JOURNAL OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

www.msbaptist.orgMay 15, 2017 VOL. 71 NO. 10

Southeastern Board PresentsDr. Scott Carson As PresidentThe Board of Trustees would like to rec-

ommend Dr. Scott Carson as the next Presi-dent of Southeastern Baptist College. Thisrecommendation was approved on Friday,April 28, 2017. This recommendation willalso be brought to the Association during it’sreport during the Midyear Meeting at Mid-way First Baptist Church.

Chris Floyd, ClerkMatt Hudson, Chairman Dr. Scott Carson

Missions Report & Missionary Commissioning service during Annual Meeting in Arlinton, Texas

The BMA of America heldits annual meeting May1-3 at the Arlington Con-

vention Center in Arlington,Texas. The Enrollment Com-mittee reported 567 in atten-dance with 434 churches repre-sented by messenger and/or let-ter. The Association welcomed 4new churches by petitionary let-ter - Grace Hills, Bentonville,Arkansas; Olde Tyme, Gilmer,Texas; The Bridge, MountainHome, Arkansas; and The Ref-uge, Terrell, Texas, were ac-cepted into the BMA of America.

The 2018 meeting will cometo Mississippi and will be heldApril 16-18 at the Jackson Con-vention Center. Bro. TerryKimbrow, president of CentralBaptist College, Conway, Arkan-sas, was elected to bring theannual message with CliffJohnson, pastor of Garrett Me-morial Baptist Church, Hope,Arkansas, serving as alternate.The messengers approved therecommendation of the Commit-tee on Arrangements to hold the2020 meeting at Farley StreetBaptist Church in Waxahachie,Texas. It was noted that the

National Association Meets in Texas

church facilities were more thatadequate to host the meetingwith a seating capacity of 1,200.The rising cost of conventionfacilities and the lack of increasedsupport for the annual associa-tion meeting and minute fundcontributed to seeking alternatefacilities.

All current officers were re-elected for the 2018 Associationalyear. They are President PaulWhite, First vice-president JeffSwart, Second Vice-presidentMark Livingston and RecordingClerk Jerome Cooper. ClerksGreg Medenwald and James RayRaines continue to serve.

Worship ServicesWorship ServicesWorship ServicesWorship ServicesWorship ServicesDr. Jack Graham, pastor of

Prestonwood Baptist Church,Plano, Texas,addressed themessengerson Mondayevening. Hismessage em-phasized thetheme for the2017 meetingof “Brick by

Brick”. Bro. Paul White brought

the president’s message onWednesday afternoon from thebook of Nehemiah. His messageis printed in this issue.

The annual message wasbrought by Bro. Donny Parrishon Tuesdaye v e n i n g .P a r r i s hstress to thechurches that“We need tosee people likeJesus sawpeople.....” Heencouragedchurches to bemissions minded locally, as wellas world-wide.

ReportsReportsReportsReportsReportsTrustees for various depart-

ments and commissions wereapproved as presented by theNominating Committee andlisted in the recommendationbooklet.

Each department and com-mission director was reelectedwith the exception of Lifeword.Director Steve Crawley stepped

Jack Graham

Donny Parrish

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Brick by Brick: Working Togetherby Paul White, President

BMA of America

Can we make a difference? There are thousands all around the

world who would answer thisquestion with a resounding“yes.” In fact, I am living proofthat the BMAA does make adifference. How about you?

Helen Keller said, “Alone, wecan do so little; together, we cando so much.” Brick by Brick —Working Together is the themefor this year’s meeting, and ourtext is Neh. 3:1-32.

Nehemiah 3 is one of thosechapters that consists largelyof unpronounceable names andlong forgotten people! It can bediscouraging to come to a chap-ter like this, and sometimes weare tempted to skip over themand move on to the next one.After all, there couldn’t be muchto be gained from a chapter likethat, right? Wrong! If we didthat with Nehemiah 3, we wouldmiss some powerful and valu-able lessons on building for God!

We have tried to give eachperson present a piece of apuzzle. My son, Chad, used thisillustration in one of his ser-mons, and I have borrowed it

for today. Yousee, fittinginto the bigpicture issomewhat likean individualpiece of apuzzle.

Have youever tried toput together ajigsaw puzzle? Some of them,like the 1,000 piece ones, can bechallenging. What makes themso difficult is that the tiny piecesdon’t look like much of anythingby themselves. They are small,oddly colored and oddly shaped.When you pick up a piece of thepuzzle, then look at the box andlook back at the tiny piece inyour hand, you think “There isno way this is a part of that.”

However, as you put each piecein its place, before long a picturebegins to emerge. Soon you real-ize that your tiny, misshapedpiece was a vital part of a granddesign.

I want to back up for a mo-ment to Neh. 2:18 where we find

Paul White

see Annual Meeting on page 2 continued on page 7

2 May 15, 2017 • Mississippi Baptist

COMMISSION ONSenior Adults4226 Highway 15 North, Laurel, Mississippi 39440 Kenneth Flynt

Director

North MississippiConference A Good One!

What a day! On Tuesday, May 9th,a great crowd of people gathered atGreenwood Baptist Church, Dorsey, forthe North Mississippi Senior Adult Con-ference. A great spirit of excitementprevailed throughout the day. It was agreat time of worship and fellowship inthe Lord. It is always a special timemeeting with the people of North Mis-sissippi and Pastor Kelby Johnson.

Door prizes were awarded and a veryspecial plaque was presented to Bro.Grover Laird commemorating 71 yearsof ministry, preaching the gospel of ourLord. He has been an example of adedicated servant of the Lord, may bethere be more like him. Bro. Jeff Dixonled our hearts in worship during theworship hour. Good spiritual singingwas enjoyed throughout the day withBro. Bryson Haden leading. The after-noon session of Gaither Style GospelSinging was special. Thanks to eachone who helped in this choir.

A generous love offering was given tothe Commission and this support isdeeply appreciated.

