www.msbaptist.orgMarch 15, 2020 VOL. 74 NO. 6

JOURNAL OF THE

BAPTIST MISSIONARY

ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

The 2020 BMAA NationalMeeting and the Coronavirus

by Jeff Swart, PresidentBMA of America

Editor's Note: The following information was shared with me onMarch 12 after I asked Bro. Swart of any plans for our nationalmeeting concerning the current national Corona virus situation.

We are all aware that many organizations are cancellingsporting events and conventions because of the threat of thespread of the Coronavirus. The officers of the BMA of Americaare presently monitoring the Coronavirus and listening veryclosely to the words of our nation’s leading health profession-als as well as our local, state, and national leaders.

Should we decide that the 2020 BMA of America nationalmeeting should be canceled, we will notify our churchesthrough the state papers, BMA websites, and various forms ofsocial media. Rest assured that our utmost desire is to protectthe health and well-being of the messengers of our churches,but we feel that it is too early to make the decision to cancel ourupcoming meeting.

A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Psa 121:1-2

Carson Joins State Guard Serving as Supervising Chaplain

Dr Scott R. Carson, President of Southeastern Baptist College, is sworn intothe Mississippi State Guard in the rank of Colonel by Brigadier General DougHayhurst.

Dr. Scott Carson, Presidentof Southeastern Baptist College,was recently sworn into theMississippi State Guard as achaplain in the rank of Colonel.The Mississippi State Guard isone of three military organiza-tions that fall under the author-ity of the governor. The word“State” is key in understandingthe mission of the Guard. Twosimilar organizations are theAir National Guard and theArmy National Guard, andwhile these two can be federal-ized by the President of theUnited States, the State Guardcannot be federalized. The StateGuard’s mission is primarilydisaster relief and is voluntaryin nature unless called to ser-vice by the governor.

Dr. Carson stated that he firstbecame aware of the State Guardwhen BMA of Mississippi min-ister, Chris Freeman, ap-proached him about an endorse-ment as a chaplain into the or-ganization. Dr. Carson, the Di-rector of the BMAA ChaplaincyDepartment, endorsed Brother

Freeman and later attended hisswearing in ceremony in Jack-son, Mississippi. While there,Dr. Carson was asked if he mightbe interested in joining the unitas well. After much prayer, hedetermined that the Lord hadopened this door of opportunityto contribute his thirty years ofactive military experience to the

State Guard.Mississippi is not the only

state that has its own militia, asthere are 17 states across thenation that have similar units.Dr. Carson’s role will be to su-pervise subordinate chaplainsin their training and ministry,as they volunteer in this greatorganization.

Nashville Tornado ResponseJust The Crumbs - How Can I Help?

By Lavon HadeanJust the Crumbs

Many people ask us “What doyou need or how can I help?” Butit is hard sometimes to be spe-cific about our needs due to theunknown factors of the numberof meals we need or the length oftime we need to stay followingthe March 3 Nashville, Tennes-see area tornados.

Many people want to help sothey just go and buy differentfood items and send or bringthem, but much of what is givencannot be used to cook the mealswe serve. The problem is it may

be several different items, but itis not enough of one item to use.When cooking for a lot of peopleyou don’t have the time norequipment to do a lot of differ-ent items. (The food is not wastedbecause we give it out to peopleto cook at home.) It is best for usto receive gallon cans of veg-etables like green beans, bakedbeans, whole kernel corn, sweetpeas, turnips, mixed vegetables,field peas, etc.

We also need takeout platesthat have three compartments,napkins, paper towels and 12

Meet Pastor MosesWater For Christ Ministry Update

Meet Pastor Moses. Moses isa native Ghanian Pastor that isthe Ambassador for Water forChrist in Ghana. This year youhave the opportunity to meethim as he will be attending theBMA National Meeting. Moseswill be accompanied by two otherlocal pastors that all work to-gether to make the mission ofWater for Christ possible inGhana. Moses is passionateabout showing the love of Christin his country and meeting thephysical needs of his native landwith the water crisis, in addi-tion to sharing the good news ofthe gospel - we are honored to

have him on the Water for Christteam.

We have a lot of excitingevents happening this year.Mark your calendars for thespecial 2020 dates especially theCar show and the Gala - as thoseare the two major events eachyear that we would love to seeyou at.

As always, thank you for giv-ing Water for Christ such a greatyear in 2019. We could not bewhere we are today without yoursupport and encouragement.Please keep us in your prayersas we move into our second de-cade and help us spread the word

continued on page 4

about Water for Christ. The Lordhas some great things plannedand we are excited to see whereit may all lead

Pastor Moses and wife

Schedule on page 7

2 March 15, 2020 • Mississippi Baptist

BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

Missions Department &Revolving Loan Fund

State Missionaries, Coaches & Coordinators and Wives

www.bmams.org - 601.428.8616Larry Geraldson

Director

Phillip & DawnBurns

Scott and SusanBrocious

Sidney & BeckyFarmer

Johnny & Neta Williams

Kenneth & CarolePollock

Ed & PatriciaDuVall

Estuardo &Yasmine Marroquin

Josh and Mary HelenDaniels

Jason and KylieHoward

Wesley & HolleyMartin

Daniel & SherriAllen

“Go, stand and speak in the temple tothe people all the words of this life.”Acts 5:20

Peter had been cast into prison, in aneffort, to shut down the preaching of thegospel and the spread of the gospel. But,the angel of the Lord was sent to open theprison and send him out. In doing so, hereminded Peter to, “Go, stand and speakin the temple to the people all the wordsof this life.” Reading this, we are re-minded that God goes before us to re-move the obstacles to our efforts to sharethe gospel. With this knowledge, we goforth with great confidence.

Special Emphasis – Coming UpEach year we plead with our churches

to respond to our request that they em-phasize State Missions in a special wayduring the months of April and May.Please prayerfully consider this request.I challenge each church to participateand those who have, to do more. We haveadded a number of new missionaries thisyear and we have others who are talkingwith us. This is a worthy request!

Important Event –BMA of Mississippi Summer RetreatAugust 27-29, 2020

The first annual BMA of Mississippi“Summer Retreat” will be held at Paul B.Johnson State Park located at 319 Gei-ger Lake Road, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.This event will replace and combine theMissions and Evangelism Conferenceand the Pastor’s Conference and will beopen to everyone. Working together wefeel we have come up with a very goodprogram that we can all enjoy. We willbegin on August 27th @ 2:30pm at the“Group Camp” at Paul B. Johnson. Wefacilities we have secured include twolarge dorms, for the men, which canhouse up to 100. We have three indi-vidual buildings, for the women, whichcan house up to 40. We have also securedan open pavilion with burn pit, a chapel,and a dining hall which seats 150. Wewill be located across the lake in our ownprivate area. Our program will includea combination of spiritual encourage-ment and physical recreation.

