Baptist TrumpetVolume 75 August 19, 2015, Little Rock, Arkansas Number 44

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF ARKANSASwww.baptisttrumpet.com

In This IssueHelp a Missionary (pg. 4)Mustang Outfitters (pg. 2)

PP Protests (pg. 2)Rise and Fall (pg. 3)

Wesley and Ruby (pg. 4)See ARCHIVE, Page 4

Movingwith ministers

and staff

A typical day in the life of a pastor may consist of listening to a hurt-ing widow, counseling a marriage in crisis, comforting children in the af-termath of divorce and arbitrating a dispute between family members. After a long day of shepherd-ing, who will pastor the pastor? To whom can he bring his problems? Confidentiality prohibits him from discussing matters with other church members, and most pastors often want to protect their wives from the drama. For this reason, pastors are often the loneliest people in the church. They find themselves without anyone with whom they can share their pain and struggles. Many pastors long to have someone who will listen and un-derstand where they are coming from.

BMA Pastors:Free Confidential Help is Available

If they don’t find someone to speak with, they will likely face burn-out. Many will leave the pastorate all together or grow calloused toward the ministry. Sadly, these pastors don’t suffer alone. The isolation felt by pastors can spread to the home. Wives begin to feel that their husbands are mar-ried to the church instead of to them. Children feel neglected as their fa-ther spends more time with other families and less time at home. DiscipleGuide wants to help pas-tors and their families receive the help they need. Because of this criti-cal need, on Aug. 5, DiscipleGuide Church Solutions launched a pastor’s help line. Pastors may call (844) 877-4BMA between 7 am and 9 pm, CST Monday through Friday for free, con-fidential help. This new partnership with Focus on the Family will provide a trained specialist for every caller. Each specialist has vocational min-istry experience so they understand where pastors are coming from. The help line is available for all BMA pastors and their wives to discuss any issue ranging from deal-ing with a difficult church member, pornography, addictions, anxiety/depression, personal marriage issues, parenting, etc. “Our goal,” according to Disciple-Guide Executive Director Scott At-tebery, “is to give pastors resources to help them prevent pastoral burnout, family struggles and destructive be-havior. That benefits everyone — the pastor, his family and the church.”

Several reports have been received by the Trumpet, including ones from TodaysTHV (Channel 11) and the Arkansas Demo-crat Gazette, that Arkansas Gover-nor Asa Hutchin-son has directed the Department of Human Services to end Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood. Last Friday’s directive was in defiance to a warning from the Federal gov-ernment. “It is apparent that after the re-cent revelations on the actions of Planned Parenthood, this organiza-tion does not represent the values of the people of our state and Arkansas is better served by terminating any and all existing contracts with them,” Hutchinson said in a statement. A letter from Department of Hu-man Services Director John Selig to Jill June, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma, says the termina-tion will go into effect in 30 days. Hutchinson’s decision comes after an anti-abortion group released secret-ly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood officials describing how they provide fetal tissue for medi-cal research. The Democratic Party of Arkansas is calling on the Republican governor to restore the funding. Planned Parenthood received more than $51,000 in Medicaid payments in Arkansas over the past fiscal year for family planning and gynecological services. It is reported that none of the money went toward abortions.

Governor HaltsPP Funding

Troy Driggers accepted the pastorate of Eutopia Baptist Church in Cave City in July. Ash Street Baptist Church in Muskogee, Okla, is seeking a pastor. Resumes may be sent to the church, Attention Pulpit Committee, 1521 Ash St., Muskogee, Okla. 74403. For more information, contact Terry Kennedy at (918) 441-5261 or tkkennedy@sbcglobal.net.

DiscipleGuide Conference Min-istry, along with sponsor Central Baptist College, is pleased to an-nounce the details of Great Escape 2016. Planned as a “getaway” cruise experience for youth/children’s lead-ers and spouses, Great Escape also offers inspirational and instructional training for both paid and volunteer staff. The Great Escape 2016 keynote speaker will be Dr. Mark Dance. He served as senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Conway from 2001 to 2014. Under his leadership, the church completed a relocation to a 50-acre campus and repurposing of the former church location into the Ministry Center, an evangelical non-profit designed to serve those with material needs while also providing for their spiritual needs. During his ministry in Conway, Mark served as trustee for Lifeway Christian Resources, chaplain of the Conway Police Department and mission team leader to more than two dozen countries. He has earned Bachelor of Business Administra-tion, Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. In 2014, Dance was named Life-way’s Pastor Advocate, and in 2015 he and his wife, Janet relocated to Nashville, Tenn. The focus of his new role is helping pastors lead healthy lives and ministries, in season and out of season. During the cruise, Mark will lead multiple sessions on the theme

Lifeway’s Dance Keynote For Great Escape 2015

“Homework.” According to Terry Kimbrow, president of Central Bap-tist College and host of Great Es-cape 2016, “Mark is one of the most dynamic young pastors I have ever met. He is a dedicated man of God, and he is given to transparency and integrity.” In addition to scheduled teaching times, informal roundtable discus-sions will complement the instruc-tive sessions. “The focus is to help student leaders build a healthy life in and away from ministry,” said Kim-brow. The Great Escape cruise will de-part from Galveston, Texas, aboard Carnival Freedom on Saturday after-noon, Jan. 16 at 4 pm, and return to the same port on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 8:30 am and include ports of call in Progreso, Yucatan and Cozumel, Mexico. DiscipleGuide has secured rates starting at $279, plus $54 tax and fees per person for an inside cabin. In addition, DiscipleGuide’s early registration fee is only $60 per per-son if paid by November 16, 2015. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event! For complete details or to reg-ister online, go to DiscipleGuide.org/thegreatescape. Visit Carnival website at Carnival.com to view all the details of the cruise itinerary and amenities of the Carnival Freedom. For gen-eral questions about Great Escape, call Tricia at DiscipleGuide at (501) 205-8753 or contact her via e-mail at pkimbrow@discipleguide.org.

By The Editor The Baptist Trumpet Archives now has 3,281 issues on it, and that com-pletes the first phase of this project. The second phase will involve comparing each listing in the ar-chives to the issues in the binders that are shown above. If we find any that are missing, they will then be scanned and added to our website. The final phase of the project will involve publicizing a list of any miss-ing issues and asking our readers to check and see if they might have them. When that phase is complete, and any “found issues” are located and scanned in, it will just be a matter of adding one issue each week to the archives. The archival issues will only go up to three months prior to the

It Is Finished… Well, Almost

current date. To get the up-to-date news, read-ers will have to be a subscriber. One of the dreams I shared with the Pub-lications Committee when I was elected 10 years ago was to send the Trumpet free to anyone who wants it. But as I’ve said so many times, “God is going to have to sell a whole lot of

-2- BAPTIST TRUMPET, August 19, 2015

Family ArkMinistries

Travis Plumlee, DirectorP.O. Box 163 • Mountain View, Arkansas 72560

www.travisplumlee.comCentral Baptist College1501 College Ave. • Conway, Arkansas 72034

(501) 329-6872 • (800) 205-6872 • www.cbc.edu Twitter: @CentBaptCollege and @tkimbrow

