The LifeWay News blog goes on location and behind the scenes as staff of LifeWay Christian Resources reports information of how LifeWay is involved in the Great Commission.
Dr. Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, presents his report to the board of trustees gathered at Ridgecrest for their fall meeting.
We will release a full package of coverage from the two-day trustee meeting, including highlights of Dr. Rainer's presidential report and divisional summaries, after the conclusion of the meeting. Be sure to look for photos from Kent Harville!
LifeWay employee Brian Brown leads worship during the trustee meeting at Ridgecrest. For more photos from Kent Harville, click here. I resonate with the statement, since my first trustee meeting was overwhelming too. Let me explain with a couple of thoughts. I was overwhelmed by the blessing of the Lord upon the ministry and business of LifeWay. Trustees heard reports from each vice president, and although LifeWay faced economic challenges like everyone else, the Lord's blessing was evident to all. I was encouraged especially by Dr. Rainer's report, which expressed so much gratitude to the Lord for blessings LifeWay has seen this year. He also emphasized the hope we have in the Lord as we face another challenging year in 2010. I was overwhelmed by the excellent facilities of the Ridgecrest Conference Center. Since this is the first time I've ever been to Ridgecrest, I can't tell you what improvements have been made (which is something I heard constantly from long-time visitors to Ridgecrest). I can tell you that I was impressed by everything I saw and by everywhere I went while I was there. Can't wait for my first trip to Glorieta next year! Yesterday morning when I left Ridgecrest to come back to Nashville, it was raining. And it rained the entire 6 hour drive. Sure, I would've preferred sunny skies for a pleasant drive home, but the rain provoked me to think about God's gracious blessings on LifeWay once again. Just as the Lord blessed those North Carolina mountains with the provision of rain, I pray that he would continue to bless the ministry of LifeWay with the provision of his goodness in the year to come.
This week at the fall LifeWay trustee meeting I heard a trustee make this comment: "I'm as overwhelmed as a Mennonite standing in the middle of Circuit City."
Micah Carter
My reporting assignment last week was to cover the National Youth Workers Conference held here at LifeWay’s home office. As you would expect, there were a lot of extremely energetic, spiky-hair sporting, flip-flop wearing fellows cruising the halls of the building. Now, before you get offended at my admittedly stereotypically observation, please assess a mental image of your church’s student minister – notice the hair product? More importantly, please realize that I don’t in any way believe that the clothes make the youth minister. I’m just sayin’.
So beyond the “look” of the conference, there was a lot of substance. I’m currently floating in that ether between encounters with the youth ministry; I’m 10 years removed from it myself and, being newly married, have several years to go before I’ll have children of my own involved. Still, the conference was good, really good. The focus of the event was helping youth workers strengthen their parent ministries in hopes that the students’ parents will function as their children’s chief spiritual mentors. So while I can’t immediately apply those youth-centric ideas to my life, they did get me thinking.
When I was very young, I attended daycare a few times a week. I remember very little from that experience except for bingo days with some senior adults who came to visit from time to time. This was harmless bingo, the kind where no money is exchanged and a paper cut from the card is the most dangerous element of the game. Anyway, I would sit next to one of the adults (the associate pastor from my church used to come sometimes, and he was my favorite) and “help” him or her mark the card when the numbers were called. I can’t remember winning or losing or really anything about those games except that some senior adult wanted to spend time with me.
What does this have to do with parents and youth ministry, you ask? Perhaps nothing practically, but it does illustrate the long-lasting impression of connections developed between generations. If I remember the moments shared with random senior adults who walked in and out of my life, how much better will a teenager remember the moments shared with his or her parents? It’s exactly the point made by multiple speakers during the conference: Parents have an incredible opportunity to create these “moments” with their kids, and youth ministers have a tremendous responsibility to help those moments occur.
If it mattered to a 4-year-old, it could matter even more to a 14-year-old. By the way, the official, unbiased news article from the event is available on the LifeWay newsroom. No mention of spiky hair in that one, but there are several more photos.
Entry by Brooklyn Lowery
Last weekend my husband, Sam, and I were in Panama City, Fla., for one of LifeWay’s Festival of Marriage events. I was there on assignment and Sam came along since we were already in Florida, having been on vacation in Destin for a few days.