See Program Schedule on page 3

Our Newest MissionaryDaniel Allen was approved, by the

Missionary Committee, on March 2, 2020,to serve as a State Missionary. He will

begin by working as an Associate Mis-sionary with Bro.Wesley Martin atRedemption BaptistMission atDiamondhead. Heis recommended tous by CampgroundBaptist Church onHwy 53 nearGulfport. He and hiswife Sherri have 3children, Heather(Blake) Morreale,Tyler ( Payton) Allenand Austin Allen,and one grandson, Maddox Allen.

Redemption BaptistMission at Diamondhead

“Grace to you and peace, from God ourFather and from The Lord Jesus Christ.”I am writing to you at a time of greatexcitement. We have recently celebratedfive years of ministry. We celebrated theday in our new building with many folkswho have served with us over the years

and with brand new faces who were vis-iting for the first time. It was a great dayof remembering what God has alreadydone but ever looking forward to whatHe is still going to do. Ministry is flour-ishing for us at Redemption. Recently,Daniel Allen was approved by the Mis-sions Committee and has begun work-ing with us at the mission. Our church isgrowing numerically and spiritually. We

have members who have stepped up tohelp in ministries all over the churchincluding small groups, student minis-tries, children’s ministries, Outreach andmore. God continues to bless, and I can’twait to see what He is going to do thisyear. Thank You for your continuedprayers and support. May God bless youand your ministries.” Bro. Wesley

Salt Light BaptistMission at Waveland

“Salt Light Baptist is continuing totake shape. We've recently had a busi-ness meeting to elect positions in theMission. It was very encouraging to seeeach one take a part in the differentministries and positions. We've laid thefoundation. This Church family is builton Christ. Now, we have some internalstructure to support greater service in-wardly and outreach ministries in ourcommunity. We are making plans tomeet new people at the St. Patrick’s Dayparade in Waveland this Saturday. Ourplans include setting up a pop-up canopywith a table where we will have freedrinks and pulled pork sandwiches andinformation about the Mission. We willalso be walking around ahead of timepassing out three-fold flyers trying toreach more people.  Our goal is to makenew prospects and reach new people withthe Gospel of Christ. 

Once again, thank you so much foryour support and prayers. Along withthe Lord, you're making this opportu-nity to plant a Church possible.” Bro.Johnny Williams

Midway Baptist Mission at Batesville“Midway Mission is steadily march-

ing forward as good soldiers in the Lord’sarmy. Members and others who attendregularly are experiencing spiritualgrowth daily as they participate in ourservices and devote time to personalstudy and witnessing. They have learnedand accepted the idea that church plant-ing is a task for the entire congregationand not just for the mission pastor.Friends and family are being encour-aged to take part in our services andmany have visited. Our people are alsoreaching out to the unchurched popula-tion in surrounding communities. Godwill bless these efforts. With the timechange, prayer meeting and discipleshiptraining has moved back to Wednesdayevenings. We have followed through with

our plan to begin Sunday School and ourfirst classes met the second Sunday inMarch. Presently, we only have twoclasses but expect more to form as atten-dance increases. Thank you for yourprayers and words of encouragement.”Dr. Kenneth Pollock

Canaan BaptistMission in Waynesboro

“Things in Waynesboro are going well.The members of the mission and myfamily are enjoying having their morn-ing services. Brother Jason Howard isofficiating afternoon services, teachingour discipleship classes, focusing on Bap-tist polity. This has truly been a blessingto watch all the spiritual growth andknowledge take place that many peopleare lacking. We are planning on doinganother community outreach in the nearfuture. The last one was very successful.Please be in prayer for those efforts. Ihave also had the opportunity to seepersonal growth in our members taking

up rolls, in doing Sunday morning devo-tions before Sunday school and membersactivity teaching youth Sunday school.Nothing is more encouraging to apreacher than seeing the people God hasentrusted him with, having a genuinedesire to be used for his glory! I amexcited for what the future holds here inWayne county. Please be in continuousprayer for the efforts here that souls willbe saved as the Lord builds his localchurch in the Waynesboro area. I wouldlike to thank all the churches in theBMAMS for their love and support as we

continued on page 3

New MissionaryDaniel Allen

Redemption Baptist Mission Celebrates theirlauch in the new building

Members of the Mission at Waynesboro helpinga fellow member with some needed repairs.

3March 15, 2020 • Mississippi Baptist

BMA of Mississippi Summer RetreatTheme: Our Journey with Jesus

ScheduleThursday2:30 - 3:30pm - Registration3:30 - 5:00pm - Softball Competition5:30 - 6:30pm - Dinner7:00 - 8:30pm - Session 1 (Music & Larry Geraldson – Intro. ofTheme – Eph 2:10 (Fellowship Afterwards)

Friday7:30 – 8:30am - Breakfast9:00 - 11:30am - Session 2Pastor & Layman’s Breakout

MusicDennis Knight – Walk Worthy – Eph 4:1Chris Yager – Walking Not As Others – Eph 4:17Greg Medenwald – Walking in Love – Eph 5:2

Ladies BreakoutMusicSabrina Clayton

12:00 - 1:00pm - Lunch1:30 - 3:00pm - Session 3

MusicJohnmichael Poulin – Walk as Children of Light – Eph 5:8Wesley Martin – Walk Circumspectly – Eph 5:15

3:00 - 5:30pm - Organized Recreation — Volleyball Tournament,Kayak Races, Hiking

6:00 - 7:00pm - Dinner7:30 - 9:00pm - Session 4

MusicSpeaker - Dewitt Bain – Walk Ready – Eph 6:10-12

Saturday7:00 - 8:00am - Breakfast8:30 - 10:00am - Session 5

MusicSpeaker - Kevin Clayton –

Walk As Long As It Takes – 1 Tim 1:1-12

ActivitiesSlow Pitch Softball Game - (Missionaries vs Pastors)Missionaries – Head Coach, Larry Geraldson, Assistant Coach,Sidney Farmer, Assistant Coach, Vernon NewmanPastors – Head Coach Justin Rhodes, Assistant Coach, TBD,Assistant Coach, TBDPlate Umpire – Kenneth Pollock; 1st Base Umpire – Ed DuVallKayak Races – Ten Kayaks will be available. Sign up, to compete,when you register.

