Baptist21 is thankful to be a sponsor for this upcoming conference: Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP) has assembled some of the top experts in child protection for their inaugural conference designed to help ministry leaders prevent abuse. Sponsored by Brotherhood Mutual, this one-day conference will be held at Nashville First Baptist Church on June 17 following the SBC annual meeting …
By Dr. Aaron Meraz, Director of Mission:Dignity at GuideStone Having pastored and shepherded young pastors, I am reminded often of the faithful servants who led my own family, friends and even me to Christ. These ministers and their wives dedicated most of their lives to churches that could not contribute to their retirement savings, but they kept serving anyway. After …
By John Murphy, Director of GuideStone Property and Casualty® 2020 produced many challenges for pastors and churches as we moved online or outdoors and reset our ministry expectations. Many churches went back to the basics of what it means to be the Church — with a capital “C” — finding this to be a refreshing time of allowing God to …
By Branton Burleson Several years ago a pastor friend from a nearby Baptist church invited me to share with his congregation some biblical teaching on plural elder leadership. As I waited for the service to begin that evening, a display in the church’s foyer caught my attention. It was the original minutes from the founding meeting of the church in …
By Scott Charbonneau, Managing Director of Insurance Business Development Did you know the most valuable benefit of almost any insurance plan is free? Nearly all major health plans include preventive care benefits with no out-of-pocket expenses when you seek care within your plan’s network. Plus, these benefits are built into all health plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act …
By Shawn Dorrough, Senior Relationship Manager in Retirement Solutions Prioritizing Compensation Planning is a Key to Financial Stewardship As churches evaluate their budget each year, they often seek ways to stretch limited budget dollars to cover a myriad of God-honoring goals — from weekly services and congregational care to missions and ministry outreach. The biblical obligation to provide well for …
By Greg Love, Relationship Manager of Retirement Solutions at GuideStone I think we can all agree that the events of 2020 recentered our hearts and minds on the things that matter most. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people experienced additional financial pressures when it came to providing for their families. In fact, one recent article reported approximately 61% …
By Alex DiPrima Last year, I read D.A. Carson’s excellent little tribute to his father titled, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor. I am writing this article in the spirit of that book. Thus I have given it the title, A Tribute to an Ordinary Lay-Pastor. Bob Prentice (1957-2020) is a name few will recognize, yet I am confident that on the Last …
By Scott CharbonneauManaging Director of Insurance SolutionsGuideStone Financial Resources It’s time to choose an employee health plan for 2021. So how do you know which health plan strategy is right for you and your team? At GuideStone®, our mission is to serve you as you serve the Lord — and that means making sure you have all the information you need …
By Angela McClain, Personal Financial Advisor at GuideStone 2020 has been a wild ride. And as we’ve talked about volatile financial markets, social distancing and the election cycle, “living through unprecedented times” has been crowned the cliché catchphrase of the year. Although with varying degrees of loss, COVID-19 left no one unaffected. But we made it work. Pastors preached to parking lot …