The noon meal was catered by theDorsey-Friendship Fire Department

and once again there was ample food,catfish and all the trimmings.

Greenwood Baptist Church was gra-cious host and everything that neededto be done was done. Thank you churchand ladies for the many choices of sweets.

It was a great day in the Lord and theuplifting spirit was evident upon ar-rival. We look forward to the nextNorth Mississippi Senior Conference tobe held next year on Tuesday, May 8th,2018.

Bro. Kenneth Flynt presents a plaque toBro. Grover Laird recognizing his 71 yearsof ministry.

Jeff Franks

down and the mes-sengers approvedthe recommenda-tion from theLifeword board ofDonny Parrish asthe new director.Lifeword continuesthe expansion ofministries aroundthe world. Crawlyshared plans for aLifeword Network,Lifeword Cloud andthat all content ofLifeword ministrieswould be housedand available at Lifeword.org.

Discipleguide reported that after in-put from the churches a new Compasscommentary edition has been createdfor those who desire a more traditionalformat. The ‘fill-in-the-blank’ quarterlywill continue giving classes a choice.Director Scott Attebery shared that otherliterature publications are being con-sidered and planned. Discipleguide re-quested the Coordinating Council toreview its relationship with DanielSprings Baptist Camp. This move wouldbe to improve its financial condition andset it on a course of a self sustainingstatus.

Ministers Resource Services Direc-tor Ron Chesser shared the growth ofretirement funds and the need for eachchurch to help their pastor and staffwith retirement plans and finances. Hereferenced the picture of the ant inProverbs storing away food for a laterseason as the good example of preparingfor retirement. Chesser stressed to “Saveas much as you can for as long as youcan and start as soon as you can”.

BMA Theological Seminary Presi-dent Charley Holmes shared the minis-try of the school’s 60 years of service andthe world-wide reach of its ministry. Heshared their goals of 60 new students forthe coming year, $60,000 to remodelDorman Chapel, and $60,000 to add tothe building fund.

The Annual Seminary Friends din-ner highlighted the 60 years of ministryand included comments by two formerKellar Award recipients - MissionaryBuddy Johnson and Former MissionsDirector Grady Higgs. Both shared theblessings of being graduates of BMASeminary and shared personal memo-ries of their time in Jacksonville.

Moral Action Director John Adamsshared the work of representing theAssociation with our elected officials inWashington, D.C. He has visited withand shared the concerns of the churcheswith numerous representatives andsenators. He encourage messengers tocontact their government representa-tives and share their concerns. Hestressed the need to do this in a calmand courteous manner.

MissionsMissionsMissionsMissionsMissionsThe missions report was given on

Wednesday evening along with the an-nual commissioning service. Stan andDonna Scroggins were elected to servein the Philippines, Jayna Williams asan endorse missionary candidate,Michael Barton endorsed to Canada,Jordan and Sarah Bowen to a self-funded church planting internship,Nathan Brewer as a church planterto Oklahoma City and Thomas Moblyas associate church planter.

Veteran missionary Eric Johnson wasapproved as the International MissionsDirector replacing Bro. Phil Knott whois retiring. Knott will continue for the

next year tohelp transi-tion Johnsoninto the posi-tion.The Mis-

sions De-p a r t m e n tpresented anew plan forfunding na-tional mis-sions on thef i e l d .“ C h a n g eMakers” isdesigned to

sustain national workers on their field.Pastors in attendance were challengedto enroll at least 5 individuals or fami-lies from their church to enroll in theplan.

Missionaries John& Shirley Ladd wererecognized for theirdedicated years of ser-vice as they go off themission field, but con-tinue to serve. TheLadds will continueto work throughBMMI ministries.Missionary JeffFranks also was recognized for he andhis wife’s years of service in the Ukraine.They too will continue to be active inmissions.

ANNUAL MEETING from page 1

Second Vice-president Mark Livingston (right) welcomes mes-sengers from four new churches into the Association

James Shoenrock leadsprayer of thanks for Ladds'years of service

3May 15, 2017 • Mississippi Baptist

Dr. Scott CarsonInterim President

Serving Christ With a Biblical World View In A Christian Atmosphere

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

SoutheasternBaptist College

Interim President’s PerspectiveInterim President’s PerspectiveInterim President’s PerspectiveInterim President’s PerspectiveInterim President’s PerspectiveIsaiah 30:21 says, “And thine ears

shall hear a word behind thee, saying,This is the way, walk ye in it...”

About one year ago I became theAcademic Dean here at SoutheasternBaptist College. Little did Linda and Iknow that the Lord was about to putinto motion an experience for us ofwhich we were totally unprepared. Whenwe arrived in our new and beautifulcommunity of Laurel, Mississippi, Iagreed with Linda that we should lookfor a small fixer upper and historichome. We contacted a realtor to initiatethe search for our cozy new home. A fewdays later, our realtor contacted us torelate that he had received a strangecall from Canada. He explained thatHGTV was in Laurel and was in searchfor new residents moving to town whomight be interested in being in theirnewest show named “Home Town” star-ring Laurel natives Ben and ErinNapier. We didn’t quite know what tomake of this sudden opportunity. As weprayed about the possibilities, the Lordled us to conclude that, as my sister-in-law likes to say, “It’s a God thing!”

We were certainly blessed, not onlyby the experience of being on nationaltelevision, but also by the entire HGTVcrew. All were wonderful and upbeatpeople who clearly loved their job andbelieved in their core purpose for theshow, that of influencing small townsthat may have been in decline, to investin themselves and to encourage them tocelebrate and reinvigorate what theyalready possess within their communi-ties.

Well, doing the show meant settingus back in getting quickly settled intoLaurel as we had planned. Once wemade our decision on which home topurchase, we had to sign it over toHGTV for about 7 weeks and promisenever to drive by or peak at theirprogress.

In the end, Ben, Erin and crew per-formed a marvelous transformation ofour historic cottage. If you saw theepisode, Linda was very moved by thebeautiful upgrades to the exterior andthe total renovation of the kitchen.