Volleyball TournamentTeam 1 – Captain, Mike AngusTeam 2 – Captain, Daniel AllenTeam 3 – Captain Blake McCainTeam 4 – Captain Chad CumminsNote: The winner of the first two matches will play in a championshipmatch.

Early Registration$45 per person (which covers 5 meals and 2 nights lodging at the

group camp.) Late registration (after June 30th) is $60 per person.To register, send your check made payable to the BMA of MississippiMissions Department. Place in the memo “Summer Retreat Regis-tration. Make sure your check is accompanied by a note with thenames of the individuals registering.

Churches wishing to contribute to help offset the extra cost notcovered in the registration fee, can send a check marked BMA ofMississippi Missions Department, and place in the memo “ChurchMinistries.”

Couples desiring to rent a cabin or RV spot, must contact Paul B.Johnson State Park directly at 601-582-7721. Any cost of a cabinis a personal expense and is in addition to the registration fee.

labor.” Scott Brocious“Thank you all for your contin-

ued prayers and financial sup-port! We could not do what we dowithout it. This past month hasbeen a very busy one. One of themembers, at the mission, was ad-mitted into the hospital. While hewas there, it was brought to myattention that a few improve-ments needed to be made to hishome before he could be releasedto come home. It was encourag-ing to see other members of themission come together and fulfillthis need. Bro. Scott Brocious isdoing a tremendous job leadingand directing the Sunday morn-ing services. The members of themission church love him and hisfamily! Please continue to praythat of the many gospel seeds wehave and are planting - God wouldgive increase!” Jason Howard

Restoration Ministry – The JailMinistry of the BMA of Missis-sippi

“On March 10, we were able togo into a county jail for the firsttime with Restoration Ministry. Iand four other men, some of whomare former inmates, shared God’sWord with two separate groups ofmen, a total of 21 prisoners, at theJasper County jail. Six of thesemen were awaiting transfer afterhaving been recently sentencedto serve time with the state cor-rections department. I was ableto preach to the second group,which included the six men await-ing transfer. One of these menreceived one-on-one counselingabout personal salvation fromanother minister in our groupfollowing our time of preaching.Many of the prisoners seemed tohave an understanding of theGospel and other biblical truth.However, I did notice that one ofthe men had Jehovah’s Witnessesliterature folded in the bible hewas using, so there is error beingtaught at times in our jails—er-ror with which we must contend.Please continue to pray for Resto-ration as we attempt to ministerto prisoners. We need churcheswho are willing to actively par-ticipate in reaching local countyjails with the truth of God’s Word.If your church is interested in mycoming to share about this minis-try, please contact me throughthe missions department. Beforeour next monthly update, theEaster season will be upon us.Restoration Ministry wishes allof you a wonderful time celebrat-ing the resurrection of our Sav-ior.” Dr. Paul Spurlin

Hispanic Missions Report –Bro. Estuardo Marroquin

“El Camino Mission,Hattiesburg reported that theyshared the gospel to four people

and one person accepted Christas personal savior. On Sundays,they have an average of 44 peoplein Sunday school and worshipservice. Bro. Leo Adan reportsthat they began the Bible Insti-tute classes February, and around20 people from this Hispanic mis-sion enrolled in the first quarter.Please continue praying for ElCamino Hispanic mission andBro. Leo Adan and his family.

El Camino Mission, Canton,Bro. Lucas Gomez reports an av-erage of 12 people in Sundayschool attendance. Bro. Lucasshared the gospel to four peopleand one person was saved lastmonth and he continues to dis-ciple the new believers.

El Camino Mission, Biloxi re-ports 25 in worship services onSundays. Bro. Marciano Montalvoand Bro. Estuardo Marroquinhave been traveling the last eightweeks to Biloxi and preachingevery Sunday for the Hispanicworship service. New familieshave started to attend the meet-ings. Two newborn babies werepresented to The Lord, and theyhad good fellowship with deli-cious food on March 1.

El Camino Hispanic Church atLaurel had a wonderful month ofFebruary. They celebrated their18th Anniversary with a tremen-dous service. People from BiloxiMission, Hattiesburg Mission andCanton Mission came and joinedwith the local church and gavethanks to The Lord for El CaminoChurch. Bro. Luis Ortega fromLifeword Ministries was the guestspeaker and shared a powerfulmessage. Over 200 people wor-

Missions Reportfrom page 2

shipped the Lord together. ElCamino Church reports averageof 120 people on worship serviceand two people accepted Christas their personal savior.

Nueva Esperanza Hispanic As-sociation met March 7th. Themeeting tookplace at theH i s p a n i cMission inTupelo, MS.Everyb odyenjoyed themeeting andheard reportsfrom the dif-ferent His-panic mis-sions in ourassociation.

As theH i s p a n i cM i s s i o n sManager, I thank God for thesemen who are giving their lives,time, and heart to do missionary

work in ourH i s p a n i cM i n i s t r yand I thankGod for everylocal Churchand LocalAssociationin our Stateof Missis-sippi for thecontinuoussupport andprayer. MayGod Blessyou, in

Christ, Estuardo Marroquin His-panic Missions Manager.”

Refuge Baptist Missionin the Kiln

We are glad to be able to reportat this time that we are still beingblessed with new visitors and re-turning guests each week at Ref-uge. There seems to be a joy amongthose who are attending and adesire to take more steps forward.We just completed a five weekclass of church membership forthose interested in joining themission. We looked at Acts 2 andwe had an average of 24 adults inthese classes. Our next effort ofgrowth will be for those who areattending regularly and becom-ing more part of the core group.We will start a Wednesday nightdiscipleship class on April 15th.Bro. Jay Ladner will lead thatclass while my wife, Mary Helenand I will begin classes for ouryouth. I will be teaching themiddle/high schoolers and MaryHelen will teach the 5th gradeand below. We pray this can be abeneficial time for the adults toget closer, grow deeper, and theirkids and other kids can do thesame. I’m also available for Sun-day night visits for any of ourchurches that would like to haveme share and for any of ourchurches praying about support-ing a mission.

BMA of Mississippi Hispanic Associa-tion guest speaker Bro. Luis Ortega

El Camino Laurel, on Outreach

New family at El Caminno, Biloxi

Bro. SergioDominguez, Bible In-sti tute Student,preaching at ElCamino

Bro. Tony Moreno,Bible Institute Stu-dent, preaching at ElCamino

4 March 15, 2020 • Mississippi Baptist

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

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Published on the 1st and15th of each month by the Bap-tist Missionary Association ofMississippi. Periodical postagepaid at Hattiesburg, MS 39402.

