www.msbaptist.orgAugust 1, 2019 VOL. 73 NO. 15

JOURNAL OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

Endowed Scholarship To Be Established atBMA Seminary honoring Bro. Grover Laird“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of doublehonour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine”. 

- 1Timothy 5:17

Labour in Word and Doctrineby Don Brown, editor

In writing to Timothy the Apostle Paul addressed a number ofissues, but one that sticks out to me in I Timo-thy 5 is when Paul indicates that those that ruleor do well are worthy of ‘double honour’. He thenadds the statement, “especially those who labourin the word and doctrine”.

There are many men who would certainly fallinto that second category. We all know faithfulmen who have ministered the word faithfully. Isay to you that Bro. Grover Laird was one ofthose men.

I am not sure of exactly what Paul meant by‘double honour’. It could mean to ‘hold in very high esteem’, andaccording to some it could mean to ‘pay them a little more’. (In thenext verse Paul seems to address the issue of compensation). Wewill understand it in eternity, but surely it means that someonewho has faithfully preached the Word and held to Biblical Doctrineas delivered to us through His Word should be acknowledged fortheir faithfulness.

Rev. Grover Laird

continued on page 4

Baptist Publishing House is excited to sharesome great news with you! We have had a verystrong start and are already seeing orders for thefall quarterly come in via our new, easy-to-use

website (baptistpublishinghouse.com). We havebeen encouraged to see some churches who havenot ordered BMA material in several years re-turn to us. We have also seen many churchesincrease their orders. This is very encouragingand we would like to thank our churches for their

overwhelming support.We are looking forward to shipping out our new

Bible study quarterly, the “Baptist Expositor,”this fall. This curriculum is going to provide ourchurches a great deal of flexibility. In addition tothe traditional lesson format, students and teach-ers alike will have Bible study helps within thebooks to help them prepare throughout the weekleading up to class time. The “Baptist Expositor”is designed to be used for all age groups, fromseventh grade to senior adult.

Another exciting thing to share is that printedchildren’s materials are back! We are offeringcurriculum for ages two through sixth grade.Teacher books will help leaders prepare and teachthe weekly lessons, while the student books willbe full-color and include activities to help chil-dren learn God’s Word.

If you would like to ensure that your church isusing BMA curriculum, give us a call at 1-800-333-1442 or visit our website:baptistpublishinghouse.com.Baptist Publishingn House Staff

Upcoming Sunday School Teacher WorkshopMidway First Baptist Church

Sumrall, MississippiAugust 24, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Publishing House News & Updates

Missions, Missionaries, & Misconceptionsby John MeriweatherDirector of Operations

BMA AmericaOne clear memory from grow-

ing up in church was Sundayevening slide shows from visit-ing missionaries. Pictures of thepeople, the culture and, ofcourse, the church services fromfar-away places. Those memo-ries shaped most of what I knewand thought about missionar-ies.

A few years ago I had an op-portunity to go to work at theBaptist Missionary Association,where I now have a front rowseat to the reality of global mis-sions. My narrow view of mis-sions and missionaries has beensubstantially changed as I’vehad a chance to walk hand inhand with missionaries fromaround the world.

As with most things in life,perspective is often shaped by

the degree to which we person-alize something. In all honesty,missions was this distant activ-ity performed BY distant peopleFOR distant people. It all justseemed “foreign” to me – foreigncountries, foreign cultures, andforeign religions.

To see and hear missionariestell their stories seemed almostmysterious. I really couldn’trelate; therefore, I gave it verylittle thought.

August 2019 - Final MonthSoutheastern Baptist College Special Emphasis

In the last few years my per-spective has changed, mostlybecause I’ve been able experi-ence mission work and mission-aries on a more personal level.

I’ve enjoyed meals and fel-lowship with brothers and sis-ter in Christ from different coun-tries.

I’ve developed relationships,visited different countries, andshared in local ministries.

I’ve taught Bible classes with

an interpreter.I’ve learned from missionary

leaders that have served andnow lead our efforts to extendour missionary footprint.

My perspective of missionsand missionaries has changedfrom something foreign and dis-tant to something close and per-sonal. Along the way my con-

Mission work in Romania

continued on page 3

2 August 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

Missions Department &Revolving Loan Fund

State Missionaries, Coaches & Coordinators and Wives

www.bmams.org - 601.428.8616Larry Geraldson

Director Wesley & HolleyMartin

Phillip & DawnBurns

Jason and KylieHoward

Estuardo &Yasmine Marroquin

Ed & PatriciaDuVall

Johnny & Neta Williams

Sidney & BeckyFarmer

Kenneth & CarolePollock

“Look unto me, and be ye saved,all the ends of the earth: for I amGod, and there is none else.”Isaiah 45:22

January 6, 1850, CharlesHaddon Spurgeon ducked intoa small chapel, in Colchester,England, to get out of the cold.With only 15 people present,the Preacher read from this textin Isaiah 45 and began to preacha simple message entitled, “Lookand Live”. God used that simplemessage to bring the revelationof the gospel to the heart of ayoung man who would later becalled the “Prince of Preachers.”In his lifetime, he would oftenpreach to audiences of thou-sands. His writings and hissermons live on, influencing theunnumbered masses. His storyinspires me to remember thatour work has unlimited poten-tial and the influence of the gos-pel is uninhibited.