As part of “the God thing”, we arecurrently leveraging our “15 minutes offame” and local celebrity status, for theadvancement of Southeastern BaptistCollege. In combination with our televi-sion commercial and the community-wide National Day of Prayer Breakfast,

the Lord has enabled us to shine aspotlight upon the great ministry andacademic opportunities here at the col-lege. And, as a result, we are seeing anincreased interest with local folks in-quiring about furthering their educa-tion here at our cam-pus.

In all that hastranspired this pastyear, I am remindedand continuallyamazed how Godworks in the lives ofHis people when weyield to His leadingin our lives. “…Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory ofGod.” 1 Corinthians 10:21

2017 Commencement Exercise2017 Commencement Exercise2017 Commencement Exercise2017 Commencement Exercise2017 Commencement ExerciseSoutheastern Baptist College is proud

to announce that our commencementexercises for the graduating class of2017 will be held in the school gymna-sium, May 18 at 7:00 pm. Please note

that this is a half hour earlier than inyears past.

You are invited to come celebratewith our students as they receive theirwell earned diplomas from your schooland one America’s top tier Bible col-leges!

Our graduates are:Associates in Bible: Ecclesiastes

Goodwin; Trina House; Jarod Hubbard;David Ledlow; James McGhee, Jr.;Zechariah Rogers; and Aida Smith

Associates in Business: Lisa RockBachelors of Science in Business Ad-

ministration: Maston (Tony) McMahanBachelors of Science in Church Min-

istries: Christopher Sean Piper; JustinRhodes; and Aida Smith

Our Greatest Need!Our Greatest Need!Our Greatest Need!Our Greatest Need!Our Greatest Need!We need someone, or a couple of

people, who believes in the ministry ofSoutheastern Baptist College to provide

an immediate donation of $20,000 toensure we end in the black this fiscalyear. The College ends its fiscal year onJune 30. It is imperative that we are inthe black while closing out our financesof FY 17 so that we will continue ourforward momentum towards SouthernAssociation of Colleges and Schools(SACS) accreditation. SACS accredita-tion is absolutely essential for the fu-

ture of this institution. Ifyou can help us out, or needmore information, I inviteyou to contact me, Dr.Carson, at 601-433-4736.Southeastern Baptist Col-lege is a 501(c)(3) certifiedtax deductible charity.

National DayNational DayNational DayNational DayNational Dayof Prayer Breakfastof Prayer Breakfastof Prayer Breakfastof Prayer Breakfastof Prayer Breakfast

The Laurel National Dayof Prayer Breakfast spon-

sored by Southeastern Baptist Collegewas a wonderful experience and suc-cess! Mississippi State Senator ChrisMcDaniel delivered a powerful message

on our first amendment rights andencouraged all Christians to stand ourground when others attempt to degradethis essential American freedom. It wasa blessing to have pastors of variouslocal churches participate in the pro-

gram. Thank you to all who helped, alsoto the churches and the Big CreekAssociation who purchased the meals!Please take note of the pictures of theevent.

Big Award!Big Award!Big Award!Big Award!Big Award!For a second year in a row, and out of

hundreds of eligible schools, Southeast-ern Baptist College is among the top 25Online Bible Colleges in the nation!Help us continue our forward momen-tum in excellence offering the highestquality and soundly grounded Bible edu-cation for those attending our greatinstitution. Donate today online at http://southeasternbaptist.edu/web/99/SpecialEmphasisDonationPage.aspxor mail your donation to SoutheasternBaptist College, 4229 Highway 15North, Laurel, MS 39440.

Television CommercialTelevision CommercialTelevision CommercialTelevision CommercialTelevision CommercialOur first television commercial for

Southeastern Baptist College is alreadyproducing fruit with several new appli-cants referencing it as the reason fortheir discovering our college and desir-ing to study God’s word at SBC. Will youhelp us to continue the commercialthrough May and into the summer?One month of television advertisementcosts $2,000.

Summer CourseSummer CourseSummer CourseSummer CourseSummer CourseWe are offering a short on-line elec-

tive course for credit or audit this sum-mer. The course isEzekiel and Daniel,and begins June 6.Don’t delay! If you areinterested, please con-tact Mrs. Emma Bondat 601-426-6346.

FallFallFallFallFallPre-registrationPre-registrationPre-registrationPre-registrationPre-registration

Pre-registration isopen now for the FallSemester. Classes be-gin August 15. Among

the many courses offered is Greek I.Learn to study God’s Word in the origi-nal Greek language! Contact Ronnie

Available to PreachAvailable to PreachAvailable to PreachAvailable to PreachAvailable to PreachDr. Carson is available to fill the pulpit

for preaching or to make a presentationabout the great work and vision of South-eastern Baptist College. You can reachhim at 601-433-4736 or atscarson@southeasternbaptist.edu

Senator Chris McDaniel

2016 Graduating Class

Dr. Carson welcomes crowd to breakfst

A large crowd attended National Day of Prayer Breakfast

continued on page 4

4 May 15, 2017 • Mississippi Baptist

Church of the Covered Dish BY THOMAS TAPP

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

USPS 353-960P.O. Box 8181

Laurel, Mississippi 39441-8000

Phone 601-426-3293

PRICE$20.00 Per Year by Mail

$15.00 Per Year by EmailCHURCH PLAN

$ 1.30 Per Month per Family

Published on the 1st and15th of each month by the Bap-tist Missionary Association ofMississippi. Periodical post-age paid at Hattiesburg, MS39402.

Postmaster:Send address changes to

Mississippi Baptist Paper P.O.Box 8181, Laurel, MS 39441

SENIOR SOURCESbyBecky Ulmer- becky.ulmer@jghms.com

Becky Ulmer is Nursing Administrator of JasperCounty Nursing Home, Bay Springs, Mississippi andattends First Baptist, Bay Springs.Becky Ulmer

Kitchens or Mrs. Emma Bondat 601-426-6346.