Postmaster:Send address changes toMississippi Baptist Paper

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Journal of the Baptist MissionaryAssociation of Mississippi

Don BrownEditor

Corona Virus IssuesWe are all keenly aware of the

worldwide virus pandemic we areexperiencing. There are so manyvariables that it is difficult to knowwhat to do or who to believe. Wepray for our government leadersand those in the health industry asthey care for us and that the Lordwould lead them all to correct andbeneficial decisions and directions.

The cancelling of so many sport-ing events and areas of assemblyare certainly concerning. As formy family, my wife and I fall intothat category of 'elderly and withcertain health issues'. Well, thatcertainly has gotten our attention!What to do?

I think common sense and dis-cernment are important. Let usremember that God is in controland watches over His own, but Hedoes expect us to act rationally.

Schools and many colleges and

Notes and Thoughtsuniversities are practically shut-ting down classes and having stu-dents work on-line or at directedstudies away from campus.

As I am writing this there areconstant "Breaking News Updates"concerning government actionsto address the situation in whichwe find ourselves as a nation andas a global community.

One of our churches has com-municated that they will continueto hold services, but encourageanyone ill to stay at home andwatch their services online. Don'tshake hands, just say hello. I amsure many others are doing thesame. Let us take sensible actionsand determine not to panic.

I took a 'quick' email survey ofsome of our church pastors. Theresponses were almost identical.The main thought was, "We arecontinuing with our services andmonitoring the situation."

There are several sources ofinformation directed specificallyto churches and actions they cantake to ensure the safety of theirmembers. It would do us well tocheck those out and make thebest decisions for our church onan individual basis.

Foreign MissionariesThe Walker Family and the

Scroggins are missionaries in thePhilippines. Both are making plansto return to the States on fur-lough. The Philippine Governmentis doing what many governmentsaround the world are doing andmaking new travel rules. This mayor may not affect these two fami-lies as they make plans to return.Pray that they both will get tocome home, have safe travelsand for the Lord's protection asthey travel.

National Meeting ??As you will read on the front

page of this issue, President JeffSwart responded to our inquiryconcerning plans for our BMAANational Meeting scheduled forlate April. He assures our churchesthe situation is being monitoredand a decision concerning themeeting will be forthcoming.

While we all want to conductour meeting and business eachyear, common sense and discern-ment is called for. I am confident

that if the national health situa-tion continues to get worse thatour leaders will make the appro-priate decisions.

What Next?Well, no March Madness, no

more SEC baseball, No more XFL,NBA, NHL, or even The Masters.However, the Master is in controland nothing catches Him by sur-prise. Pray for healing, goodhealth, our churches as they min-ister the Gospel, our missionariesaround the world, and that thelost would see that life is indeedshort, judgement is sure, and thatGod has provided salvation to allwho will come to Him.

Special EmphasisUpdate

Our hearts are warmed by thegenerosity of those who supportthis ministry with their gifts. Wereported on our emphasis gifts inthe last issue. Since that time wehave received the following dona-tions to our annual Special Em-phasis drive.Anonymous $500.00Anonymous $100.00Berean, Soso $90.00Magnolia, Hattiesburg $500.00Total to date $7,843.22

It seems a simple "thank you" isnot adequate. All your supportsand gifts are deeply appreciated.

and 16-ounce styrofoam cups.We also need tin foil, flour, cornmeal, sugar, eggs, milk, butter,salt, black pepper etc. For con-venience and efficiency, I rec-ommend buying online fromWalmart, Sams or Amazon andhaving it delivered free of chargedirectly to the location wherewe’ll be — Community Church,1815 Knowles Street, Nashville,Tennessee 37208. It willbe a few days before we are op-erational.

A monetary donation is bestfor us because we buy just whatwe need when we need it. Moneycan be sent by PayPal(justthecrumbs21@gmail. com);or to BMAA Missions, P.O. Box878, Conway, AR 72033; or toJust The Crumbs, 10 WagonTrail, Sumrall, MS 39482.

I have put together an esti-mate of what it cost for us tooperate for 30 days. From pastexperience, and looking at areawhere we will be in Nashville, Ibelieve these figures are a mini-mum estimated cost: travel($1,800); operating expenses,kitchen gas and electricity($800); set up cost for drains,canopy, etc. ($300); laundry andshower supplies for victims andvolunteers ($400); liability in-surance ($1,000); unexpected ormisc. expenses ($1,000) — for atotal of $4,600. This is all beforeone meal is served, and we areplanning for 800 meals for 30days, for a total cost of meals of$60,000.

Just The Crumbsfrom page 1

Donor DinnerThe annual SBC Donor Dinner is scheduled for Thursday

evening, March 26, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. in the SBC gymna-sium, 4229 Highway 15 North, Laurel, MS 39440, andcatered by the Lighthouse Café. This year, we are combin-ing the individual and the church donor dinners into oneexciting combined event. Invitations have been sent.Please reserve your seat and meal as requested on theinvitation BY MARCH 19 to Caroline Adams atcadams@southeasternbaptist.edu or 601-426-6346.

Southeastern Baptist College

ShouldThe word “should” is an oft-used word in my life. Should is a

statement of what one thinks should be the case as opposed to whatis the case. In a given situation, it should be (ought to be) this way.With another state of affairs, it should be (it had better be) thatway.

I have some ideas about how things should be.I have some pre-conceived notions of how thingsshould operate. I know how I think things shouldturn out. I know what I think people should do.

When my “shoulds” are not met, I getbumfuzzled at times - sometimes more thanothers. I cannot “should” on any person, group,or event to make it come out or behave like itshould in “my should opinion.”

Sometimes I turn my “shoulds” internally onmyself. I should on myself when I do not live upto my own “should have done this or that in a different way” typeof situation. I have to get over my “shoulding” on myself and as wellas “shoulding” on others.

It takes some time to come back to how the Lord wants thingsto be and work out. It takes me a little reflective time and Scripturereading to understand my “shoulds” are not necessarily God’simperatives. I pray for wisdom to recognize and heed God’s shouldinstead of my own or others.

Dr. Tony Cleaver is a retired U.S. Army Chaplain and Directorof Distance Learning for BMA Seminary. You may contact him atjstmcleaver@embarqmail.com

Leave It To Cleaver

Tony Cleaver

Grover Laird ScholarshipThe effort to fund the Grover

Laird Scholarship at BMA Semi-nary continues to receive dona-tions. To date a total of$21,480.00. This will help minis-ters preparing for a lifetime ofservice. Donations are still beingreceived and encouraged.

Donations should be sent toDon Brown, P.O. Box 8181, Lau-rel, MS 39441. Checks should bemade payable to Grover LairdScholarship or BMA Seminary withLaird Scholarship in the designa-tion line.

