BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — “Truth can be different for different people. Do what makes you happy. If you don’t agree with me, you don’t love me.” These are just a few of the lies today’s culture is telling our kids. But standing tall amid the changing tides of popular opinion is God’s rock-solid truth. This imagery forms the idea and setting for “Breaker Rock Beach,” Lifeway Christian Resources’ 2024 Vacation Bible School theme.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College is excited to announce the addition of several new majors to its academic offerings. The new degrees will meet the demands of today's job market and provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their chosen careers. Beginning in the Fall 2023 semester are majors in Secondary Chemistry Education, Secondary English Education, Special Education, Music Education, and concentrations in Forensic Science and Pre-Athletic Training. Additionally, majors in Marketing and Sport Management will be available starting in Spring 2024.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Most churches have some type of security measures in place during worship services. Pastors point to intentional plans and armed church members more than other measures, but compared to three years ago, fewer say they have plans and more say they have gun-carrying congregants. Numerous fatal shootings have occurred at churches in recent years.

Truett McConnell University is proud to announce that its Hans Hut School of Business has received the prestigious notification of candidacy from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. This significant recognition comes shortly after the university’s recent membership acknowledgment by the council, further highlighting the institution’s commitment to excellence in business education.

NEW ORLEANS — Longtime Southern Baptist leader Willy Rice said Monday he intends to be the one to nominate Georgia pastor Mike Stone for SBC president at the annual meeting in New Orleans next week. “He is one of the few guys I know who possess the strength to stand in this current moment and the wisdom to know what to do,” Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla., said in announcing his intention to make the nomination.

BETHLEHEM, Ga. — Researchers from the Barna Group have identified stark differences of opinion about ministry between pastors and unchurched people in the communities they serve. “Eighty-four percent of pastors believe the church’s main role is to tell others about Jesus,” Barna said in an article published last week. “Non-Christians, on the other hand, think local churches should focus outward, providing practical help for people in their community.”

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Flat Creek Baptist Church plans to have the car show Saturday despite threats by a local official to slap the congregation with a $1,000 fine. “If they have a car show, they will be fined,” said Fayette County Administrator Steve Rapson. Rapson’s actions have exponentially heightened interest in the annual car and organizers are planning for what’s expected to the largest crowd ever.

DALLAS, Texas — In the Old Testament, we find these words: “They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare, ‘The Lord is just’” Psalm 92:14-15a. On June 25, we have the opportunity to honor righteous, unsung heroes of the faith. Namely, retirement-aged Southern Baptist pastors, workers and their widows who served and abundantly blessed those in their care during their years of ministry. Many of these heroes still serve in whatever capacity they can — by volunteering at church, preaching, leading Bible studies (in-person and online!), lifting up intercessory prayers and in many other ways.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Lifeway Christian Resources celebrated the grand opening of its new teaming space last month. The event included remarks from Lifeway President and CEO Ben Mandrell, who said the move to Brentwood was about more than just a new building. “This space was designed to draw writers, designers, editors, artists and craftsmen together,” he said. “When you create a space that’s designed for relationships, communication and teamwork, everyone who enters the building benefits.”

For those with a passion for healthcare and a calling to missions, the International Mission Board has avenues of service ready to fill. The IMB is hosting MedAdvance, a conference for believers interested in using healthcare strategies to open doors to a hurting world and gain access to unreached peoples and places in unique ways. The conference will be at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tennessee, Aug. 3-5.

As the Hispanic population in the U.S. grows, new challenges are emerging. For example, more children and teenagers from Hispanic households are improving their English language skills but are not developing or even losing their native Spanish language skills. As a result, in many Hispanic households in the U.S., parents speak little English and their children speak little or no Spanish.

Steve is a genius.  Really.  He is a pharmacist, a deacon, a missionary, plus so much more.  I can’t think of anything he can’t do.  His wife, Alicia, is also very intelligent.  They both have hearts for Jesus, serve Him faithfully, and are dear friends. Steve and Alicia are leading our mission trip to Kenya this summer.  They encourage us, guide us, and lead us as we prepare for the trip.  In that prep is the e-visa for entrance into the country.