Available ScholarshipsAvailable ScholarshipsAvailable ScholarshipsAvailable ScholarshipsAvailable ScholarshipsNo joke! $1,000 scholarships!

The Arnold Knight MemorialRLF Scholarship is availableevery semester to Baptist Mis-sionary Association ministerswho take classes at Southeast-ern Baptist College. These fundsare administered by the BMA ofMississippi Revolving LoanFund. Our recruiter, RonnieKitchens, has all the informa-tion you need to sign up forclasses and financial aid. Con-tact Brother Ronnie at 601-426-6346 orrkitchens@southeasternbaptist.edu

VA BenefitsVA BenefitsVA BenefitsVA BenefitsVA BenefitsSBC possesses the 2017 Sil-

ver Award as a military friendlycollege! Have you served in

America’s armed forces? Thenyou probably have Veterans Ad-ministration tuition benefitsthat you can use toward a freeeducation right here at SBC.There is a time limit to your VAbenefits, so I urge you to contactyour local VA representative foran evaluation of your benefits.You earned them. Use thembefore it’s too late! And remem-ber, the Post 9-11 GI Bill is fullytransferable to family members.SBC has numerous students re-ceiving VA assistance for bothonline and in-classroom tuition.

An IdeaAn IdeaAn IdeaAn IdeaAn IdeaI encourage every reader of

the Mississippi Baptist to seri-ously consider contributing to-ward the BMA of Mississippi’spremiere school of Biblical knowl-edge. We were awarded the dis-tinguished Best Online Bible

College in the nation for 2016 fora reason! SBC is the best of thebest when it comes to educatingpeople in theology and the scrip-tures! Will you consider settingup a scholarship in your churchto help educate and advanceleaders in the BMA of Missis-sippi ministries? Pastors, youthworkers, ministers of music,potential missionaries, deacons,Sunday school teachers andmore will all benefit greatly intheir personal walk with theLord and be more effective intheir callings. I believe everychurch in our work should havesomeone on their church stafftaking classes online or in ourclassrooms. I encourage you toseriously consider what an edu-cation in the Bible or in Chris-tian leadership can do to ad-vance the Gospel in your “neckof the woods.”

Southeastern College continued from page 3

"Role Call"Do you feel "called" in the role

you are in? In your home life,occupation, church affiliation,and community -- do you occupya sense of purpose and responsi-bility?

In celebrating Mother's Day,I spend a lot of time reflecting onmy life and especially on my roleof a mother. There are so manythings in life that I am blessed tohave. The role of "wife", "mother"and "Nana" are the ones I holdsacred. God truly blessed mewith the husband, children, andgrandchildren that gave me thesetitles.

The most God-fearing , pray-ing, hard working, and devotedwoman I have ever met gavebirth to me. She believed inleading by example. She under-stood the need to show "disci-pline of love" which was consis-tent, warranted, and resulted ina changed behavior. She placedvery little emphasis on worldlythings, desired her children tohave more than she had, andtaught us based on the scripturepassage "All things are possiblethrough God".

It was not until I reachedolder adulthood that I am un-derstanding why she chose tolive without modern conve-niences. That was a life lessonfor us. A dependence on God butnot on anything else. Loss ofpower, water or phones never

interrupted mama's life, in factshe used these times to seal theimportance of being prepared toher children. God is and alwayshas been number one in her life.

The rest of her life is family.Through marriage, birth, work,church and community, she con-siders all to be family.

One of the things I see withher is a sense of total content-ment. Contentment in the past,present and future. Content-ment in the past, present andfuture. She continues to seekout ways to serve God by helpingthose in need. The only fear shehas for the future is the abilityto care for herself and not be aburden on her children. Therest is already guaranteed. Thehome here in Bay Springs, Mis-sissippi, is only temporary. Theone in heaven will be for eter-nity. I challenge you to evaluateyourself on the instructions setforth in the Bible. God placespeople in your life to inspire,teach, lead and discipline.

My mother, Mary AnnJernigan Nix has been my role

model for life. I have failed inattempts to follow her patternas faithfully as I should have.Contentment in my life is be-coming a welcomed feeling. If Icould go back and make differ-ent decisions, would I? Of course,but not in the best decision madein life - acceptance of Christthrough Salvation. Eternity issecure. I am accepting pastchoices, enjoying and thanking

God for blessings of today andtrusting him to lead me in thefuture paths.

"Thou wilt shew me the pathof life; in thy presence is fullnessof joy; at thy right hand thereare pleasures forevermore"Psalm 16:11

"Being confident of this verything, that he which hath be-gun a good work in you willperform it until the day of JesusChrist" Philippians 1:6

The most God-fearing , praying, hardworking, and devoted woman I have

ever met gave birth to me.

Christian printer wins free-speech caseOneOneOneOneOneNewsNowNewsNowNewsNowNewsNowNewsNow — A dividedKentucky appeals court panelhas ruled that a Lexington busi-ness did not discriminate againstan organization by refusing toprint T-shirts for a gay rightsfestival.

Chief Judge Joy Kramer wrotein her opinion that the city'sordinance prohibiting discrimi-nation based on sexual orienta-tion does not prohibit the own-ers of Hands On Originals from"engaging in viewpoint or mes-sage censorship." Kramer saidthe business objected to themessage of gay pride, notanyone's sexual orientation.

Lexington's Gay and LesbianServices Organization tried toorder the T-shirts for the city's2012 Gay Pride Festival. Anowner of Hands On originals,Blaine Adamson, refused theorder citing his Christian be-liefs, but referred the GLSO toanother printer that would pro-duce the shirts at the same price.The Kentucky Human RightsCommission ruled againstAdamson and a lawsuit was filed.

Judge Jeff Taylor dissented,saying he thought the business

did discriminate against the or-ganization.