5March 15, 2020 • Mississippi Baptist

Dr. Scott CarsonPresident

4229 Highway 15 North, Laurel, Mississippi 39440, (601) 426-6346

Southeastern Baptist College

Serving Christ With A Biblical World View In A Christian Atmosphere

President’s Perspective“By this shall all men know

that ye are my disciples, if yehave love one to another.” John13:35

Typos. I hate it when I dothem. Looks like I had a couplein the last article. There’s reallyno excuse and I know how theyhappened. I was under a dead-line and I was working fast andfurious to “get ‘er done!” Also,using Microsoft Word for typingthe articlescontributes tothe problem.Word willhighlight mis-spellings, butit often doesnot catchwrong wordusage if thewrong word iscorrectly spelled. But, I will takecomfort in this, that I do muchbetter than others on socialmedia!

No one is perfect and it’s al-ways good to remember thiswhen someone makes a mistake.Drivers often commit small in-fractions and too often it’s be-cause they do not use their blink-ers. That’s one of my pet peeves;people not using their blinkers.It gets my dander up just writ-ing about it!

As Christians, we are com-pelled by the Lord to forgiveminor offenses. In fact, we arecompelled to even give gracetoward major offenses. I reallydo, however, believe in the ap-plication of civil law. But on apersonal level, we should prac-

tice grace and mercy toward oth-ers, and especially toward ourbrothers and sisters in Christ.

I read a result of a recent surveyconducted among Americansregarding church attendance. Itstated that 34 percent of Ameri-cans are “dechurched”. Thatmeans they used to go to church,but for whatever reason, decidedto drop out of church perma-nently. Now, you and I knowthat some people just plain haveissues with everyone and every-thing and that would accountfor some of these “dechurched”folks. But if you have been goingto church for some time, thenyou also know that friction canoccur between church members,or between church members andchurch leaders. In these cases,we are compelled to try to recon-cile our differences. Too often,the differences are minusculein nature. We have all heardabout church splits over the colorof a much needed new carpet!That is a good example of a smallissue that perhaps we just needto let go and concentrate on ourworship and fellowship.

Early in the Iraq War, I wasin a unit that had recently re-placed all its leadership whenwe received orders to deploy.Many of the staff did not knoweach other. A short time afterarriving in the combat zone twomain staff members had seri-

ous differences of opinion onmost decisions. Both were indi-vidually great people, but they

were often at odds behind closeddoors until, during a major com-bat operation planning session,their personal frustrations wereexhibited publically for the restof the staff and the commanderto see. The commander immedi-ately suspended the planningmeeting and invited the twoupset staff members into hisoffice. Something very powerfulwas said to these two behindthat closed door. When they re-emerged, there was never an-other problem between the twofor the many remaining monthsof the deployment.

We should seek to build eachother up in the Lord and getalong the best we can with thosewho have differing opinions. Letall of us seek to have such a closerelationship with the Lord, thatthe petty differences betweenourselves and others, do notcause division within the churchfamily. The church should be aplace of fellowship and as be-lievers, we should not forget toexhibit the love of our Lord andSavior in our lives.

“For if ye forgive men theirtrespasses, your heavenly Fa-ther will also forgive you:” Mat-thew 6:14

Equipping the Saints!Dr. Carson

Something very powerful was said to these two behindthat closed door. When they reemerged, there was neveranother problem...

Fast TrackSummer Session

SBC will offer a full semester ofcourses in a shortened format thissummer, and for half price. Eachcourse costs $375. Dorms areavailable. Registration is Thurs-day, May 21, 2020 and classesare May 26 to June 26. You maypreregister NOW! Call 601-426-6346 or stop by the college Mon-day to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 3p.m.

Classes offeredEnglish Comp I

World Lit IUS History I

College AlgebraOld Testament Survey

Memorial Scholarship OpportunitiesCpl. Zachary Austin Holloway Scholarship Memorial

Corporal Zachary Holloway recently passed away in a tragic accident. Zachary is the son of Chrisand Twyla Floyd. Chris is a Trustee of SBC. Chris and Twyla have designated SBC to receivememorial monetary gifts to establish a Scholarship in his honor. Memorials gifts can be sent toSoutheastern Baptist College, 4229 Highway 15 North, Laurel MS 39440. Please annotate the giftin memory of Corporal Holloway. Thank you to the follow people who have made a donationtoward this scholarship fund:

Ben and Erma Sue HensarlingJan and Eddie Walker

Mr. and Mrs. James Sistrunk

Bobby Thornton MemorialsBrother Bobby Thornton, former BMAA Chaplaincy Dept. Director and retired Air Force Chaplain

(Colonel), passed away recently. His lovely wife, Dovie, has designated SBC to receive memorialgifts in his honor. Memorials gifts can be sent to Southeastern Baptist College, 4229 Highway 15North, Laurel, MS 39440. Please annotate the gift in memory of Brother Thornton.

Amazon SmileOur Amazon Smile account is

fixed! Anybody shopping on

Amazon can select Southeast-ern Baptist College as your char-ity. When you do this, a portionof your purchase price will godirectly to SBC as a donationfrom Amazon!

Commencement ExercisesMark your calendars for the Southeastern Baptist College gradu-ation ceremony that will be May 14, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. with Dr. JohnAdams as our guest speaker. Dr. Adams is an alumnus, Pastor ofFirst Baptist Church of Mantachie, Mississippi, and the Directorof the Moral Action of Mississippi.

Cheer for the Chargers!Official Tryouts

Friday, March 27, 20204:30 at SBC Gym

Cheer for theSBC Chargers

Home and AwayGames

All Expenses PaidTryout Participation Fee $15.00Join Us! Be a Charger!

Dr. Carson recentlytraveled to NorthwestArkansas to provide a

presentation for theBMAA Chaplaincy

Department ministryand also promoted

Southeastern BaptistCollege to the

churches of the BMAof the Ozarks.

The Best 2-Year CollegeSoutheastern Baptist College is designated by Intelligent.com asthe "Best Two Year University" for Online Bible Colleges out of 201institutions across the U.S. for 2020. That’s twice in the last 4 yearswe have been ranked number one out of hundreds of colleges anduniversities. And, we have consistently been in the top 25. SBC isalso one of the top 10 least expensive schools among thousands ofcolleges in the country. You really need to contact the SBCAdmissions Officer today at 601-426-6346.

Lighthouse CaféThe SBC Lighthouse Café is open to everyone! Hours of operationare Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come and make lunch atthe café a regular part of your week’s activities. Of note, theLighthouse Café can be contracted to provide catered meals or canbe reserved for special activities. Contact Roderick Hollis for moreinformation at 601-652-1613.