We have a fine group of mis-sionaries and they consistentlypreach the gospel and reach outto new people. Each week theyreceive new people into theirservices, never knowing if theymay one day be preaching to thenext Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Our Recent RevolvingLoan Trustee Meeting

On July 22, 2019, the Trust-ees of the Revolving Loan Fundmet at the Missions Complex.They discussed and approvedour proposed annual budget forthe next fiscal year. After aninspiring devotional from Bro.Greg Medenwald, Pastor ofMagnolia Baptist Church inHattiesburg, the Trusteesmoved directly into handling thebusiness before them. They rati-fied the previous approval of twotelephone loan requests andapproved another. Afterwards,they were given a full missionsbriefing by myself and chal-lenged with a number of initia-tives that had previously beenreported to the Association. Bro.Newman presented an updateon loans that are pending, which

now total $5,305,000.00, and$2,420,000.00 in prospectiveloans which will likely materi-alize between now and theSpring of 2020. We emphasizedour need for an additional$1,750,000.00 in new depositsto meet the demands of theseupcoming loans. So, we are inneed of additional money/depos-its to help meet the demand ofthese loans. Our current rate ofreturn to our shareholder ac-counts is 2.25%. If your churchhas a cemetery fund or a build-ing fund or savings account, notyet on deposit with us, pleaseconsider setting up an accountwith us. If you need more infor-mation, please contact our of-fice at 601-428-8616.

MissionaryCommittee Meeting

On July 23, 2019, the Mis-sionary Committeemen gath-ered at the Missions Complex toreview ongoing Missions activ-ity and to interview a new mis-sionary candidate. A new mis-sionary was approved to begin 1September 2019. We will beproviding you more informationabout this in upcoming issues.The Committee reviewed andapproved the proposed budgetfor the 2019-2020 fiscal year.They approved an across theboard raise in the current sal-ary and benefits package formissionaries of 5%. They alsoapproved the implementation ofa three-tiered system, as it re-lates to the salaries and ben-efits package, to allow us to giveconsideration for experience andeducation when a missionarycomes onboard. The committeeapproved an initiative whichwould allow the Missions De-partment, under the directionof the Director, to serve as aGuarantor to the RevolvingLoan Department for mission-aries applying for loans to pur-chase housing. The committeealso approved a recommenda-tion to join the Revolving LoanFund in contributing, from pro-

ceeds received when property issold, to the scholarship fund toassist Pastors, Preachers, andMissionaries with assistance intheir pursuit of continued edu-cation. All of these initiativeswhere able to be addressed with-out taking one penny from theoperational funds of Missions.We continue to improve our effi-ciency and in our meeting weshared our strategy for reach-ing a place where 100% of fundsreceived for our missionarieswould go out the door to ourmissionaries. God has blessedour Missions program and weare very grateful. I continue tohave discussions with otherswho have shown an interest inchurch planting. Please keepus in your prayers as we meet.

Audit around the CornerAugust is audit time for us.

We will be preparing for theteam of auditors to arrive thesecond week of August. Theywill be in our office for the entireweek combing over our books.We are confident that we willhave another good year withboth Missions and the Revolv-ing Loan Fund, finishing thebudget year in the black. Praisethe Lord!

Annual LocalAssociation Meetings

From August to September,we will be attending annualmeetings of our local associa-tions, all across the State. Manymeet at the same time and wehave to split up to attend asmany as we can. We hope to seeyou there and look forward tothe opportunity to possiblyshare a brief report about howGod is blessing our Missionsand Revolving Loan Fund De-partment.

Former Revolving LoanFund Trustee Passed Away

Bro. Robert Burkes of Leba-non Baptist Church at Soso, re-cently passed away. Bro. Rob-ert served a number of terms asa Revolving Loan Fund Trustee

and was very supportive of ourRLF and Missions Department.We are grateful for his serviceand he will be sorely missed.

Just for your InformationOur website is currently be-

ing migrated to a new host andis not working properly. We

Missions Help MissionsBro. Sidney Farmer, Missionary Coach and Pastor of South

Forrest Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, and a group from SouthForrest, traveled to Batesville to help Missionary Kenneth Pollock

and the folks at Midway Baptist Mission with Vacation BibleSchool. They had 14 children present each night and 50 people forthe closing service. Many new contacts were made, and some havealready attended Sunday services. Bro. Farmer and the folks fromSouth Forrest are to be commended for this selfless act of serviceto help one of our missions.

will let you know when it is upand running properly. We aresorry for the inconvenience. Ifyou are looking for informationabout our churches or men whoare available to preach, pleasedon’t hesitate to give us a call at601-428-8616.