A highlight for us was getting to spend some time with Jerry and Bayne Pounds, one of the couples leading breakout sessions during the FOM. Sam and I have known them for about 30 years. Sam went to seminary with them in New Orleans way back when, and I met them the year after Sam and I were married.
Jerry and Bayne are fantastic! Both of them have their PhDs and both are on faculty/staff at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. They have plenty to do in their professional capacities, but they still make time to do marriage events all over the country because they are so committed to helping couples have healthy marriages. Jerry and Bayne are fun. They model a healthy marriage – full of fun, love and enthusiasm. They love great seafood, too, and are always up for a culinary adventure. Anytime we are with them, it is a time of joy.
They are representative of the caliber of people Mark Satterfield, LifeWay’s marriage leader, enlists for the FOM events. Mark puts together amazing marriage events, due in no small part to the people he brings in.
I have covered FOM events before, and they’re always good events to write about. I love seeing couples that are serious about making their marriages better. An FOM event isn’t about therapy; it’s about commitment. The couples that come are making an investment in each other by getting away together for a few days in a pretty setting. They are spending some quality time together away from kids, families, work and other responsibilities. It’s a time to focus on each other and learn a few skills to take their marriages to a deeper level.
Leaders like Jerry and Bayne, a coordinator like Mark, and couples like the ones at Panama City who are willing to invest in their marriages make me happy to be associated with LifeWay and what we are doing to help marriages. After all, I am a firm believer in marriage. I mentioned Sam and I had spent a few days in Destin … we were celebrating our 29th anniversary.
Posted by Polly House
Editor, Facts & Trends magazine
13,000 people gathered in Atlanta for the 2009 Catalyst Conference. Photo from catalystcouch.com.
Wow.
As a first-time participant in the Catalyst experience, I can honestly say that I am impressed. I didn't really have any preconceived ideas or expectations about the event, so I was ready for anything. Here are some indelible impressions that remain with me as I recall Catalyst '09:
I attended the conference on assignment, but I received much more than just a story. I was bombarded with ideas about leadership, vision, culture, church planting, and missiology -- most of which I highly value and appreciate, and some that stretched me and challenged me.
All said, Catalyst was a tremendous experience! I know I'll be looking forward to next year's conference . . . and maybe Ed Stetzer will let me tag along again to get an insider's look onstage and backstage!
Entry by Micah Carter
Speaking of Stetzer, here's a great photo taken by Kent Harville of Stetzer offering his personal reflections and insights about church planting during one of the labs at Catalyst:
This past week I attended the annual meeting of the Association of State Baptist Papers in Coeur d'Alene, ID, held at the resort of the same name. The purpose of my trip primarily was to meet state paper editors, but also to host a luncheon for them provided by LifeWay. Even more, LifeWay's president and CEO Thom Rainer also addressed the editors, so it didn't hurt to be present for his portion as well.
This trip was my first to Idaho, so I was looking forward to seeing a ton of snow and maybe a few moose. I saw neither. Sure, there was snow on the tips of the mountains in the distance, but none on the ground below. I left more snow in Nashville, TN, than I saw in Idaho!
But my trip wasn't about snow and moose, it was about state paper editors and getting to know them. Here are some of the editors I met and with whom I spent some time in conversation:
I also spent some time with other SBC entity representatives, such as Mike Ebert from North American Mission Board, Van Payne from International Mission Board, Wanda Lee from WMU, and Richard Land from Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission.
There were also some editors with which I was unable to connect, like Doug Baker from The Baptist Messenger (OK) and John Loudat from Baptist New Mexican (NM).
It was a joy to meet these editors because I read their papers weekly (or as often as they are published). I am grateful for their labors in the states they serve, and I pray for their success in communicating news and information to Southern Baptists across our convention.
So, for the record, it was nice to connect in Coeur d'Alene with these contributors to Baptist life.
Micah Carter
A few days ago I had the honor of covering a Going Beyond conference featuring Priscilla Shirer. The event was hosted by the LifeWay Women’s event team. What a powerful message Priscilla gave from Genesis 28 about the trickster Jacob. He fell asleep at a certain place and had a dream about the Lord. Priscilla challenged the 2,400-strong crowd of women not to do as Jacob did and fall asleep during the hard times in life.