TNTEach Tuesday evening the SBC student body gathers together fora meal and a spiritual lesson. We invite churches and ministries

College Report Continued on page 6

6 March 15, 2020 • Mississippi Baptist

to sponsor a Tuesday Night Talk(TNT) by providing a nutritioushome cooked meal (church potluck style) OR, you can contract

with the SBC Lighthouse Caféto provide the meal at minimalcost, while you provide a 15-minute devotional. This pro-gram is a huge success with anaverage of 35 attending eachweek. Contact our Fellowship ofChristian Athletes Ambassador,Coach Lyon at 601-506-2880, toschedule your night of minis-try. Thank you First BaptistChurch family of Laurel andTemple Baptist Church familyalso of Laurel who recently sup-ported this ministry.

SBC ChoirNow is the time to reserve

dates for a performance at yourchurch or other venue duringthe Spring Semester. Hurry,their schedule is filling upquickly. Contact KristaMcKenzie at 601-426-6346.

Veterans BenefitsSBC possesses the Gold

Award level as a militaryfriendly college! Have youserved in America’s armedforces? Then you probably haveVeterans Administration tu-ition benefits that you can usetoward a free education right

First Baptist Church, Laurel, Missis-sippi, provided a recent Tuesday NightTalk (TNT) meal with their StudentPastor, Andrew Irwin, bringing a dy-namic devotion to the SBC students.

Anderle Foster,Dean of Student

Affairs, poses withstudent athletes

after a TNTsession.

Temple BaptistChurch, Laurel,Mississippi, provideda Tuesday Night Talk(TNT) meal withPastor Cliff Jenkinsbringing an inspiringdevotion to the SBCstudents.

Representing SBC onthe court in 1973: KimBreland, Mike Free, KenLovell, Mark Sumrall, C.J. Saucier, FrankBaggett, Jimmy War-ren, Dale Watts (Notpictured: Gary Merritt,Keith Nelson, HowardHerbert, Mike Fayard,Wally Page, and MikeWatts)

Linda Carson,spouse ofPresident Carson,appears again ona recent episodeof HGTV’sHometown.

here at SBC. I urge you to con-tact your local VA representa-tive for an evaluation of yourbenefits. You earned them! SBChas numerous students receiv-ing VA assistance for both onlineand in-classroom tuition.

SBC FoundationThe Southeastern Baptist

College Foundation is a fantas-tic way to support your collegewell into the future. Interestfrom the Foundation helps sus-tain the financial needs of thecollege. We currently have$750,000 in the Foundation. Ourgoal is to grow this amount toone million dollars. If you areinterested in transferring as-sets or including the SBC Foun-dation in your will planning,contact Dr. Carson for more in-formation on how to invest inthe present and futuresustainability of SBC.

National Day of PrayerBreakfast

For the fourth year since itsinception, the annual NationalDay of Prayer Breakfast will beheld in the SBC gym. This year’sFREE event will begin at 7:30a.m. Leander Bridges, an SBCalumnus and Pastor of SpringHill Missionary Baptist Churchof Ellisville, MS will be thisyear’s guest speaker. There willbe more information on thisgreat event soon.

SBC Sports GearSBC Charger sports clothing

and gear are available onlineand get 20% off when orderingmore than $80. Go to thiswebsite: http://athletics.southeasternbaptist.edu/shop-southeastern-baptist-chargers

Preach It!Thank you for the many

churches providing Dr. Carsonan opportunity to preach theWord of God to your congrega-tions! Dr. Carson is available tofill the pulpit for preaching or tomake a presentation about thework and vision of Southeast-ern Baptist College. You canreach him at 601-433-4736 or atscarson@southeasternbaptist.edu.

College Reportfrom page 5

Divine Grace Churchlicenses youth worker

On January 26th the body ofDivine Grace Baptist Churchhad the honor and privilege oflicensing Bro. HaydenParkinson to the work of the

Gospel ministry. Bro. Haydencame to us from CampgroundBaptist Church where he faith-fully served them working withthe youth. Bro. Hayden, throughmuch prayer and consideration,answered the call to work withour youth. It was a joy for us tobe able to license him in thiswork.

Please pray for him as Godgrows him in this ministry. Ihave had the chance over thelast three years to work withhim at summer camps and towatch him work with the youth.He has a great passion for disci-plining youth to grow in God’sWord and to find a place in ser-vice. His moto is “ we are aGospel believing church, thatstrives to equip our youth withknowledge and wisdom from thescriptures”. We are blessed andexcited to see how God will usehim with our growing youth atDivine Grace Baptist Church.

Lebanon to HostGospel Sing

The Magnolia Boys Quartetwill be at Lebanon BaptistChurch on March 21, 2020 start-ing at 7:00 pm. Fox Fire will bethere also. The church is lo-cated on 460 Lebanon Road,Laurel, MS 39443.

Revival SetGood Hope Baptist Church of

Stringer, Mississippi, will holdrevival services May 1-3. Fri-day & Saturday services will beat 7:00 pm with our SundayService at 10:00 am. Our evan-gelist will be Dr. John DavidSmith, Director of Missions forthe BMA of America. We wilhave special music by Foxfireon Saturday evening.

CHURCH NEWSOvercharged Heartsby Bro. Grover Lairdfrom The Revivalist

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts beovercharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of thislife, and so that day come upon you unawares." (Luke 21:34)

As Jesus preached a sermon on the end-time, He gave a solemnwarning to His followers. Our text is that warning.

Jesus saw that in the last days God’s people would be hinderedin their faithfulness to Him because of overcharged, or overloadedhearts. Jesus mentioned three things that would cause this.

1. Surfeiting. Jesus could see that the “Super abundance” of allthings would overload the heart of His people and would evil affecttheir devotion to Him. However, this can be overcome if we will setour affection upon things above, (Colossians 3:1,2) and “ABOUND”in our giving to “every good work.” (I Corinthians 9:8)

2. Drunkenness. Jesus could see that people would be pleasure-mad in the last days. We see this again in Paul’s writings on theend-time. He wrote that men would be “lovers of pleasures morethan lovers of God.” (II Timothy 3:4) When Christians lose the joyof their salvation, they often turn to the world for sinful pleasures.This should not be done. When it is done, a person finds that thepleasures of the world overloads their heart and hinders theirprayer life, Bible reading, church attendance, and their watchingfor Jesus.

3. Cares of this life. The third thing that will overcharge a person’sheart is largely caused by the first two. But this problem can behandled. First, the Bible tells us not to be overly disturbed aboutanything. (Philippians 4:6) However if we are, the Lord has offeredHis help. He has invited us to cast our cares upon Him--"Castingall your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

Jesus may soon come. May we therefore not permit anything toovercharge our hearts. We need to be found faithfully serving andfaithfully watching when He returns.