Terry KimbrowPresident

PROFILE

See PLUMLEE, Page 3See DIVORCE, Page 6

The Bookstore at Central Baptist College is now “Mustang Outfit-ters.” The new Mustang Outfitters logo was unveiled at the CBC all employee pre-college meeting on Monday, Aug. 10. The new name more accurately conveys the broad range of products and services avail-able in the store. Located in the Mabee Student Services Complex, the “bookstore” was for many years the primary re-source for CBC students to buy text-books and subsequently sell them back at the end of each semester. A few years ago, we discontinued our textbook sales and buyback program. Textbook Brokers in Conway is the official textbook provider for CBC. Students can place an order at cbc-textbooks.com. Northwest Arkansas real estate developer Jim Lindsey was the gen-eral contractor for the Mabee center, deducting his fee as an in-kind dona-tion. What he saved the college made him the largest contributor to that segment of the campaign. I was the vice president for advancement then, but I knew Jim and much of his fam-ily because I previously lived in his hometown of Caldwell, a small com-munity just north of Forrest City.” Because of his involvement, it was suggested something in the building bear his name, but he would have none of that. Instead, he asked that we do something to memorialize CC Bishop, the pastor who led him to Christ and baptized him at First Baptist Church in Caldwell.” Occupied in 1997, the structure was named in honor of the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation for a grant toward not only the student build-ing, but also for two previous proj-

CBC Introduces Mustang Outfitters

As America sat with riveted at-tention watching the horror of Hur-ricane Katrina on television, it was impossible to know what it was like to be living through it. Pictures can never reveal the true enormity of a situation. Television pictures show-ing miles of debris in Mississippi cannot convey the sweltering heat and humidity. Television cannot demonstrate the nauseating smells of Louisiana. No one can truly under-stand or know what these people are going through unless they are there. Human suffering, tragedies and disasters come into everyone’s life. In this broken world, human suffer-ing is universal. But there are some things people in affected areas can do to pick up the pieces and move forward. These are some guidelines to help remind people what they can do in a disaster: • After survival is established for you and your family, you must begin to rebuild your life. Don’t try to look at everything that needs to be done at once. Prioritize what needs to be done in order to get your life back in order. From that point on, work on one or two things at a time. Trying to look at everything all at once will give you a sense of dread and being overwhelmed, and those feelings will stop you in your tracks. • Expect to go through a grieving period. The people of the Gulf Coast have had their lives re-prioritized for them. Things that once seemed so important, no longer are. Sports, va-cation planning and grumbling over the cost of school supplies are no longer is relevant. After a disaster, people know what is important —  Jesus, life, love and relationships! If you have that, you have everything you need to get through life. You learn after a disas-ter not to sweat the small stuff and be

Dealing With Disasterso focused on things that are tempo-ral. If you have Jesus and your family, you have the most important things in life. However, this does not dimin-ish the great sense of loss you will experience when your life has been torn apart. You will have to grieve over your losses. It is okay to grieve over the loss of your home, your memories (like pictures and family heirlooms), your pets, your land, your job, the school or church where you attended. The more losses you expe-rienced, the greater the grief. Grief can take on a wide range of emotions and manifest itself as depression, anger, guilt, shame and lack of motivation. If you feel any of these, you are normal. You aren’t go-ing crazy. It takes time to heal. You may experience all these emotions or only one. It may last a week or it may last a long time. How do you know if you’re not handling your grief appropriately? In the next few weeks, if you just can’t seem to function in your activities of daily living, and do what needs to be done, you may be at a growth impasse in your grief. Do not hesitate to seek biblical counseling if needed. I am speaking only of the grief of losing your livelihood or home. This does not compare to a situation where someone you love has died. That grief takes much longer and some deaths we never get over, but we grow on. •  Tell your story. Healing comes by talking about what happened to you. If some people are not willing to listen, find someone else who is willing to listen to you. Ask if you can tell them what happened to you. Even if you have told your story several times, it helps to talk it out. In time, the tears will decrease and

ects. We acquired a photo of C.C. Bishop for display in the bookstore. The Office of Public Relations is working to reframe the photo, and an acknowledgement plaque of Mr. Lindsey’s generous participation will accompany the picture. Jim’s gift of time, labor, and fees is an important part of CBC’s history. We need to preserve the story. Mustang Outfitters carries a wide range of Mustang and CBC logo gifts, collegiate clothing, accessories, supplies,  study guides and much more! New to Mustang Outfitters is “Ticket to the Moon” Hammocks, which are comparable to the popular Eno brand. The store has also recently become a licensed dealer for Innova — the premiere leading manufacturer in disc golf and accessories. Jessica Faulkner, director of spe-cial events at CBC, is the manager of Mustang Outfitters. “The new Mus-tang Outfitters logo will be used in branding the new store and will soon be seen on a variety of merchandise including t-shirts, sweatshirts and out-door apparel,” commented Faulkner. The phone number for Mustang Outfitters is (501) 205-8892 and the hours are Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm.

Part of the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, 2005.

By Aaron Earls • Baptist Press Pastors believe not all divorces are created equal, but for many Ameri-cans any reason is as good as another, a new study shows. “Pastors make a distinction about the rightness of a divorce based on the reasons behind it,” said Scott Mc-Connell, vice president of LifeWay Research in Nashville. “They want to account for the parts of Scripture that speak of possible rationales.” However, Americans view virtu-ally all reasons for ending a marriage in the same moral light. In a phone survey of 1,000 Ameri-cans, LifeWay Research found 39% say divorce is a sin when an individ-ual’s spouse commits adultery; 38% when the couple no longer loves one another; 38% when a spouse aban-dons the other; 37% when a spouse is abused; and 35% when a spouse is addicted to pornography. Close to the same (37%) say divorce is not a sin in any of these. “About one in seven Americans are saying divorce is a sin in all of these cases, more than a third don’t think any of these would be a sin and almost half believe some circum-stances would be sinful, but not oth-ers,” McConnell said. In a separate phone survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors, less than a third want to classify as sinful an individual divorcing their spouse for adultery (32%), abuse (28%) or aban-donment (27%). Pastors are more likely to call di-vorce a sin when a couple divorces over a pornography addiction (39%), and because the spouses no longer love another (61%). LifeWay released the findings Aug. 12, drawing from two phone surveys last fall. In their views on divorce, Prot-estant church members are much more closely aligned with the aver-age American than with their pas-tor. Virtually the same percentage of Protestants believes a divorce is sin-ful when it is over adultery (44%) or an end to their feelings of love (46%). Differences also exist between Americans from different regions of the country. Those in the North-east and those in the predominately Protestant South are more likely to consider the various possibilities as sinful compared to those in the West. Westerners are the most likely to say none of the reasons would be a sin (51%). Minorities are also frequently more likely to consider as a sin the particu-lar reasons for a divorce. Hispanics

Views On Divorce

Saturday, Aug. 22, 9-11 a.m., concerned citizens in over 280 cities, in-cluding Little Rock and Fayetteville, will simultaneously protest against Planned Parenthood in their respective communities. The Arkansas loca-tions are: • Little Rock — Planned Parenthood Little Rock Health Center, 5921 W. 12th Street; and • Fayetteville — Planned Parenthood, 3729 N. Crossover Street. The main sponsors of the event are Created Equal, Pro-Life Action League, Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and 40 Days for Life, along with over 40 other co-sponsors. President Ronald Reagan once said, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the cred-it.” This effort is what the pro-life movement is about. Working together! For more information or to register and complete the online form to register your protest, visit protestpp.com.