"He wants us, the women of God, to open our eyes and be fully aware and engaged in what He’s doing in this particular season of our lives," Priscilla said. "No more sleepwalking. It’s time for us to be involved in what it is that God is doing."
So today if you are overwhelmed, or underwhelmed, just remember that God has something to teach you. May our spiritual eyes be open and our ears be ready to hear from the Lord!
By Kelly Shrout
Last weekend I attended the first Girls’ Ministry Forum here at LifeWay. About 200 people -- women who lead tgirls’ ministries in their churches, teenage girls and three brave male student ministers -- came to learn more about ministering to girls.
These people were passionate about helping girls become spiritually strong and healthy in their relationship with Christ. The forum offered more than a dozen conferences ranging from recognizing and using spiritual gifts, to how to teach teenage girls to pray, to using technology as an outreach tool.
A panel of girls’ ministry leaders answered questions during one of the large group sessions. One of the points brought up during this time was on sexting – sending sexually suggestive messages or photos via text messaging.
My head isn’t buried in the sand. I know this goes on. What I didn’ know is just how common the practice is among teenagers.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com commissioned a survey of teens and young adults to explore electronic activity in 2008. Note that was more than a year ago.
This survey said that 22 percent of teenage girls and 18 percent of teenage boys have sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or videos of themselves. Let me repeat. They posted the pictures or videos themselves!
The survey also said that 37 percent of teenage girls and 40 percent of teenage boys said they had sent or posted sexually suggestive messages to someone.
Other statistics that bothered me:
– 15% of teenagers who have sent or posted nude or seminude images of themselves say they have done so to someone they only knew online.
– 48% of teenagers say they have received such messages.
– 71% of teenage girls and 67% of teenage guys who have sent or posted sexually suggestive content say they have sent or posted this content to a boyfriend or girlfriend.
– 21% of teenage girls and 39% of teenage boys say they have sent such content to someone they wanted to date or hook up with.
– 44% of both teenage girls and teenage boys say it is common for sexually suggestive text messages to be shared with people other than the intended recipient.
– 36% of teenage girls and 39% of teenage boys say it is common for nude or semi-nude photos to get shared with people other than the intended recipient
Is it just that these kids don’t realize that once they hit “send” they have lost all control of where that photo or video goes? How would that teenage girl feel if her nude photo was sent to her parents or her youth minister? How would that teenage boy feel if his picture was printed out and hung up all over his school? Once in cyberspace, that picture will never go away.
And, I’m not even going to go into the potential legal issues regarding pornography.
Culture is screaming at teenagers to make wrong and foolish choices. My prayers go out to these women -- and the men -- who minister to teenagers and who shoulder the tremendous responsibility of helping them develop a relationship with Christ. I applaud these girls’ ministry leaders who want to serve better by keeping informed on important matters, such as this one.
By Polly House
Editor, Facts and Trends Magazine
In less than 24 hours, communications department staff Rob Phillips, Micah Carter, Polly House and Kelly Shrout will be hobnobbing in Chicago at the annual Baptist Communicators Association meeting. This year's BCA workshop is paired with the annual meeting of the Religion Communication Congress, which should prove to be an interesting and insightful experience.
It looks like the communications staff has numerous opportunities to bring back some awards for our work. We'll be posting updates throughout the workshop, so follow us: @lifewaynews (Twitter) and LifeWay News (Facebook). Stay tuned!
This past week a few of our staff (pictured above: Rob Phillips, Polly House, Kelly Shrout, Micah Carter) had the opportunity to participate in the annual Baptist Communicators Association workshop. This BCA meeting was paired with the 2010 RC Congress.
This BCA meeting was my first to attend, and I enjoyed getting to know other members with whom I was familiar but had never met face to face. I was also encouraged by the breakout sessions of the workshop, specifically the Q&A interaction with Dr. Ronnie Floyd discussing the interim report of the SBC's Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (audio here).
Not only was this my first time to attend the BCA annual meeting, it was also my first trip to Chicago. How can you not love this city, especially at night (see photo below)?
All said, this trip was a great introduction to the BCA and to Chicago. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't mention that our staff won 12 awards in the Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition! Great job, team! These awards and winners are listed below:
Audio-Visual Division
Photography Division
News Writing Division
Feature Writing Division
Design Division
Posted by Micah Carter