WASHINGTON — In a win for Bible-believing Christians, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled Friday that a graphic artist has a constitutional right to refuse to work with same-sex couples. Justices ruled 6-3 in favor of Lorie Smith, a Colorado resident who argued that a Colorado law that makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation violated her First Amendment right to free speech.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary student Lachune Boyd received many positive reviews from the contest’s four judges and a standing ovation from the audience during her audition for America’s Got Talent  that aired June 27. Boyd, a Master of Music student with a concentration in voice, appeared on national television auditioning to move on in the televised competition.

Let's begin at the end. I am writing this on the plane.  We are boarded and ready to back away from Gate 5 in Nairobi, Kenya. The captain has just finished making the traditional announcements in both German and English.  The flight attendants have shown the obligatory video regarding every emergency imaginable. We are heading home.

Just as we arrived home from vacation last week, we had a horrible, unexpected storm. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Wayne and I both have the weather app on our phones but there was no warning or alert for this storm. When I say it was bad, it was very bad. The wind was blowing so hard at one point we thought it might snap the tree in our front yard. The poor thing was bent all the way over from the force of the wind.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — When “The Gospel Project” was introduced in South Korea in 2017, the team behind the launch received several worried phone calls from pastors across the country. The pastors were in a slight panic: Part of the curriculum for students included thought-provoking questions. Because these questions were meant to foster individual responses, there were no guided answers in the curriculum.

JESUP, Ga. — A resilient Jack Lee is back in the pulpit, serving as interim pastor at First Baptist Church in Jesup. “It has been invigorating for me,” said Lee, who has been fighting Stage 4 cancer for the past two years. “I’m not just surviving; I’m thriving.” Lee, 65, had retired as pastor at Altamaha Baptist Church at Madray Springs in 2021. “At the time, I was to the point I couldn’t preach,” he said. “Mouth sores that the chemo was causing was really giving me trouble.” Doctors had given Lee a year, possibly two, to live  at the time of his retirement. Yet, he’s still stepping into the pulpit on Sundays with the vigor of a young preacher.

LONDON, Ky. (KT) – Gospel conversations can come from almost any circumstance or activity. Even pickleball. Andrew Dyer, pastor of Corinth Baptist Church in London, not only has found a new sport to play in pickleball but a new way to develop friendships and relationships that can lead to the most important decision anyone can make - accepting Jesus Christ as their savior.

SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Georgia’s continuing revival has reached a youth retreated hosted by the Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches of Georgia where 15 students made salvation decisions in late May. More than 120 people from 14 Korean Baptist churches attended the retreat on May 29-30.

ROME, Ga. — As a mother, Christy Sansom is especially appreciative of the impact the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s SURGE150 music camp has on the kids. “I love how SURGE150 allows an opportunity for students to gather with other students across the state who share the common bond of music,” she said. “My kids enjoyed the camp … because they spent the week focused on what they love, worship and music.”

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College is proud to announce the launch of the Georgia Baptist Bible Institute. As a collaborative effort between Brewton-Parker and the local Georgia Baptist Associations, the institute exists to provide biblical training for pastors and church members to enhance the effectiveness of their ministry throughout their communities.

Mark Johnson, assistant professor of evangelism and pastoral ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, goes to the busy, franchised grocery store next door to the seminary every day. On purpose. “Anybody need toothpaste?” Johnson asks his wife and four children. “Somebody’s got a headache? Okay, I’m going.” 

SUWANEE, Ga. — A survey that quizzed Americans on their openness to hearing the gospel has affirmed what Georgia Baptists have been seeing on the frontlines of ministry, that people are eager to talk about Jesus. “Across all generations, the majority of people are spiritually open,” the Barna Group reported in an article last week.

CHATSWORTH, Ga. — With horse-drawn wagons full of farm implements and other necessities, settlers began arriving on former Cherokee lands along Holly Creek in northwest Georgia in the mid-1800s, establishing homesteads and, later, a church that will celebrate its 175th anniversary in mid-July. Holly Creek Baptist Church, which began with a handful of families meeting in a one-room log structure, survived meager early years to become a major player in the spread of the gospel in this part of Georgia.

DALLAS – Russell Hooper Dilday, Jr., the sixth president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, died on June 21 in Dallas. He was 92 years old. “Russell Dilday had just come to serve as president of Southwestern Seminary when I came to Southwestern as a student,” recalled David S. Dockery, current president of Southwestern Seminary. “As a student, I always appreciated his leadership for the seminary and his care for students.”

The heart-wrenching drama of a missing submersible with five people aboard for an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic ended  with  a U.S. Coast Guard press conference in which officials announced a catastrophic implosion had destroyed the vessel.

They were distressed, in debt, and discontent, not exactly the kind of bunch you’d want to throw in with. Imagine 400 upset, dead broke, and disgruntled guys. We read in  I Samuel 22 that it was just such a group that gathered around David at the cave of Adullam.  And he became their commander.  This motley crew would become an army. 

It’s hard to believe that 45 years ago today a 19-year-old girl walked down the aisle to marry a 20-year-old guy. The love story of a high school basketball player and a cheerleader. It just doesn’t seem possible to me. I mean, I can’t be that old, right?

Students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary have greater access to opportunities to reach the nations through the newly renovated Global Missions Center. The center is housed in the Fred Luter, Jr. Student Center at NOBTS and Leavell College, recently named in honor of the prominent pastor and first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention. 

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — As many churchgoers continue watching livestream church services at least occasionally, they also recognize limitations in its validity and utility. According to a Lifeway Research study, nearly 2 in 5 Protestant churchgoers (39%) say they have watched a livestream service instead of attending a church service in person on more than five occasions over the past year. Meanwhile, 1 in 5 (20%) have not watched a livestream service in the last year.

NEW ORLEANS — More than 4,000 friends and dignitaries gathered in front of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College on Wednesday to celebrate the dedication of the Fred Luter Jr. Student Center and the presentation of a state resolution and local proclamations honoring “the pastor of New Orleans.” 

FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. — Ryan Ralston, is a young pastor with a love for the Lord, a passion for ministry and a desire to glorify God by faithfully fulfilling his calling. Upon graduating from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with an M.Div. in Pastoral Ministry in December 2015, Ryan and his wife, Shasta, moved back to Georgia to serve as the campus pastor of Liberty Fort Oglethorpe, a satellite campus of Liberty Baptist Church in Dalton.

CALHOUN, Ga. — Wayne Bray and Stephen Williams have been great friends for more than 20 years. Both pastors served churches in Georgia and developed a deep love and respect for one another. They are now serving together in one of the most dynamic churches in the Southeastern part of our nation.

Southern Baptist chaplains made their way to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on Monday. With its rich historical significance, the museum provided the perfect backdrop for the nearly 300 chaplains who gathered.

Georgia college students are sharing the gospel  in the state, across the nation and around the world this spring and summer as part of the Send Me Now program. The initiative, sponsored by the Georgia Baptist Mission Board Collegiate Ministry, mobilizes students to serve God through missions.

Winnie, about six or seven years old, came to the clinic because she had a toothache.  She opened her mouth wide and I saw the problem.  Two of her back teeth were broken off.  They looked painful.  I work for a pediatric dentist.  Helping kids get out of tooth pain is my favorite thing.