Shine: Revivals and their relevance today
Several years ago my director of missions in Sherman, Texas told me about a revival he held with James Simple. His name was Norris Cash, and the flyer for the revival said in large bold letters, “Simple-Cash Revival.” That was my favorite revival flyer until Tuffy Wiggly and I did a revival together and our flyer said, “Wiggly—Quigley Revival.” Needless to say, that flyer turned more than a few heads as it hung in the window of the...
Shine: Do you believe the Bible?
Two unrelated events in my life have made one major impact on my commitment to read God’s Word. The first happened while I was a college student. Professor Gene Petty had just come to Ouachita Baptist University from Duncan, Immanuel. The room was filled with new ministry students, and we were about to encounter a very important series of questions. Petty asked, “How many of you young men plan to obey God’s Word?” We all eagerly...
Shine: True yoke-fellows
“Yoke-fellow” isn’t a word that we use much anymore. However, it is a beautiful picture of team work. Most of us have never seen a real live yoke-fellow set of oxen, but we know it is two oxen bound together at the neck for the purpose of pulling a common load. It is known that an adult ox can pull between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds by themselves but if they are yoked together they can pull between 23,000 to 26,000 pounds. That is far...
Shine: A call to revitalize evangelism in our convention
Recently, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) publicly announced that 29 percent of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches reported no baptisms, and 47 percent reported two or less. In the SBC 2017 book of reports, NAMB reported that baptisms had fallen to 295,000 in 2016, which is the first time the convention reported less than 300,000 baptisms in decades. These statistics and trends over the last two decades have raised...
Shine: Missions Offering theme ‘Eternity’ hits home
Several months ago, Kelly King, Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) women’s ministry specialist, and Brian Hobbs, BGCO communications director and Baptist Messenger editor, pulled a group of Oklahoma pastors and leaders together to explore the possibility of a new theme for our State Missions Offering. This offering is important to the work of the Gospel throughout our state, as it assists every Association and, ultimately,...