Adamson was represented bythe Becket. Attorney LukeGoodrich of the Becket explainsthe ruling:

"The court ruled that he isnot discriminating and that itwould actually violate the law toforce him to print messages thatviolate his beliefs. So it's a majorvictory for free speech and forreligious freedom."

According to the attorney,Adamson has paid a price overthe nearly five years of litigationand thought he might lose thebusiness:

"The local gay rights grouporganized a boycott [and pro-tests] of Blaine's shop ... and sohe has had a very difficult year.... He was even being faced withhaving to undergo what basi-cally amounts to re-education –the state-mandated diversitytraining to try to get him tothink differently."

Goodrich says the governmenthas no right to force a person tothink the way it thinks aboutcontroversial moral issues.

5May 15, 2017 • Mississippi Baptist

Fellowship at Texas Meeting

The editors of BMA state papers, along with their spouses, gatheredfor a fellowship meal prior to the start of the BMA of America annualmeeting in Arlington, Texas

From The Mind of Chuck Lee

I'm not sure the exact date,but somewhere around the

mid 1700's, a pine tree began it'sjourney in this world. I say mid1700's because of the one hun-dred and forty something ringsmy dad counted on a slab of woodtaken off of his old home place.His dad, my grandfather, hadthe tree cut and milled to buildtheir home around 1911. I thinkthat is the correct year. If not,it was within one or two years ofthat. Dad called it a virgin pine,so I'm guessing there aren'tmany, if any, of those stillaround.

The tree withstood droughtand flood and hurricanes andtornadoes and…well, who knowswhat else. Then over a hundredyears later it found another use.A couple of men with a crosscutsaw, a team of mules, and a

It Started About the Mid-1700'ssawmill later, it began servingas the walls to the house wheremy dad was born and raised. Iremember running around thelittle house as a boy, thinking,how could anyone live here? But

granny and grandpa did all rightand raised about eleven chil-dren in it.

I loved visiting there. Grannywas going blind, and I remem-ber her feeling our faces whenwe would come calling. We wereNelton's children. My wife and

I had a hard time naming myoldest son after our fathers. Mineis Fred Nelton Lee, and Blinda'sis Elbert Lavon Haden. I lovethem both, but I did have toconsider my son facing his peers

with a name like Elbert NeltonLee. It just seemed wiser andkinder to compromise and gowith Haden Fred Lee. Anyway,I can still see chickens runningaround under the house, and uskids as well. One of my favoritememories is when someone

threw a Roman candle in thefireplace. My poor, blind, hump-backed, little 80 pound grannyled the pack out of the livingroom yelling, "Every manfor himself"! Lookingback, it was a good thingthe door was opened atthe time or someonemight have gottenhurt.

The house fell wayto years of use andso dad went andsaved a few of theold boards to usearound his place. Ilike doing a littlewoodwork, so hebrought me a pieceabout eleven inches wide, twentyinches long, and three quartersof an inch thick. I consideredmaking him something, butcouldn't think of anything thatwouldn't just gather dust. Thena certain editor of a certain Bap-tist paper began learning aboutmaking pens. After viewing his

Lee serves as pastor of Pine Grove Baptist Church,Purvis. He may be reached by email atleecharles47@yahoo.comBro. Chuck Lee

It probably never thought about itspurpose or destination. But God

knew its purpose.....

handiwork, I consulted himabout making a couple of pens

from the old board and pre-senting it to Pop as amomento of his old home.

A few days later they ar-rived in the mail. Theywere beautiful. No, theywere beyond my abilityto describe. Even nowI am weepy-eyed justthinking about it. Afew days later, I wasable to give them todad. Needless tosay, he was thrilledto have them.

Most of the oldtree has found itsway back into the

earth, but a part of it still re-mains in the form of two pens. Itprobably never thought aboutits purpose or destination. ButGod knew its purpose and it wassubmissive to the will of God.Maybe we all could learn a les-son from the tree. You did well,old tree, you did well.

Homestretch ChurchPlans Ordination Service

Homestretch Baptist Church,Cleveland, Mississippi, will holdan Ordination Service on Satur-day, June 10, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.Bro. Ambrose Webster, who cur-rently serves as Associate Min-ister of Homestretch will be or-dained as a minister. Bro. EdDuvall is the pastor.

Oak GroveAssociation Reportby Ed Steele, Reporter

The Oak Grove MissionaryBaptist Association will meetwith Mount Gilead BaptistChurch near Columbia on May18. The meeting will begin at7:00 following a time of food andfellowship that normally startsaround 6:00. We hope eachchurch will elect her messen-gers and be present for a greatmeeting.

Laurel ChurchPosition Openings

Parkview Baptist Church is cur-rently accepting resumes for theposition of part-time music direc-tor. Please send resumes topastor@pbclaurel.com or contactBro. Shane Singleton at 601-319-0344.

Parkview Baptist Church is cur-rently accepting resumes for theposition of part-time church sec-retary. Must have bookkeepingexperience and be familiar withQuicken. Please send resumes topastor@pbclaurel.com or contactBro. Shane Singleton at 601-319-0344.

Texas Children’s Home SeeksApplicants for President

by Charles Johnson, chairmanThe trustees of Texas Baptist Home are seeking applicants for

the position of Home president. Resumes of potential candidatesmay be sent to Home H-R contact Kelly Saunders atksaunders@tbhc.org or mailed to TBH, Attn: Kelly Saunders, P.O.Box 309, Waxahachie, TX 75168-9977.

The duties of the Home president consist of supervising theHome employees and acting as a liaison between the Home andchurches of The Baptist Missionary Association of Texas and theSouthern Baptists of Texas Convention. A complete list of thepresident’s duties and qualifications may be found on the Home’swebsite at www.tbhc.org . For more information interestedapplicants may call the Home office at 972 937-1321.

Deadline for submitting resumes for consideration is noon(CDST) on Friday, June 2, 2017.

The search committee, composed of the board officers, will onlyact as a nominating committee to present their choice to anexecutive called session of The BMA of Texas which has the finalauthority in selecting the Home president.