Nationwide Protest Of Planned Parenthood

-3- BAPTIST TRUMPET, August 19, 2015

CHURCH HEALTHP.O. Box 878 • Conway, Ark. 72033-0878

(501) 455-4977 • larry@bmaam.comLARRY BARKER

Director of Operations North AmericaBMA of America Missions Department

Once again, this all too familiar statement was made to me: “I’ll just fake it till I make it!” The transpar-ency was refreshing, but the reality of how often I have lived by the same motto convicted me. All too often, we proceed ahead without knowing what we are do-ing, where we are going, how we will get there and refusing to admit we need help. Too often, we think: “All we need is a little more time and we will figure it out” or “Maybe we will know where we are after two more right turns” or “If I act like I know what I’m doing maybe nobody will notice I don’t have a clue.” One of my favorite com-mercials is when an emer-gency occurs that requires the expertise of a doctor. When the man helping is asked, “Are you a doctor?” He replies, “No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.” Unfortunately, not knowing what I am doing has never held me back. The temptation can be to never ad-mit that we do not have all the an-swers and that we have not figured everything out. That is why I am committed to being a lifelong learn-er. Somebody out there knows what I need to know, and I should always be on the outlook for them. Why do we “fake it till we make it?” Could it be that we are afraid of what people might discover about us? Could we also be afraid that we are no longer an authority on the subject? Maybe we are people pleasers, so we are more focused on impressing them? Here are some at-titudes and things that might be in-dicators that you are trying to fake it till you make it: • You think you must always have the answer! That is why I do not like playing Bible trivia games. It is a no-win situation for a preacher. If you win, “Well of course you did, you’re a preacher!” If you lose, “And you call yourself a preacher?” We do not always have to have the answer, and we need to admit it when we don’t. If we are not careful, we can be tempted to make up an answer instead of finding the real answer. One of the best things you can say is, “You know, I’m not sure on that, but I will do my best to find out!” • I know what I am doing! Some-times we are afraid to admit that we do not have it all together and that we are in way over our heads. We may not know how to handle certain situ-ations, but there are people around us who do. Who knows what you need to know? Who do you need to talk to

Fake It Till You Make Itthat can help you to figure it out? First, ask the Lord! Ed Stetzer says it this way: “Wise planning is not what I decide, then ask God to bless it; but I ask God what He de-sires of me, then I pursue it!” • I don’t need anybody else. I can do this! Maybe you can, but that is never the best way because two are always better than one. Tony Mor-gan has said, “A solo leader might draw a weekend crowd, but it takes a team to create healthy systems that foster sustained growth and oppor-tunities for life change.” Should we be willing to do it alone

if we have to? Defi-nitely! Is that the best plan? Never! Be care-ful not to fall into thinking if you want it done right you have to do it yourself. If you don’t have help

now, begin training others to help. • I’m tired of trusting people and getting burned! No doubt about it, people will let you down and disap-point you, but it is worth the risk. Teamwork is messy and takes work! It doesn’t just happen; you have to be willing to pour into the lives of others without any guarantee that it will ever be beneficial for you or your ministry. Paul said, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.” The very people you spend a lot of time with and invest the most in may walk away, but it is still worth it! •  Shouldn’t they know what we are doing by now? Maybe so, but re-member, vision leaks. Communicate what the need is and what the job requires up front. Make it clear! DA Horton said, “Disappoint-ment takes place when you expect too much from someone with whom you barely communicate.” All too of-ten, we are guilty of placing people in positions without properly preparing them. Could it be that we are fak-ing it till we make it because we were never trained either? In Teams That Thrive Ryan Hartwig and Warrin Bird say, “Less than 20% of leadership team leaders have received special training in how to lead teams.” People appreciate transparency and authenticity. No one likes a fake, even if they have the best intentions. They do love it when a leader says, “I need your help!” They want to know that it is not only their information and ef-fort that matters but also their opin-ions. Refuse to fake it till you make it! Healthy leaders are real, authentic and genuine!

PLUMLEE (Continued From Page 2)

you will find less need to tell the story, other than future testimonials to people about how God delivered you. •  Get back into your routine as soon as possible. It may take a long time before routines can be re-estab-lished. You may have to start a new routine in a new area if you have to be relocated. But it is critical to help kids deal with a disaster by getting them back into a routine. As soon as possible, have children get back into a regular bedtime and sleep pattern. Comfort them during nightmares. Keep your nutrition intake at a healthy level, and avoid eating on the run. As soon as your home can be restored, start family meals again. It is a great comforter. Have family de-votions at night. When possible, get back into the norm at work, school and church. This will mentally help give you security and a quicker re-turn to emotional normalcy. •  Help others when possible. You may spend all your time help-ing yourself in the beginning. That’s okay. Do what is necessary and don’t feel guilty. But long term, or as soon as possible, look for ways to help others. One of the greatest ways to overcome your problems is to help others with theirs. It is also a biblical way of life for Christians. •  Practice exercising both spiri-tually and physically. One of the greatest ways of dealing with stress-ful situations is to walk or engage in some other form of physical activity. For some of you, using a chainsaw might be that activity. Don’t just sit. Walk and talk with family and friends. Exercise spiritually. This is a learning and growing time for you. Pray hard. Study the Word. Walk through Scripture. •  Know that you are not alone. Keep reminding yourself of that. God is with you. Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave or forsake you. Know that your brothers and sisters in Christ are praying for you. Don’t give up. God led the children of Is-rael through the wilderness, and He will also lead and deliver you. Read Psalm 46 daily: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled... The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” God be with you all. (Reprinted from the Sept. 14, 2005 Baptist Trumpet)

Van Needed Westside Baptist Church in Jacksonville is in need of a do-nated, used 15 passenger van. Please call Pastor Ronnie John-son at (870) 659-7774.

Join us on Saturday, September 12, 2015

Unity Baptist Church Hope, AR Speaker Beth Moore and Worship Leader

Travis Cottrell streaming live from Wichita, KS9:30am—4:30pm

Tickets: $25.00Doors open at 8:00am for early worship with local singers

For more information, or to purchase tickets, contactUnity Baptist Church

402 S. Hervey Street •Hope, AR870-777-4078

For more info or to purchase tickets: www.eventbrite.com

By Brandon Cox Nations rise and fall, and while big changes in world events catch us by surprise, God is never caught off guard. Learn, in this message, how to be a “John Wayne”-style believer — cool, calm and collected in a culture gone crazy! Nations are rising and nations are falling, and it’s nothing new. In the news right now, we’re fo-cusing on the deal made with Iran and there are all kinds of opinions about what it will mean for us, for the Jewish people and for the rest of the world. But this isn’t new, it’s just the cycle that has been repeating for thousands of years. How do you thrive in Babylon when nations rise and fall? You listen and live by whatever God says about history and about the future. We call this prophecy, and there are two points to prophecy: • Prophecy is given, first, to foretell events that will unfold later, to re-mind us that God is never surprised by the events of human history. He is always sovereign. • Prophecy is history written before-hand. The Bible has our number. We can’t ever seem to get a grip on the pat-terns of history, but God is well aware of all that has happened, all that ever will happen and all that it ever means. A warning about prophecy: don’t get obsessed with details because we can’t always be certain what a prophet 2,600 years ago may have been referencing. Because it’s not the point. Jesus is the point! What we do need to know from prophecy is that God is all-wise, all-knowing and completely in charge. In Daniel 7, Daniel asked what the vision means and he is told: • The lion with wings of an eagle = Babylon, • The bear = Medo-Persia, • The leopard = Greece and • The fourth beast = Rome.