7March 15, 2020 • Mississippi Baptist

Girls RetreatMarch 20-21, 2020Camp Garaywa

Clinton, Mississippi“Lei Your Burdens Down”

State Galilean Camp InformationMarch 20-21, 2020

BONDS THAT LASTProverbs 13:20, Proverbs 17:17.

MississippiBaptistChildren'sHome

118 Lowe Road, Laurel, Mississippi 39443 - (601) 426-3928Dwight Lindsey - Director

Lindsey

From Abandoned to Assured- Part 4 from Ezekiel 16

Disobedience, rebellion, orinfidelity can feel good in themoment. If it didn’t, sin wouldnot have any power of tempta-tion. We see our sin on full dis-play in verses fifteen throughthirty four. As we turn to thisnext lengthy section God as-sures us that our behavior is notswept under the rug. God is bothgracious and just. He can for-

give and forget as far as the eastis from the west, but that doesnot erase the scars of the sinswe’ve seen or the sins we’ve com-mitted. We are still awaitingthe day He will wipe away alltears.

Until the day of glorificationcomes we are stuck in the conse-quences of sin. To summarizeverses thirty five through fiftynine, “Wherefore, O harlot, hearthe word of the Lord: Thus saith

the Lord God; Because thy filthi-ness was poured out…I will evendeal with thee as thou hast done,which hast despised the oath inbreaking the covenant.” Godwants the recipients of His re-demption to know His goodgraces do not come to be flauntedjust as anyone pleases. He drawsa direct parallel between theJerusalem and neighboring cit-ies that had bore His judgment,and draws a picture of the re-peated sins from parent to child.I’m not sure where I heard thisold proverb first, but I think itaptly applies, “What parents doin moderation their children doin excess.” The sins of Jerusa-lem in that day are pictured tobe worse than Sodom. They weremimicking behavior patterns ofungodly people. The differencein their offence was that theywere the people of God; theyknew better. They had first-

hand knowledge of the Al-mighty.

The young people in need ofour love and care are broken bythe sin of their family or theirown sin. When they come to usthey gain first-hand knowledgeof the Redeemer. Knowledge ofthe Redeemer and even faith inHim does not remove the conse-quences of the past. Everyonemust deal with their own sinnature and the overarching sinnature in humanity, but thesekids will have to deal with muchmore. They will try to wadethrough the abandonment oftheir earthly families and therebellion and infidelity that of-ten breeds. They need our love,our support, and our prayers.Especially when they will facethe consequences of those sins.Just as judgment came uponIsrael it will come upon us all. Itmay come in wrath to those who

disbelieve or it may come asdiscipline for the adopted chil-dren of the Lord. We can becertain, “I [The Lord] will evendeal with thee as thou hastdone.”

Prayer RequestWe are seeing fruits for our

labor. We have a new case thatis pending, please be in prayerwith us over this new child.

Garden Help NeededIf you would like to help us

with fruits of a different kind oflabor, we could use garden sup-plies. I apologize for not gettingthis out in an earlier issue, butwe could use donations of lime,fertilizer, seeds, and plants forthis year’s garden. We appreci-ate your help with these sup-plies. Again, if you would like usto come to your church to presentthe work please give us a call.

Water For Christfrom page 1

Water For Christ ScheduleAfrica Spring Trip - March/April

BMA National Meeting - April 27-29

(meet Moses)

Soar Youth Conference - July 1-3

Hot Dogs and Hot Rods Car Show

Fund-raiser - September 12

Fall Africa Trip - Oct/Nov

Art for Water Gala - Oct 20

Senior Adult Conference - Nov 16-18

Submission PoliciesYour Mississippi Baptist is the voice of the BMA of Mississippi, her

churches, and her ministries. We are pleased to publish reports fromall related entities, including the world-wide ministries of the BMA ofAmerica. We do not publish news or notices of secular or outsidegroups.

Article submissions should be sent by email to editor@msbaptist.orgor in typed format by mail to P.O. Box 8181, Laurel, MS 39441.

Photos should be emailed in jpg format. Photos lose resolutionwhen printed on newsprint, therefore the original quality is vital.Photos should be well lighted, in focus, clear and sharp. Photos shouldcontain people if at all possible. There is no guarantee that all articlesand/or photos will be published. Unsolicited items will be givenconsideration, but publication is not guaranteed. Date sensitivearticles will take priority.

We publish on the 1st and 15th of each month with the exception ofDecember. Articles announcing events should be in the issue that ispublished at least 2 weeks prior.

2020 South Senior Adult Conference Moments

A good crowd was present for the 2020 South Mississippi SeniorAdult Conference at Big Creek Baptist Church. Missions DirectorLarry Geraldson brought the morning message. There were prizes,singing, worship, fellowship, and fried fish for the noon meal.

A number of folks were recognized for their faithful service in anumber of areas. As usual, it was a great day! As always, themembership of Big Creek Church did an outstanding job of hostingthe Senior Adult Conference.

Many of the members prepare and work countless hours makingthe South Conference attendees feel welcome.

State MissionsDirector LarryGeraldsonbrought themessage.

Photo on Left -Bro. Sidney Davis,former director ofthe MississippiBaptist Chi;ldren'sHome and pastorof WoodlawnChurch inPascagoula, waspresented aplaque in recogni-tion of 50 years inthe ministry.

Senior Adult Commission DirectorKenneth Flynt (right) presented aplaque to Bro. Earl Smith of Pica-yune for his years of service andloyalty for being an intregal partof the music minstry of the SeniorAdult Conferences

8 March 15, 2020 • Mississippi Baptist

Baptist MissionaryAssociation of Mississippi

www.bmaofmississippi.com

DEPARTMENTS & COMMISSIONS

Mississippi Baptist PaperP.O. Box 8181

Laurel, MS 39441601-426-3293

Southeastern Baptist College4229 Highway 15 North

Laurel, MS 39440601-426-6346

State Youth Department4226 Highway 15 North

Laurel, MS 39440662-397-6832

Baptist Children's Home118 Lowe Rd.