Texas Baptist Home is a fully licensed and accredited childcareagency which was originally chartered in 1910. The Home isowned by the BMA of Texas and supported by the SBTC. TheHome’s main campus is in Waxahachie and a satellite branch islocated in Bedford.

Former Pastor ’sWife Dies

Marjorie Lee Harper, 101,passed away Monday, May 1,2017, at Longwood CommunityLiving Center in Booneville,Mississippi. She was born No-vember 17, 1915. She taughtschool for many years. She wasa member of Shady Grove Bap-tist Church, and an avid reader.

Funeral services were heldMay 2, 2017, at Shady GroveBaptist Church with Bro. Mike

Smith officiating. Burial was inForked Oak Cemetery.

She is survived by one niece,Carolyn (Wade) Ashmore; onegreat-nephew, Larry (Lynn)Ashmore; one great-niece, VickiLambert; two great-great-neph-ews, Cory (Kaleana) Lambertand Bradley Ashmore; one great-great-niece, Ashley Ashmore.

She was preceded in death byher husband, Rev. BufordHarper; her parents; two broth-ers; and one sister.

6 May 15, 2017 • Mississippi Baptist

National Officers

Above are the new officers of the National WMA electedin recent meeting in Arllington, Texas

Below are the new officers of the National Brotherhood

BMABMABMABMABMA Seminary’ Seminary’ Seminary’ Seminary’ Seminary’sssss60th Commencement60th Commencement60th Commencement60th Commencement60th Commencement

The Baptist Missionary Association TheologicalSeminary of Jacksonville, Texas, will hold its 2017commencement exercises on Saturday, May 20 at 2:00p.m. in the seminary's Dorman Memorial Chapel.BMA Seminary is located at 1530 East Pine Street inJacksonville, Texas.

The event is open to the public.The 2017 graduating class will be the seminary’s

sixtieth. Graduates will receive Associate, Bachelorand Master’s degrees during the ceremony.

Dr. John M. Adams, Jr. of Mantachie, Mississippi,will present the commencement address. He has

served as Senior Pastor inchurches of Mississippi,Texas, Colorado, and Arkan-sas. Adams presently servesas Executive Director ofMoral Action of Mississippiand the national organiza-tion, Moral Action of BaptistMissionary Association(BMA). He has served asSenior Pastor of First Bap-tist Church of Mantachie,Mississippi, since 2000.Adams and his wife have two

children and a grandchild.Adams graduated from Benton High School, Benton,

Mississippi, earned the Bachelor of Arts degree fromSoutheastern Baptist College, Laurel, Mississippi;The Master of Education from Texas Tech University;and the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministrydegrees from Luther Rice Seminary. He also receivednational certification in History at Southern Arkan-sas University, Magnolia, Arkansas in 1987.

BMA Seminary provides accredited theological edu-cation to qualified individuals by seeking to equipthem for Christian service and leadership roles. Theseminary supports the educational needs of the Bap-tist Missionary Association of America and othergroups who share a like commitment to the authorityof Scripture.

Dr. John Adams

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Sofilthy's Atticby Barbara White

Poke SaletWell, I picked a mess of poke salet the other

day, washed it, parboiled it, then cooked itwith eggs in a little bacon grease. It seemed

rather tasty to me. It also brought back memories ofwhen my Mama cooked it. Then it brought back amore recent memory from a few years back.

Our pastor preached a sermon encouraging themembers to make news by doing good deeds thatothers would notice.

Well, we had some kind of eatin' meetin' shortlyafter that and I carried a mess of poke salet. Thepreacher asked me what it was and when I told him itwas poke salet, he seemed shocked and asked, "Isn'tthat stuff poison?" I just told him I was trying to makenews. I think he thought it was going to be anotherJim Jones and the Kool-Aid story.

A lot of news gets published, but not much of it isgood news. The Bible speaks many times about"publishing the good news". Let's try to publish somegood news by going out of our way to help someone,speak to a stranger about our Savior, help someone inneed, etc., etc., You get the picture!

WOMEN'S MISSIONARY AUXILIARYPresident

Beth Caldwell166 Twin Creek Rd,Lucedale, MS 39452

601-947-60118

Corres. SecretaryMrs. Shirlene Smith

730 Hwy 533, Laurel, MS39443

601-729-5638

State WMA to Meetby Beth Caldwell

Ladies, I would like for you to mark your calendarfor May 22, 2017, 7 o’clock, to attend the mid-yearmeeting at Midway Baptist Church in Sumrall. Youwill be given the opportunity to hear Bro. Tim speakabout “Water for Christ” and will first hand knowwhere your mission dollars are going. It is exciting tohear what we, as ladies, have accomplished.

You will also be hearing from Bro. Sookraj. He willshare with us what he will be doing to make the livesof children better in Peru. As ladies, I know your hearthas a special love for children and we certainly wantthem to know God loves them. This is the StateBrotherhood Project. Let’s encourage our men to giveso these children can have a chance at a better life.

I believe that there are many women in our churchesthat are on a mission. Let’s do this together and wewill be able to say we have accomplished our goal.

I’m looking forward to seeing each of you on May 22.Load your church van and join with me to see what wehave done as “Ladies on a Mission.”

Recognizing Long Service

Seminary Dean Dr. Phillip Attebery (left) and PresidentDr. Charley Holmes (right) present a clock to retiringTrustee Bro. Forrest Priest of Arkansas. Bro. Priestserved faithfully as a trustee for over 20 years.

Master’s Builders Work at Campby Rose Bittner

The second week in April was the time set aside forThe Master’s Builders to begin their annual work atDaniel Springs Baptist Camp in Gary, Texas. Thiswas the 147th job for the Master’s Builders and the 2ndjob this year. The Master’s Builders first worked atDaniel Springs in 1995 and have worked at the campa total of 7 times over the years. Once again, CampDirector Jason Prewitt had plans for the men to tearout more concrete cinder block dividers in 6 more dorm

bathrooms and to build new walls and doors for eachbathroom.