How to Thrive When Nations Rise and Fall

Then in Daniel 8, which is written in Hebrew and to the Jews, Daniel’s vision is more specific and speaks of specific rulers rather than nations. And sure enough, Antiochus was a fierce persecutor of God’s people. He sought to Hellenize the Jews and wanted them to worship him as a manifestation of Zeus on earth. This led to the Maccabean revolt, around which the Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah. Prophecy is given to forth-tell something about God’s will — to present to us a spiritual challenge in light of what has been foretold. It is to give us a challenge, to bring us to a place of humility before the Al-mighty. That happens in Daniel 7 as we get the key to understanding it all. So what do we do in light of what we know? God is sovereign, so trust Him, and represent Him well. We can walk in confidence and be the conscience of our surrounding culture. (Abortion, the alleviation of poverty and other social justice issues are great examples of how we do this.) God is collecting His kingdom from every tribe on earth, so go on mission with him. “And they sang a new song with these words: You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a King-dom of priests for our God. And they will reign on earth” (Rev. 5:9-10 NLT) God has crowned Jesus as King! We win! We reign! So live in light of your guaranteed victory today!

BMA of Ark. MeetingNov. 5-6

CBC • Conway

-4- BAPTIST TRUMPET, August 19, 2015

Editor’s Notebook

By Mrs. Diane Spriggs

Baptist Trumpet (USPS 043-720) (ISSN 0888-9074) Published by the Baptist Missionary Association of Arkansas; sponsoring Missions, Benevolence and Christian Education.

MRS. DIANE SPRIGGS, Editor and Business Managerdspriggs1107@comcast.net

P.O. Box 192208 • Little Rock, Arkansas 72219-2208Telephone (501) 565-4601 • Fax Line (501) 565-NEWS

(Note: An answering machine on the 565-4601 line will takemessages after regular working hours — Monday-Thursday)

www.baptisttrumpet.com

MADELAINE PRIEST Assistant Editor •mworks27@gmail.com

MARENE WATERS • marenewaters@comcast.net(posting and billing inquiries; mailing list changes)

Price: $18.50 per year; Church Plan: 36 cents per copy Published weekly except for one week in April, May, July, Sep-tember, November and December. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas. Editorial offices at 10712 Interstate 30, Little Rock, Arkansas 72209. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Bap-tist Trumpet, P.O. Box 192208, Little Rock, Arkansas 72219-2208. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the churches of the BMA.

Scan this QR code with your s m a r t p h o n e to access our website.

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See AFRICA, Page 6

Book ReviewBy The Editor

Wesley and Ruby By Don Crane

More Than A Biography Wesley & Ruby, by Don Crane, is a wonderful biography of the Thoma-sons, a dedicated preacher and his faithful wife; but it is much more than that. It is a look back to Bap-tists in early 20th century churches, and the way they “did church” in those days. “The faith of that genera-tion was personified by (The Thoma-sons’) example,” said Bro. Crane. “They were diligent in service, firm in their beliefs and church doctrine and ready to defend both.” Best known in South Arkansas, Bro. Thomason “practiced what he preached as he ministered to God’s people firmly but lovingly,” said Bro. Silvey in the book’s foreword. He was surely a man who heard “well done, good and faithful servant,” when he passed away in 1990. Wesley & Ruby is a combination of the two styles I love best — biogra-phy and history — and I eagerly read it in one sitting. As Larry Silvey said, Bro. Crane’s writing style is “vivid, humorous, emotional and personal at the same time.” Not only will Wesley & Ruby pro-vide you with some interesting and inspirational reading, it will also ben-efit the Baptist Trumpet. Bro. Crane has generously offered all the pro-ceeds from the sale of this book to go to our ministry in memory of Bro. and Mrs. Thomason. The book can be ordered for $13, including shipping and handling, through Don Crane, 2360 Hwy. 24 East, Prescott, Ark. 71857. I enjoyed Wesley & Ruby, and I be-lieve you will, too!

Rowes Chapel Baptist Church, Humnoke, has a reel-to-reel movie projector and a cassette duplicator in working condition and at least 50 new cassette tapes to give to any church that wants them. Call Pastor Patrick Fulmer at (870) 703-1499.

Free To Church

We Made It! August 31 is the end of this fiscal year, and it has been a good one. I was concerned because, even though your support has been awesome, it looked like we were going to fall short of our Special Emphasis goal for the first time since I’ve been your editor (2005). But God (there are those two words again!) provided the extra $535.97 we needed to reach the goal through my favorite person in the BMA — or the world, for that matter. Thank you, Pat, for loving the Trumpet, the BMA and me!

Phase 1 Completed! As you’ll see in the article on page 1 (“It Is Finished… Well, Almost”), Phase 1 of the Trumpet Archives Project is completed. Thank you all for your support… and we still have some of those issues up for adoption ($15 each)! Our most recent adoptive parent is Cyndy Kleindienst, who adopted two issues in memory of Ben Tidwell, her father and the brother of the late Editor David Tidwell. Thanks so much!

Still Working Toward The Other Part Another part of our Special Emphasis this year was to get 35 “Friends of the Trumpet” to help provide the monthly support we need — espe-cially after some income losses hit us pretty hard and the cost of putting out the paper got more expensive due to postal rate increases and the extra four-page “From The States” insert each week. I have a Sanguine personality, which means I love people and I love to have friends — even if I have to ask for them! So won’t you be our Friend? It’s easy to sign up and it all adds up! •  Individuals can just send us a note telling us they want to be our friend and will be sending a monthly donation by mail or through our website (baptisttrumpet.com). • Churches that are already giving a monthly offering (God bless you!) can vote to increase that offering. • Churches that aren’t giving a monthly offering can vote to begin giv-ing monthly. So far, we have 18 wonderful Friends (shown below in the order they were received) and we appreciate each and every one of them: 1. Pat & Diane Spriggs, Hensley 2. Oak Park Baptist Church, Little Rock 3. Providence Baptist Church, Hope 4. Immanuel Baptist Church, Jonesboro 5. Friendship Baptist Church, Greenbrier 6. Bethlehem Baptist Church, Greenbrier 7. New Shiloh Baptist Church, Mineral Springs 8. Haynes Baptist Church, Haynes 9. Barbara & Joe McCall, North Little Rock10. WMA Circle One, First at Magnolia (three years) Quarterly11. New Home Baptist Church, Quitman12. Beacon Baptist Church, Gravette13. Union Grove Baptist Church, Blevins14. Pat Ward, McNeil15. Sand Springs Baptist Church, Damascus16. Springhill, Greenbrier, WMA17. Enid Jolly, Little Rock18. Van Widger

Mrs. Latrell Bateman, who served with her husband, Jack Bateman, on the mission field in Taiwan for 37 years, is terminally ill. While only the Lord knows for certain when Mrs. Bateman will be called home, she is in hospice care and the family is facing some rather large medical and final expenses. Anyone who would like to help is asked to send contributions to the “Bateman Aid Fund” that has been established by Calvary Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. Please send donations to Calvary Baptist Church, 2101 S. Davis, Arlington, Texas 76013. For more information, contact Pastor Jerry Phillips at (817) 275-7941 or (469) 964-4600 (cell). Thanks for your consideration in this need. (via Baptist Progress)

Help Needed For Family Of Former Missionary

ARCHIVES(Continued From Page 1)

cattle on a whole lot of hills before that happens!”

