor of philosophy program and several enhancements to

By Bob Smietana Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Americans apparently don’t know much about theology, according to a study released Sept. 28. Most say God wrote the Bible. But they’re not sure everything in it is true. Six in 10 say everyone eventually goes to heaven, but half say only those who believe in Jesus will be saved. And while 7 in 10 say there’s only one true God — Father,