While at Gary, the Builders attended worship ser-vices at Bethel Baptist Church in Clayton, Texas. TheMaster’s Builders helped in the construction of BethelBaptist in September 2015 and the members at Bethelhave always been such a blessing to the group. TheBuilders enjoyed 2 meals and lots of wonderful fellow-ship with the great folks at Bethel during this job! TheMaster’s Builders plan to be at Jacksonville BaptistCollege in Jacksonville, Texas in May , and then on toSummers Baptist Church in Summers, Arkansas inJune.

Remem-ber, you cankeep up withour work onour Facebookpage —TheM a s t e r ’ sB u i l d e r s .“Like” our page for our job updates and photos duringeach job. If you feel the Lord is leading you toward thisministry, if you have any questions about the minis-try, or if your church has building needs, you cancontact our Office Coordinator John Mangum at 318-205-5155 or his cell at 318-607-4100; or our FieldCoordinator Eddie Sikes at 903-725-6549 or his cell at479-462-1675. Not pictured in the group photo is BobbySamuels who also worked on this project.

7May 15, 2017 • Mississippi Baptist

Mississippi State Missions

nine powerful words: “…so they strength-ened their hands for this good work.”The key to their success in rebuildingthe wall was based on the pronoun“they.”

While it has been said that greatworks for God depend upon great leader-ship, but in Nehemiah we can clearlysee that great works for God also dependupon great follow-ship because, withoutfollow-ship, leadership does not exist.That is where each of us comes in.

This association is not an organiza-tion of superstars and mega-churches.It is a team that depends on the willing-ness of all its members to see the goodthings our leaders set before us, thenwork to accomplish them. God hasblessed us with Godly leaders that we,as an association of churches, haveplaced in key positions to bring struc-ture and organization to our combinedefforts.

Throughout His Word, God hasblessed those who work together inunity. A definition of unity is this:“followers, working side-by-side withother followers.”

While building Liberty MemorialBaptist Church in Memphis, two hiredhands got upset with one another oversomething that wouldn’t amount to ahill of beans. I came into the building

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEfrom front page

and saw each of them trying to do a two-man job alone. Their indifference re-sulted in wasted time and productivity.They had temporally forgotten our pur-pose — to build a building. Needless tosay, after we had a short “go to Jesusmeeting,” unity was restored at thebuilding site.

Whether we agree on everything isnot important as long as we agree on ourpurpose. Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant said,“In order to have a winner, the teammust have a feeling of unity. Everyplayer must put the team first — aheadof personal glory.”

That is why the success of our asso-ciation, or any association today, de-pends upon a “side-by-side” mentality.It is coming together in purpose thatturns our weak bird shot into powerfulbuckshot! Great teamwork makesthings happen more than anything elsein an organization — more than skill,qualifications or money.

I used to hate working all day, thenrushing to the ballpark — only to findthat we had to forfeit because of a lackof team members. Uncaring people on ateam remind me of two guys in a sink-ing boat, sitting together at one enddoing nothing while the people at theother end are bailing furiously. Onesaid, “Thank God that hole isn’t in our

end of the boat.” I wish we would keep inmind that our lack of involvement leavesothers vulnerable.

Sometimes we, as team members,are called on to sacrifice our time, effort,comfort and even our own desires for thesake of the team. The team’s successmust always be of greater value thanour individual interests. When every-one adds their piece of the wall, (theirpiece of the puzzle) then, and only then,can the work be completed.

Just imagine, dare to envision, whatour association would look like if all ofus simply built our portion of the walland did what we could to help the team!But being followers sometimes goesagainst our nature. That is why greatfollowers sometimes find themselvesdoing what they are not used to doing,for the good of the body.

Our text tells us that when someonefinished their portion of the wall, theyimmediately moved over to help thosenext to them. Even in the presence ofopposition and negativity, they remainedfaithful to the team and the team’scause.

I have always loved Nehemiah’s an-swer to those who were against him andthe good work that was being done: “…Iam doing a great work, so that I cannotcome down: why should the work cease,whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”(Neh. 6:3).

A few years back in one of our Coor-

continues on page 8

Daniel Springs isReady for Campers

The small town of Gary, Texas, isready to come alive! For the fifty-secondsummer in a row, church buses full ofchildren and teenagers will roll in toDaniel Springs Camp. Every campercomes with different expectations. Somelook forward to paddle boating on thelake, while others can’t wait for swim-ming or team sports.

More important than the recreation,however, is the preaching of God’s Word.Every camper will hear the Gospel pre-sented multiple times throughout thecamp week. Camp worship sessions areage-targeted and biblically sound. Inaddition, daily devotional times are ledby college-age leaders trained especiallyfor communicating to youth.

For the past fifty-one years, God hassaved multitudes of children every sum-mer at Daniel Springs Camp. Pray thatGod continues to save souls during yearfifty-two!To learn more about this year’s sum-mer camp schedule, or to register yourgroup, visit danielspringscamp.com to-day!

It's a spiritual fightnot a left-wing mob(OneNewsNow.com) The left-wing rageon college campuses and other venues isreally a spiritual problem rooted in evil,says a longtime conservative activist.

"The demonic world has a hold ofthese people," Linda Harvey tellsOneNewsNow, "and the same principlesapply: Do everything you can to denytruth a voice."

Harvey explained her concerns in alengthy commentary forWorldNetDaily, describing a "progres-sive rage" that is reflects the "rise ofeveryday evil in America."

Christians are aware of this spiritualbattle, she writes, because demons shud-der at the words "Jesus Christ." That'sbecause His name is synonymous with"truth," she says, and hence the worldhates truth.

Citing the words of a self-proclaimedwitch, Harvey writes that the occultworld relies on spoken words such aschants and incantations to produce de-monic power.

