2015 SBC Annual Meeting

NASHVILLE (BP) -- When the Dow dropped to 15,400 last month, many pastors exited the stock market and "lost a lot" of money. The market's volatility should prompt all ministers to carefully review their retirement accounts, GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins told the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. During the EC's Sept. 21-22 meeting in Nashville, members also learned of a North American Mission Board proposal to provide funds to the International Mission ...

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has expressed his agreement with a Southern Baptist Convention resolution's condemnation of "religious persecution and human rights violations in North Korea." Sen. Bob Corker, R.-Tenn., also said he is working to "highlight the deplorable human rights situation of the North Korean people."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention's adoption of a resolution this summer on "religious persecution and human rights violations in North Korea" has coincided with what the resolution's originator calls a renewed international challenge to the nation. North Korea -- named by persecution watchdog Open Doors as the world's worst persecutor of Christians for the past 13 years -- has sent thousands of Christians to its political prison camps, estimated at 50,000-70,000 by Open Doors.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Parsons Avenue divides the extensive Southside neighborhood in Columbus into the haves and have-nots. Stowe Mission of Central Ohio is a place of hope situated right on the line. "From our parking lot, you can see a house that is valued at $330,000 on the west side, and you turn around and see a house that sold for $5,000," said Austin Hill, Stowe's associate director. "In this ZIP code we have houses that sell for $2 million, but then we also had a week where 12 kids under the age of 18 were shot in this area."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- A total of 5,407 messengers attended the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, topping the 2014 annual meeting messenger count of 5,298, registration secretary Jim Wells has announced. Messengers were sent from 2,349 churches in 47 states, the District of Columbus and Puerto Rico. Churches in Montana, North Dakota and Rhode Island sent no messengers.

Paul Dietzel II, after his first SBC annual meeting, reflects on "the heritage and hope of the denomination of my birth." Involvement of Millennials in the SBC requires "transparency, simplicity and a confidence driven by a real-world understanding that participation in the Cooperative Program as well as the SBC's annual mission offerings translates into direct engagement in mission work with real people."

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- For Bob Carey, coming to the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting each year provides an opportunity to see old friends and offer an educational opportunity to his students. "We enjoy covering assignments and fellowship together for the week," said Carey, chairman of Gardner-Webb University's (GWU) department of communication and new media, who brings students to help cover some of the events around the SBC.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- "Were you able to join us at the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus, Ohio?" SBC President Ronnie Floyd asked on his blog July 20. "If so, you will remember some of these moments," Floyd wrote in introducing an "SBC 2015 Video Recap".

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- A group of about 100 women gathered for a discussion on how to be better equipped in the 21st century for biblical leadership at a breakfast hosted by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the North American Mission Board. "One of the things we want to talk about are the opportunities for women to lead and the best place to do that in our comfort zone," said Lizette Beard, project manager at LifeWay Research and a Ph.D. student at Southeastern Seminary.

SPRINGDALE, Ark. (BP) -- Yesterday, I discussed the cultural conflict of worldviews growing in our nation. Today, I want to share five actions for Southern Baptists to take now due to the conflict in our culture: 1. Rest in the Lord. Resting in the Lord is not sleeping; it is trusting in the Lord. Jesus is still Lord, and God is still on the throne.