Thanks Several people have played a big part in seeing this dream come to pass, but the one who has worked the hardest is our son, Bobby Spriggs. He succeeded where many other IT (information technology) gurus and companies failed, and he is still working to maintain the security of the archive system. There is no way I could have afforded to pay some-one to spend the hours he has given on this project, and I will forever be grateful to him and proud of him. It was a labor of love for the Lord, the BMA (where he grew up) and his Mom. Thank you so much, Son. Several staff members, past and present, have also worked hard on this project —  Klint Silvey, Niki Zimmerman, Joyce Lowe, Hannah Lee, Marene Waters and Madelaine Priest. My husband, Pat, also donat-ed many hours of his time to scan in the back issues, and he stands ready to scan in any others that we might locate. Thank you all so much for ev-erything you’ve done to preserve the legacy of the Baptist Trumpet.

Confession Many of us would like to see into the future and know how certain situations will work out, but God knows that if He allowed that, we would probably be a whole lot less obedient. I confess that would’ve

probably been the case with me where the archives is concerned. Shortly after I became your editor in 2005, I knew God was leading me to preserve and make all of the back issues of the Trumpet available to any-one who is interested in the work of the BMA, and especially the BMA of Arkansas. What I didn’t know was that it would be a long and arduous process to complete the project. To be honest, there were many times I wanted to just throw in the towel and cry “uncle.” But God (there are those two words again!) knew it could be done and, using Bobby, He did it. Thank you, Lord!

So Check It Out! As wonderful as it is, the Archives is useless if you don’t use it, so: • Go to www.baptisttrumpet.com • Click on Archives • Type any word or phrase into the box “PDF Search.” • You can then choose a specific year (or all); and the order you’ll see the results of your search (i.e., show newest first or show oldest first) • Hit return and the list of related articles will appear • You can then click on the PDF of that issue and read and/or print out what you need. Of course, you can also just pick a year and look at any issue you choose. Keep in mind that some of the older issues were more difficult to scan, and it was harder to code them due to the quality of the type and the condition of the actual newspa-per. But the papers are there, and we hope you enjoy them!

-5- BAPTIST TRUMPET, August 19, 2015

Antioch, Conway, added two by baptism and four by letter. Dr. Jason Aultman, pastor. Antioch East, Magnolia, received two by letter and witnessed ten professions of faith. Ron Owen, pastor. Barbara Knight, reporter. Bethel, Forrest City, gained five by baptism. Marty Cantwell, pastor. Susan Sanders, reporter. Central, Trumann, added one by letter. Michael Willard, pastor. Tammy May, reporter. Charity, Ward, accepted three by baptism and three by letter. Keith Lewis, pastor. Denver Street, Greenwood, welcomed one by statement and three by letter. George Reddin, pastor. First, Magnolia, gained two by letter. Brent Summerhill, pastor.Foster’s Chapel, Searcy, accepted one by baptism (an 88 year-old gentleman). Jamie Barber, pastor. Hollye Sledge, reporter. Landmark, Hermitage, finished

VBS with 30 in attendance and witnessed one profession of faith. James Smith, pastor. Laneburg, Laneburg, received two by baptism. David Hampton, pastor. Park Place, Bryant, welcomed five by letter and two by baptism. Gary Lambright, pastor. Pleasant Valley, Greenbrier, received one by baptism. Virgil Porter, pastor.Unity, Hope, welcomed five by letter. Glen E. Tropp, pastor. Penny Ehrhardt, reporter. Big Creek, Soso, Miss., added two by baptism. Justin Rhodes, pastor.

Calvary Baptist Church, War-ren is seeking a full-time pastor. Contact (870) 226-6817 or 820-2021.

Send offerings to BMA MissionsP.O. Box 878 • Conway, AR 72033-0878501.455.4977 • www.bmamissions.org

MissionsSpo t l i gh t On

Jesse & Rebecca Hales • Dominican Republic In my last report, I told you about how God was reminding me that He is in control, even with the overwhelming list of things we all tend to have going on. I listed several big things that we needed to do in the next four weeks; now those four weeks have passed and God has answered prayer in ways we never expected. In fact, if we had to choose a theme for the last four weeks, it would be hard to choose between “God goes over the top with His answers” and “God answers before we even see the need.” One example of this is how our friend William (that Colton just loves) ac-tually rode down to the new house in the car with us during the move. This unplanned (God planned) act really helped Colton with the transition. Another example is how Rebecca was able to have so much great help when she took both boys back up to Nagua to help with their VBS while I went to Haiti. Isabel, a friend and Sunday School teacher from the Manoguayabo church, counted it a blessing to go with her and help her every step of the way. There are a lot more examples that I could give, but the point is this: God is faithful, even when the situation seems overwhelming to us. (missiondomini-can@hotmail.com)

DISTRICT CALENDAR

Arkansas Prairie Associa-tion, Fifth Sunday meeting, Aug. 28-29; Sunnyside, DeWitt. Mt. Vernon Brotherhood, Sept. 7, 6:30 p.m.; Fourth Street, West Helena. Jonesboro Brotherhood, Sept. 8, 6 p.m.; Fairview, Jones-boro. Central District Annual Meet-ing, Sept. 24, 9 a.m.; El Faro, Little Rock. Central WMA, Oct. 10, 10 a.m.; Charity Heights, Hot Springs. Jonesboro WMA, Oct. 10; Highland Hills, Highland. Central Brotherhood, Oct. 12; Landmark, England.

D e a t h sPauline Blevins, 96 of Nubbin

Hill Community, died Aug. 14. She had been a member of Missionary Grove Baptist Church for 85 years.

Lestal Mae Pulley Bruntzel, 81 of Jonesboro, died Aug. 14. She was a member of Ridgecrest Baptist Church.

Calling All Fishers of MenBy Paul White, Exec. Dir.