So the opposite is also true in theoccultist worldview," Harvey writes."The words of one’s opponents – full of'negativity' – must not be permitted."

In other words, darkness masquer-ading as light must stamp out the reallight or risk being stopped.

Citing recent examples of such be-havior, Harvey writes about a lesbianFlorida teacher who forbids studentsfrom wearing a cross and an assistantprincipal who cursed and mocked teen-age pro-life activists.

The videotaped confrontation withthe pro-lifers is especially revealing be-cause school official Zach Ruff mocksthe students when they mention salva-tion through Jesus Christ.

8 May 15, 2017 • Mississippi Baptist

dinating Council meetings, Dr. SteveCrawley used a term I thought for surehe must have made up — synergy.Then I discovered that synergy occurswhen combining forces produces betterresults than individual effort. Wheneach of us does our part, amazing thingsbegin to happen. That is what we sawtaking place in the rebuilding of thewall. Teamwork produced a greateroutcome than going solo. In other words,1 + 1 = 3! Here’s a simple illustration ofwhat I mean:

Person A is too short to reach anapple on a tree, and so is Person B. Butwhen Person B sits on the shoulders ofPerson A, they are more than tall enoughto reach the apples and both of them caneat their fill.

Think what we have accomplishedtogether as an association of churchesthat each church couldn’t possibly havedone alone.

Another quality of great followers isthat they are tireless workers who arefocused on the prize, the goal of the workat hand, and do not compare what theydo with others. That’s why we mustmaintain the right focus.

To make the main things the mainthings takes loyalty and determinationbecause commitment is the glue thatholds the teammate to the team and theteam’s objectives. It has been said that“Many hands will make light work.”That’s just common sense!

Enthusiasm is contagious! The peoplein our text were so fired up about thework that they finished it in 52 days.Nearly all the people were eager to joinin the work at hand. Sadly, there willalways be those who, for whatever ex-cuse, will justify their inactiveness —like the leaders of Tekoa, who musthave thought the work Nehemiah andthe others were doing was beneath them.

If you don’t get anything else out ofthis message, remember great follow-

ers (not so much great in size, but greatin passion) is where it’s at! Nehemiah isnot even mentioned in Nehemiah 3, butthe names of the people who built thewall have their names recorded there inGod’s Word. Let that be an encourage-ment to you.

When people make up their minds towork together, nothing can hinder themfrom fulfilling what God has called themto do. We, as an association, have beengiven the privilege of being a part ofsomething much larger than ourselves.We have been given the opportunity towork together and to invest in local,state, national and global ministriesthrough the planting of churches, broad-casting to people who had never heardthe Gospel before, providing teachingmaterials and aiding local churches,and educating the Nehemiahs of tomor-row — and the list can go on and on.

A 17th century quote says: “If every-body would sweep the area in front oftheir own home, the whole street wouldbe clean.” That means, in order to ac-complish God’s purpose, we need a com-mon vision, dedicated leaders and will-ing workers who do their part.

There will always be resistance to thework of God. That’s why we need towork together as if it all depends on us,and pray together as if it all depends onGod.

I will close with Paul’s exhortation tothe followers in Corinth: “Therefore, mybeloved brethren, be ye stedfast,unmoveable, always abounding in thework of the Lord, forasmuch as ye knowthat your labour is not in vain in theLord” (I Cor. 15:58)

Can your association count on you toexercise your influence and leadership?Can the association (the team) count onyou to help her be all she can be for theglory of God? If we can do that, the bestdays of the BMAA are yet to come!

-courtesy of Baptist Trumpet

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEfrom front page

Putting a global spotlight on Christian persecutionOneNewsNow.comOneNewsNow.comOneNewsNow.comOneNewsNow.comOneNewsNow.com - More than 600Christian delegates from some 130 coun-tries are gather(ed) in America's capitalfor the first-ever World Summit in De-fense of Persecuted Christians.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Asso-ciation hosted this historic Summit.Franklin Graham, president and CEOof BGEA, kicked off the event. The sonof the renowned evangelist acknowl-edged that this is a time of increasingglobal persecution.

"Today our Christian brothers andsisters in many countries are facingpersecution and martyrdom on an un-precedented scale," he said. "In fact,throughout the world the number of

Christians facing hostility, persecution,and even death is greater than anyother time in history. No part of theChristian family is exempt – Protes-tant, Catholic, Orthodox – nor is anypart of the world exempt."

Graham said believers must neverforget the responsibility they have tospeak out for those undergoing persecu-tion for their faith.

"We must do all we can to defend andaid those who are victims," he added.

According to Open Doors USA, ap-proximately 215 million Christians ex-perience "high, very high, or extremepersecution" in the 50 countries whereit's most difficult to a Christian. Gra-

ham urged his audi-ence to call attentionto the plight of thepersecuted and dem-onstrate solidaritywith those who suf-fer because of theirfaith.

The keynotespeaker at the Sum-mit was Vice Presi-dent Mike Pence. Hespoke directly tothose currently fac-ing oppression because of their faith,assuring them of his prayers as well asthe prayers of President Trump and theAmerican people.

Pence pointed out the atrocities tak-ing place such as the church bombingsin Egypt on Palm Sunday – and the vicepresident told the crowd that the presi-

dent sees these crimes for what theyare.

Franklin Graham at Summit

"Vile acts of persecution animated byhatred: hatred for the gospel of Christ,"he stated. "And so, too, does the presi-dent know those who perpetrate thesecrimes. They are the embodiment of evilin our time, and he calls them by name:radical Islamic terrorists."

In particular, the vice president calledout ISIS."That brutal regime

shows a savageryfrankly unseen in theMiddle East since theMiddle Ages, and Ibelieve ISIS is guiltyof nothing short ofgenocide againstpeople of the Chris-tian faith – and it'stime the world calledit by name."According to Pence,

"protecting and pro-moting religious free-dom is a foreign policy

priority of the Trump administration."Vice-president Mike Pence talks with Franklin Graham