Laurel, MS 39443601-426-3928

Missions & Revolving Loan Fund

4226 Highway 15 North Laurel, MS 39440

601-428-8616

Commission on Senior Adults4226 Highway 15 North

Laurel, MS 39440601-729-2613

History & ArchivesCommission

4229 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, MS 39440

601-729-8098

Moral ActionP.O. Box 88

Mantachie, MS 38855662-282-7425

The Battle for Baptist HistoryFrom my personal observation,

it would appear that some Baptistsentertain the notion, that the beliefheld tenaciously by MissionaryBaptists that the people andchurches called Baptist are of an-cient origin, as opposed to being aproduct of the Protestant Reforma-tion, is of little or no consequence.Does a proper or improper answerto this question have any bearingupon doctrine? Is the origin of thepeople and churches called Baptistan issue of real consequence? Isthis an issue that the average Bap-tist church member need to con-cern himself with? Your Directorsubmits an affirmative and em-phatic yes to all of the above ques-tions.

However, there may be thosewho answer in the negative; thatthese questions and their subse-quent answers are of no real conse-quence. I do not submit to anyonethat any of these issues are ofgreater importance than the Gos-pel message itself! The Good Newsof Jesus Christ being preached inpurity and with power is of para-mount importance. However, arewe to assume that Great Gospelmessage can be preached in purityand power while churches lie dor-mant, defiled, defaced and defeated?If the reader doubts that the Gospelcan be preserved sovereignly andyet not be presented powerfully, Isimply recommend Paul’s words,“For Christ sent me . . to preach thegospel: not with wisdom of words,lest the cross of Christ should bemade of none effect, . . . And myspeech and my preaching was not

tholicism. There are Baptists to-day who attribute to Luther, the“recovering” of the scriptural truththat salvation could be reached bygrace through faith alone. And yet,this was no novel idea. This wasnot some lost truth. This great doc-trinal truth was kept through thecenturies, preserved in symbol inthe ordinances, and preached bythe persecuted churches of Christ.And while Catholicism greatly con-tributed to this truth being hid frommany of her own people, can any-one hardly believe that Christ ulti-mately let this greatest of all truthsvanish until Luther made his “dis-covery?”

To believe that a proper or im-proper answer to the origin of Bap-tists has little or no consequenceupon doctrine, is to deny the honordue to those great heroes of thefaith who were martyred for thetruth. To assume that the origin ofthe people called Baptist is an is-sue of no real consequence is to beblind to the evidence presently be-fore us all. To assert that the originof Baptists is an issue that theaverage church member need notconcern himself with will most cer-tainly rob many of a great heritagethat is theirs. And to believe thatthe Great Gospel message concern-ing Christ, His promise to save allthat call upon Him, can be preachedin purity and with power while atthe same time assuming that thesame Saviour’s promise to preservehis churches, which are the deposi-tory of the Great Gospel, wasthwarted somehow by an enemy sounworthy as Satan, requires morethan the wisdom of Solomon tounderstand.

I have made several claims andassertions in this article withoutproviding outside sources whichmay be summarized as follows. 1)

Baptists are of ancient origin, notspringing from the Reformation, 2)Baptists did not receive their ordi-nances from Rome, but positivelyfrom Christ Himself, and 3) as sureas Christ preserved His peoplethrough the centuries, the vitaltruths of the Great Gospel was pre-served as well without the inter-vention of Luther, Calvin, Wesleyor any other Protestant Reformer.However, I do not feel the need toexhaust space and the readers’ timein order to substantiate what hasbeen commonly believed among us,and that which is enshrined in ourown doctrinal statement.

Jude 3, “Beloved, when I gaveall diligence to write unto you ofthe common salvation, it was need-ful for me to write unto you, andexhort you that ye should earnestlycontend for the faith which wasonce delivered unto the saints.” Wedo not “earnestly contend for thefaith” for fear of its ultimate failureor its being vanquished from theface of this earth. That is the busi-ness of The Sovereign God of theBible. We earnestly contend as amatter of love for God, obedience toGod’s just demands, for fear of com-ing judgment and because weshould desire to hear, “Well done,thou good and faithful servant!”The question then is not has Godpreserved His Word and the greattruths contained therein; the ques-tion is not will God continue to dothe same. The only question iswhether or not will we, as His ser-vants, be counted among the faith-ful who did “earnestly contend forthe faith?” Are we, like so manywho are now in glory, “earnestlycontending?” Or, “will we sell ourBaptist heritage for a mess of Prot-estant pottage?” (I. K. Cross, THEBATTLE FOR BAPTIST HIS-TORY, pg. 26).

Jason HowardDirector

History & Archives Comm ission4229 Highway 15 North, Laurel, Mississippi 39440

2020 SeniorConference Schedule

North ConferenceTuesday, May 12th

9:30 AMMt. Pleasant Baptist

ChurchFulton., Mississippi

RevivalFires

with enticing words of man’s wis-dom, but in demonstration of theSpirit and of power” (1st Cor. 1:17;2:4).

If the people called Baptist andBaptist churches are a product ofthe ProtestantReformation, thenwe are a productof apostacy itself.Surely there is aconsensus amongus that Catholi-cism, with her rel-ics, indulgences,sacraments, bap-tismal salvation, Papal infallibil-ity, etc., is the epitome of apostacy.It is a recorded fact, that early inthe history of Presbyterianism inAmerica, they could not, or wouldnot come to a decision concerning aquestion regarding the validity ofRoman “Baptisms.” If they an-swered in the positive, then theydenied the necessity of their ownexistence. If they decided in thenegative, then they nullified theirown ordinances and declared theirown selves as unbaptized, as theyare but one of the several daugh-ters of Rome. To remain neutral tothe question only meant they couldnot answer either positively ornegatively without endangeringtheir own separate existence as adenomination. Thus, they were ina real Trilemma. J. R. Graves wroteconcerning this in his book, TheTrilemma.

While it is not my purpose todiminish any positive contributionof any Reformer, Baptists are notProtestant and did not receive theGospel or the ordinances from Ca-

Scripture Thoughts by Cleaver

Tony Cleaver

Dr. Tony Cleaver is a retired U.S. Army Chaplain and Directorof Distance Learning for BMA Seminary. You may contact him atjstmcleaver@embarqmail.com

Acts 14.19-20 “And there came thither certain Jews from Antiochand Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul,drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, asthe disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into thecity: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe."

Now this is the kind of people I want aroundme! This is the kind of people who gather aroundin a time of distress and good comes of it. HerePaul had rocks thrown at him until he fell. Therock-throwers calculated he was dead. After all,they had much experience with this process,enough to know when a person was dead. Yet itwas the disciples who gathered around him,probably to pray and to try to revive him. Theverses tell us Paul got up and continued hismissionary work Yes, I want these kinds ofpeople around me not only when I am in crisis but also in thenormal routine of everyday life.

Good Reader, surround yourself with people who are Christian.It will be amazing what the difference is in your life, especiallywhen the rocks start flying your way.