BMA of Arkansas Missions Fishers of Men includes anyone who wants to be a blessing to a missionary and those with whom they come in contact. Saturday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m., we will be gathering at Grace Pointe Mission, 22 Lakeforest Drive in Mayflower to assist one of our newest missionaries, B.J. Wright. I invite all who will to come and help us as we go throughout the community, spreading the news about the new mission and the good news of Jesus Christ. If you have not been on one of our endeavors, please come and we will put you with someone who has. These outings have proven to be as exciting for the Fishers as it is beneficial to the mission, and you won’t want to miss it. For more information, please contact us at the State Missions office. Our contact information can be found on page 7 of the Trumpet in the heading for our weekly column. It would be great to know about how many B.J. will need to prepare for, so please notify us if you plan to attend. Let’s make this the largest and most productive fishing trip thus far. We, as a group, can accomplish more in a few hours than one man alone can in a month. An old fisherman once told me the secret to catching fish. He said, “Boy, you have to keep your hook in the water!” I hope to see you in Mayflower.

-6- BAPTIST TRUMPET, August 19, 2015

The Jonesboro District Brother-hood met Aug. 11 at Herman in Bono, with 80 in attendance, rep-resenting 20 churches. The Broth-erhood was led singing, then were blessed with reports from our local missionaries and were excited to hear that the Lord is working and moving in each of these mission works: Sal Berumen of Neuva Esperanza (New Hope Mission) reported 11 salvations (8 adult and 3 children) and 3 rededications. •  Greg Clark of Victory Light-house in Bay reported 15 additions and they have a new youth leader. • Hershel Conley of The Bridge in Mountain Home reported their soup kitchen has been an awesome and very successful outreach for them. Robert “Bubba” Reese brought an exceptional and challenging message from John 4:3-4, inspiring us to man-ifest and be Jesus to all the world. Our next meeting will be at Fair-view in Jonesboro on Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. (Larry Knight, president; Gary Henderson, reporter)

Jonesboro Men Meet

Faustina, Hampton, Aug. 23-26, Sunday, 5 p.m.; week nights, 7 p.m.; Jim Moss, evangelist; Gene Boyette, pastor. Fellowship, Walnut Ridge, Aug. 28-30; Friday, 7 p.m.; Satur-day, Youth Rally, meal at 5 p.m., service at 6 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.; Travis Plumlee, evangelist; John Durham, pastor. The Bridge, Mountain Home, Sept. 13-16, Sunday, 6 p.m.; week nights, 7 p.m.; Paul White, evan-gelist; Hershel Conley, pastor. Okay Community, Saratoga, Sept. 14-18, 7 p.m.; Lane Garner, evangelist. Center Grove, Cord, Sept. 20-23, Sunday, 6 p.m.; week nights, 7 p.m.; Scott Small, evangelist; Charles Bullington, pastor. First North, Lewisville, Sept. 26-30, Saturday 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10:50 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.; week nights, 7 p.m.; Casey Curtis (Sat. and Sun.) and Eric Barbaree (Mon.-Wed.), evangelists. Dee Ruple, pastor. Cross Roads, Warren, Oct. 19–21, 7 p.m.; Ron Owens, evangelist; Sidney McGraw, pastor.

DIVORCE(Continued From Page 2)

are more likely than whites to say it is sinful to divorce when one spouse commits adultery — 45% compared to 36%. African Americans are most likely to believe divorcing over abuse is a sin. Almost half (47%) say yes, compared to 36% of whites and 32% of Hispanics. Only a quarter (26%) of African Americans say none of the reasons given are a sin, compared to 40% of whites and 37% of Hispanics. Pastors show similar racial differ-ences. African American pastors are more likely than others to see as sin a divorce over adultery (52%), abuse (47%) and abandonment (44%). Differences also exist between evangelical and mainline pastors. Evangelicals are more likely to be-lieve a divorce based on the couple no longer loving each other is a sin — 66% compared to 52%. They are also half as likely as mainline pastors to say none of the possibilities is sinful. Only 14% of evangelical pastors say that versus 28% of mainliners. “While most Protestant pastors view the sinfulness of divorce differ-ently based on the reason for the di-vorce, this sensitivity is lost on their members,” McConnell said. Methodology: The phone survey of Americans was conducted Sept.

The 2015 AR Ladies Retreat is coming up Sept 11-12 at Budd Creek Baptist Camp in Greer’s Ferry. Worship will be led by Jerene Reddin, and our speaker for the re-treat will be Vickie Arruda. Vickie is a biblical counselor and founder and president of Pure Joy International. She currently resides in Morrilton. Vickie has been counseling for 30 years, 22 of which have been strictly biblical counseling. In 1999, God gave Vickie a clear vision for ministering to missionary women overseas. Out of that vision, Pure Joy International was birthed. To date, Pure Joy International has ministered to missionary women in countries such as Senegal, Malawi, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Po-land, Uganda, Dominican Republic, Czech Republic, the Middle East, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Peru, Belize, Tanzania and Italy. Her heart is for God’s children to recog-nize that He has given us everything we need to walk in victory through the knowledge of His Word, the ac-ceptance and belief of His Word and obedience to His Word! For more information about Pure Joy International, please visit pure-joyinternational.org. The retreat will start at suppertime Friday, and end with lunch on Sat-urday. Pre-registration of $45 before Sept. 4 ($50 after that date) can be sent to Pat Duncan, P.O. Box 30, Hardy Ark. 72542. Although spon-sored by the Arkansas Women’s Mis-sionary Auxiliary, this retreat is for all ladies. The retreat center at Budd Creek has a new worship center, and if we can have 100 people register, we can use the new facility! So come and bring a friend with you!

Save The Date

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Marriage Conference

with Dr. Travis Plumlee, scheduled for Aug. 21-22 at Brister Baptist Church in

Emerson has been cancelled.

Marriage ConferenceCancelled

19-Oct. 5, 2014. The calling uti-lized random digit dialing — 60% of completes were among landlines and 40% among cell phones. Maximum quotas and slight weights were used for gender, region, age, ethnicity and education to more accurately reflect the population. The completed sample for all questions is 1,000 surveys. The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 3.5%. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. The phone survey of Protestant pastors was conducted Sept. 11-18, 2014. The calling list was a stratified random sample drawn from a list of all Protestant churches. Each interview was conducted with the senior pastor, minister or priest of the church called. Respons-es were weighted by region to more accurately reflect the population. The completed sample is 1,000 surveys. The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not ex-ceed plus or minus 3.1%. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. (Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news ser-vice of the Southern Baptist Con-vention.)

Free E-Trumpet Any BMA military personnel serving overseas is eligible to receive the E-Trumpet free. Send their name, rank, branch of service, email address and the date their deployment ends to P.O. Box 192208, Little Rock, Ark. 72219; or dspriggs1107@comcast.net.

Worrying doesn’t take away to-morrow’s troubles; it just takes away today’s peace.