CLARKSTON, Ga. — Georgia Baptists are taking the gospel to the state’s rapidly growing refugee population one backpack at a time. In fact, backpacks have become crucial evangelistic tools in Georgia, a state that’s home to more than 1 million people who were born in other countries — often in places that are hostile to the gospel.

Are you a planner? I definitely am! I love to know the plan, make the plan, and see the plan come to fruition. There is a sense of accomplishment in this, at least for me there is. I also have a hard time when the plans change or fall apart. It can leave me with a sense of panic and disappointment. There is a feeling of defeat in this. I can take it as a personal failure.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — The “CSB Explorer Bible for Kids” by Holman Bibles of Lifeway Christian Resources was named Bible of the Year at the recent Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s Christian Book Awards. This marks the first time in 18 years the the association has named a children’s resource Bible of the Year. Only two children’s Bibles have won the award since the category was introduced in 1988.

Over the past year, tropical cyclones, flash floods and landslides have devastated islands along the Asia Rim. Islanders in more rural areas struggled to recover because government aid rarely reached their remote villages and uncovering their homes from the debris required inaccessible heavy equipment. Many of these island communities included people groups who had never heard the gospel or had any contact with a Christian.

SUWANEE, Ga. – Georgia Pastor Mike Stone is promising to stand up against what he describes as a “cancel culture” within the Southern Baptist Convention if he’s elected SBC president. Meanwhile, Texas Pastor Bart Barber says he wants to finish tasks he began after being elected to the post a year ago.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — When Rick Jenkins first came to Columbus State in 2016 as director of campus ministry after a long career with the International Mission Board, he didn’t see a campus, he saw a mission field where he discipled young Christians and led others to Christ. “We loved what we did,” said the 70-year-old Jenkins who, with his wife, Cindy, is now moving into retirement. “It was never a job to us. It never seemed like work.”

HULL, Ga. — Sharon Reid is proud of her great uncle Harry Spratlin, a Georgia soldier killed in action in the waning days of World War I. Reid and her cousins gathered this Memorial Day weekend to lay a wreath at the base of his headstone in a rural cemetery just up the road from the farm where he was raised.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will offer the course Evangelistic Preaching, with a focus on offering a Gospel invitation, co-taught by Chancellor O.S. Hawkins and Interim Provost Matt Queen, on Monday evenings during the fall 2023 academic semester.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Midwestern Seminary recently announced a new degree offering to its doctoral program, the Doctor of Ministry in Ministry to Women. Launching in the fall of 2023, the D.Min. in Ministry to Women seeks to expand the seminary’s efforts to develop theologically based strategies for ministry to women.

McDONOUGH, Ga. — An academically and athletically gifted senior class at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy has amassed more than $50 million in college scholarship offers this year, an astounding total for any school but especially one with only 81 students graduating. Class co-salutatorian Melanie Collier praised her classmates for being a “special class filled with special people.” “Something about our class is different,” Collier told her classmates in a speech during graduation exercises on Friday.

Graduation is a wonderful time — even through the tears.  While excited teenagers look to the future, their nostalgic parents replay scenes from their graduates' childhood years. I remember it well.

If you have children or grandchildren you have probably read or heard of the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It's about a boy who wakes up and everything in his day goes wrong, from gum in his hair to fights with friends and the dreaded lima beans for dinner. He threatens after every bad thing to move to Australia. He also learns at the end of the book from his mother that “some days are just like that.”

ALBANY, Ga. — Michael Catt, the groundbreaking Georgia pastor who served as executive producer of the Christian movies Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof and Courageous, is facing setbacks in his battle with prostate cancer, his family said on social media Wednesday. “In recent months, his health has taken a turn for the worse, and he has had several surgeries, hospitalizations and emergency room visits,” the family said. “Recently, doctors found a tumor in his brain stem.