“Some Christian colleges and uni-versities have begun to capitulate fol-lowing the U.S. Supreme Court’s de-cision to redefine marriage,” said Bob Kellogg in a OneNewsNow report. Hope College, Belmont Univer-sity, and Baylor University have all changed some policies to accommo-date homosexual students and em-ployees. Cultural analyst Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute says parents need to do some  ”serious investigating” before sending their children to what they believe is a conservative college that is theologi-cally orthodox. Reporting on Baylor (a private Baptist university), The Washington Post said its board of regents dropped the words “homosexual acts” and other sexual references from the school’s new sexual misconduct poli-cy. An official with the school told the Post the language was changed to reflect Baylor’s “caring community.”  The same story said Hope College in Michigan and Belmont in Nash-ville will provide benefits for same-sex couples following the Supreme Court decision. Belmont, a nondenominational school, will offer benefits to “all le-gally married couples,” a school spokesman told Christianity Today.  Higgins predicts that this is just the beginning and that other schools will undoubtedly do the same. (onenews-now.com)

Christian Schools “Falling In Line”

Crosses Continue ToCome Down In China“To the dismay of Christians in the area, Chinese authorities are con-tinuing a cross demolition campaign that began in 2014,” said Bill Bump-as in an Aug. 13 OneNewsNow re-port. It is believed that officials in the Zhejiang province are under a two-month deadline to remove crosses from thousands of churches.  Christopher Warner, the regional manager for Southeast Asia at Inter-national Christian Concern (ICC), tells OneNewsNow despite what the government says, he believes this is religious persecution. “They’re saying that it’s a safety concern in some cases,” Warner re-lays. “Sometimes it’s an architectural beatification issue, but frankly it looks like nothing more than intimi-dation and attempt to control the growing Christian Church influence in the region.” (onenewsnow.com)

Help For YourChurch Bylaws.

AllianceDefendingFreedom.org

-7- BAPTIST TRUMPET, August 19, 2015

Office Location: 10712 Interstate 30 • Little Rock, AR 72209 (501) 565-4601 • E-Mail: bmaofarkfrontdesk@gmail.comMailing Address: PO Box 195514, Little Rock, AR 72219

Director’s Email: arstamis@comcast.net

Missionaries Hershel Conley, The Bridge, Mountain Home; (870) 656-4080 Michael Hight, Hispanic Outreach, Little Rock; (501) 326-0198

Juan Carlos Posadas, Mission, North Little Rock; (501) 712-8752 Jim Tollison, Mustard Seed, Alma; (870) 370-3938

Jorge Vasquez, El Faro, Little Rock; (501) 575-2720 Chad White, Connection Point; Brookland; (870) 243-4683

BJ Wright, Grace Pointe, Mayflower; (501) 827-9665

www.bmaofarkansas.com Paul Whiteexecutive DirectorFacebook.com/ArkansasMissions

I have paused in my series of ar-ticles to share with you how God continues to bless your Missions De-partment. Your Missionary Advisory Committee and I made our annual visit to our current mission locations and were encouraged by all the good reports. It worked out this year that all six of the committeemen were able to make the trip. I know from experience how much the missionaries look for-ward to this visit. Please continue to pray for your missionaries across our state and all around the world.

Fishers of Men Saturday, Aug. 29 at 10 a.m., you are invited to join us in Mayflower as we will be gathering that day to help B.J. Wright and the Grace Pointe Mission. If you are not cur-rently participating in the Fishers of Men ministry, I encourage you to come and bring a van load. Working together, we can be a tremendous blessing to this new work. If you would like more details, please give me a call (501) 859-3329.

Silas Connection Since it’s conception, we have felt that the position of a Silas partner would create for us a seed bed for future missionaries. In fact, just this summer we were privileged to move Juan Carlos Posadas from a Silas partner at El Faro to missionary sta-tus working in North Little Rock. The new-est addition to the Silas min-istry is Char-lie Wagner, who will be serving under B.J. Wright in Mayflower. Brother Charlie is originally from Mississippi, and is a recent graduate of Central Baptist College in Conway.

From Our Missionaries Arkansas Hispanic Missions: Michael Hight writes, “I have had a blessed week! The early part of the week, I was able to spend some much needed time with my family. Even though our car broke down four times, we were able to fix it each time. “I returned on Friday, and on Sat-urday I went to Jonesboro with Bro. Sal as his church celebrated their an-

On the Road Again niversary. I praise God for Bro. Sal’s faithfulness. “I ask you to pray for me as I con-template the right timing to let Bro. Guilmar take over as pastor in Al-exander. I am really struggling with this decision because I have become so attached to this group. We finally got some good news on the family from Guatemala, and their paper-work has been completed. God has answered our prayers! “I have begun some extensive train-ing with some of our Hispanic breth-ren in Texas. I ask you to keep these trainings in your prayers. God bless.” Connection Point, Brookland: Chad White writes, “It has been a great week here at Connection Point. Monday, we helped host a Prayer Walk at Brookland School. We had an incredible turnout with hundreds in attendance. The walk encircled the campuses of Brookland and was around 1.2 miles in length. Along the way, signs were set up that contained Scripture and specific groups of people to pray for. We had many churches and pastors present. It was a huge success and God gets all the glory for it. “Saturday, we had a work and clean-up day at the church. We had several volunteers show up, and we got a lot of work done. The building is really starting to look great. “As far as progress on our building goes, the exterior is near completion. The sheetrock is finished and paint-ing will start this week. “Sunday, we had a wonderful day with several first-time guests. We also had a new addition to a family in our church by way of adoption. What a beautiful picture of the love of God that is revealed in this amazing pro-cess!” The Mustard Seed, Alma: Jim Tollison writes, “We enjoyed another good week at the mission. I enjoyed our visit with the State Mission’s Advisory Committee. They are al-ways so encouraging and helpful. I always enjoy this very special time of fellowship and the opportunity to share my vision for the mission work here in Crawford County. “Becky and I made several con-tacts last week, and invited several new people to come and worship with us. Some were very positive, and we feel that some of these could turn into first-time visitors. Please be praying for these contacts. “I have been preaching on cur-

rent events and how they relate to the second coming of Christ. It is the first time some of our folks ever heard that Jesus is coming again. As we look at the Bible, and they realize that it is relevant and as current as today’s newspaper, they are getting excited and are looking forward to the return of Jesus. “Thanks so much for your con-tinued support, both financially and prayerfully. And thank you for being our prayer partners and our friends. God bless you all.” The Bridge, Mountain Home: Hershel Conley writes, “Wednesday, the Master’s Blend Kitchen cooked BBQ Ham sandwiches and all the trimmings. We made 70 plus sand-wiches and watched the people eat while we gave them the real dessert — the Word of God. “Sunday morning, some were missing, preparing for ‘back to school’ this next week; but the Holy Spirit was here. We are getting ready for revival and I believe it has already started. Paul White will preach re-vival for us Sept. 13-16, and we are all excited and are praying every day. We stirred our hearts up to carry the message to the lost and are inviting them to come and be a part of our revival. We need revival, and we are not waiting for it to begin. “Our mission, as a whole, has promised one-by-one to help pray and get our hearts right to let the Lord revive us until we cannot pass anyone without telling them about

Jesus. We have plans to spread the news throughout Mountain Home about this life-changing event, and we ask you tenderly to pray that souls will be revived and souls will come to Jesus. Thank you for your prayers, and we love you all.” El Faro, Little Rock: Jorge Vasquez writes, “Thank God for the great privilege we have to meet on Sunday in our Mission Lighthouse and celebrate the grace and mercy of God. We worshiped with testimoni-als, sharing the good news of salva-tion and reflecting on His powerful Word that gives us strength in our spiritual life. “Yesterday, we had over 85 people praising our God and 2 people gave their lives to Christ. Thanking God, we pray that they will grow firm in faith through discipleship. “We also took the time to pray for our children going back to school and recalled that those responsible for educating our children are the parents, not the school. At school, they give them knowledge; but building their character should be taught in the home. Please continue to pray for us and our ministry.” Grace Pointe, Mayflower: Wil-liam (B.J.) Wright writes, “We have had another busy and amazing week here in Mayflower at Grace Pointe. Monday was school registra-tion for our kids. They are excited to meet some new friends here in May-flower. We are also super excited to announce that we will be working with the school in launching an af-ter school tutoring program at Grace Pointe beginning in October. This is going to be a huge way to meet more families and meet a need of our com-munity. “Tuesday, the Missionary Advi-sory Committee stopped by to check on our progress and visit with us. I am very thankful to have men who not only are excited about what we are doing and support it, but also share their experience and wisdom. “Speaking of wisdom and knowl-edge, I spent a few days this week at

the BMA office in Conway, going through an amazing DCPI training on the systems of a church with Todd West and Larry Barker. We finished up our week on Sunday with a les-son on trusting God when things fall apart or look hard. “In our small group Bible Study, we are going through ‘Recovering Redemption’ by Matt Chandler. This was a much-needed lesson in some people’s lives in our group as some are facing tough things right now. May we all trust God more and more each day, even when things get difficult. “Continue to pray for us and pray for the Fishers of Men as they come and visit to help us reach our com-munity on Aug. 29. If you are inter-ested in joining them, please don’t hesitate to contact Bro. Paul or me. Thanks friends and God bless.” North Little Rock Mission: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “This week David and Michelle Velasquez joined the English Class. Little by little, we are receiving more students. “Monday night, the men went fishing at the Arkansas River. We did not catch anything, but we had a good time of fellowship. “Saturday night, we went bowling and had about 15 people and had a very fun night. We met Susie and her two daughters. They seemed in-terested in visiting the church. Please pray that God will give us grace to win them and that we can integrate them into our meetings. “During Sunday services, we con-tinue studying the book of Colos-sians, this time studying the portion contained between verses 2:16 to 3:4. It is proving to be a blessing to us all.”

NeedPrinting?

Trumpet Printingcan help. Call(501) 565-0479

-8- BAPTIST TRUMPET, August 19, 2015

Excuse me AmericaThis is Tissue

This is NOT!In fact an unborn baby’s heart begins to beat at 18 days.

At 40 days she has measurable brain waves.The baby parts of an unborn child’s aborted body should

not be sold to the highest bidder.Please join us if you agree.

P.O. Box 1697 • Little Rock, AR 72203 artl4237@att.net • www.artl.org

Dear Editor: I am the pastor of New Hope Bap-tist Church in New Waverly, Texas, and I believe that the key to revival is getting the church (that’s Christians) to see how backslidden we really are. We tend to think the problem is the lost who are dominating our culture. We blame DC, Hollywood and lib-

From the

Mailbox

Opinions expressed in the Mailbox Column are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent those of the editor or the churches of the BMA. All letters are subject to editorial review and editing. Letters for the column should clearly indicate they are for publication. Please include a daytime phone number and the name and location of your church. Letters should be no longer than two to three pages, double-spaced, 12 pt. type or larger. Letters are accepted by mail, fax or e-mail. All letters must include the name and address of the writer, which will be published.

Baptist TrumpetP.O. Box 192208

Little Rock, Ark. 72219-2208e-mail: dspriggs1107@comcast.net

Heartchange

erals in general. That seems to make sense on the surface, but the Bible teaches that when God’s people live lives that please Him, they will be the head, not the tail. Well, I’ve got new for you — we are the tail. I know the lost people are worse, but we can’t compare ourselves to them. God holds His people to a higher standard. Lost people will al-ways be as selfish as they can person-ally justify. That’s their nature. Christians have strayed far, and the worst part is that we don’t even seem to know it. This is truly the age of the church of Laodicea, and I feel strongly called to sound the alarm in any way that God may make avail-able. This would be a prophetic min-istry aimed primarily at the church. I have been offered a half hour ra-dio spot on 100.7 KKHT in Hous-ton, Texas, and have done a 15 min-ute rough cut demo program with them, which they felt has great po-tential. The program is scheduled to begin airing at 8 p.m., Aug 22, just two weeks from today. It would cost $100 a week, and the total is $2,600 for a 6-month contract. Walking through this door will de-pend on how God answers through the financial provision. If you feel led to partner in this endeavor, you can send a tax-deductible check to New Hope Baptist Church, 3400 FM

2693 W, New Waverly, Texas 77358. Please put “Heartchange” the name of the show in the memo. Whatever you decide. let’s work to restore our country before God’s judgment has to take us down even further. Thank you for your time. —  Jim Nimmons, jim4jesus@live.com; www.1newhope.com

Beautiful Daughter of God Girls Sleepover, Shady Grove, Piggott; Aug. 21 at 6:30 p.m.; Girls, 6th-12th grade. Dr. Brian Sheppard, testimony and singing; Aug. 22, 6 p.m.; Charity Heights, Hot Springs. Ashley Montgomery Benefit Concert featuring Jeff & Sheri Eas-ter, Aug. 28, 7 p.m., Valley View Fine Arts Center, 2118 Valley View, Jonesboro Tribute Quartet Gospel Con-cert, Aug. 28, 7 p.m., Westside at Jacksonville, love offering taken. Southern Gospel Convention, Aug. 29, 5 p.m., featuring Broken

Vessel, Heaven’s Echo’s, Velvet Ridge, NHim; Mike Goodwin, emcee; Jerry Jolly, speaker; Highland Hills, Highland. The Talley’s Concert, Aug. 29, 6 p.m.; Harmony, Stuttgart, love of-fering taken. Arkansas Quartet Concert, Sept. 5, 5 p.m., meal, 6 p.m., con-cert; love offering taken; Faustina, Hampton. The Larry Nelson Family Gos-pel Concert, Sept. 12, 6 p.m., Lake-side, Newport. Living Proof Live Simulcast, Sept. 12, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., doors open at 8 a.m. for early worship; tickets: $25; Unity, Hope. The Baddour Center presents “The Miracles”, Sept. 12, 4 p.m.; The Miracles are home to adults with intellectual disabilities who travel across the U.S. to praise God through music; Prospect, Jonesboro. The Kinsmen, Sept. 12, 6 p.m.;

Cross Roads, Warren. CBC Mustang Golf Classic, Sept. 14; The Greens at Nutter’s Chapel. CBC Day, Sept. 20. BMA of Arkansas, Nov. 5–6; Central Baptist College; Conway. Ark. Galilean Fall Fellowship, Dec. 4–5; Camp Beaverfork; Conway.

homecomings Faustina, Hampton, Aug. 23, 11 a.m.; lunch at the church; Mike Colvin, message; Gene Boyette, pastor. Okay Community, Saratoga, 69th anniversary, Sept. 13, 10 a.m., lunch at the church. Prospect, Jonesboro, 75th anni-versary, Sept. 27, 10 a.m., Lunch at the church, NHim concert in the afternoon. Paul White and Randy Lingenfelter, speakers; Mike Book, pastor.