Contact BMA Foundation Executive DirectorCharles Attebery

for more information.charles@bmaamerica.org or cell 501-472-2183

A Gift That Keeps GivingGifts to the BMA Foundation are never spent.

They are invested and the earnings benefitBMA departments annually until the Lord returns.

Some Ways to Give - Cash - Stocks and bonds -Life insurance policies IRA Rollovers - Bequests

3August 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

MississippiBaptistChildren'sHome

118 Lowe Road, Laurel, Mississippi 39443 - (601) 426-3928Dwight Lindsey - Director

Lindsey

Fostering Faith...in persistent prayer:The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write many things. One of his

shortest statements that packs a mighty punch is, “pray withoutceasing.” I expressed thankfulness for the answers to prayer Godhad given in my last article. My thankfulness has not changed, butmy prayers have changed. We are getting closer to the end of oursummer projects and this brings our priority back into focus.

We are working hard to put our service in front of those who mayneed us. We are still meeting with individuals, churches, andsocial workers trying to find children & families in need. We askthat you join us in prayer for these families and children as we lookto the perseverance found in the examples of God’s people. Abraham& Sarah, Jacob & Rachel, Elkanah & Hannah, and Zacharias &Elizabeth all had to wait on God’s timing for their children. We areactively waiting now for what God has coming our way.I want to encourage you to encourage us in this time. It has beena joy this summer to see the house filled with children working onprojects. It gives us a glimpse of hope into what the Home will oneday look like. We can’t see your prayers, but when you prayspecifically for the Home and our future children, let us know. Giveus a call, send us a text message, write an email, reach out throughFacebook. Knowing you are praying with us gives us great strengthand patiencePlease contact us if you would like for us to come to your church inSeptember, October or beyond. Contact the office (601-426-3928),our Facebook page, or my cell phone (662-605-0996). Stay on thelookout for updates, prayer needs, and service opportunities.

cept of missions has not onlybeen clarified but it has alsofundamentally reshaped theentire perspective of my ownfaith and my own purpose.

So what have I learned bywitnessing missions up closeand personal?

Missions begins as“faith in action” at home.

Missionaries are united intheir love for Christ and theirdesire to make Jesus known to

people. This is the foundation ofmissions. The effectiveness of amissionary is tied to this foun-dation.

All the missionaries I knowwere effective ambassadors forChrist before they ever thoughtof going to a foreign field. Theirmissionary heart was developedby first displaying faith in ac-tion at home.

The “process” of missions isvital to the success and longev-

ity of the missionary.The gap between deciding to

become a missionary and hav-ing an effective in-country min-istry is vast. There is so muchmore to the process than I ever

imagined.Missionaries go through ex-

tensive assessment, readinessevaluation, and training. Thereare site visits and ministry plansto be established, logistics to firm

up, and supportto be raised.There is an en-tire life to uproot,a new culture toassimilate into, anew language tolearn, and newrelationships tobe formed.

The gap be-tween decidingto become a mis-sionary and

working with your first discipleis likely years in the making –not weeks or months.

Missionariesare “normal” people

Your first inclination may beto classify missionaries as pas-tors or preachers or whateverconcept you have of vocationalministers. This is often not thecase.

The simple, common denomi-

nator of a missionary is a heartto connect people with Christ.Many use a vocational skill liketeaching to assimilate into theircountry and build relationships.

Some offer medical services.

Some start schools or per-haps an orphanage.

They use whatever avenuesare available to build relation-ships with people that allow op-portunities to share Christ.

Missions is about“giving away” ministry.

The question each mission-ary must ask is, “How will thegospel carry on when I’m gone?”Ministry avenues (schools,medical clinics, Bible colleges,churches) vary, but the goal of amissionary must besustainability of local ministryled by local people to reach localpeople.

The balance ofmissionaries are notfrom the United States.

Say what? The traditional,missionary paradigm is some-one from the U.S. going to aforeign country. United Statesmissionaries are who and whatwe know.

For the most part, U.S. mis-sionaries serve as catalysts fora much larger missionary move-ment led by people we may never

Missions, Missionaries, & Misconceptionscontinued from front page

It all just seemed “foreign” to me – foreign countries, foreign cultures, and foreign religions.

meet.Did you know that within

BMA Missions there are almostten times more non-U.S. mis-sionaries than US missionar-ies? This is the intent and goalof a mission movement – trainlocal disciples to lead local min-istries and plant local churches.

These “local” missionaries(commonly called national mis-sionaries) are the output of ourglobal missions movement. Ifthe goal is to give away minis-try, who are we giving it to?Local missionaries that committheir lives to spreading the gos-pel in their own countries.

Sending missionaries is notconfined to the United States.

It’s natural for us to be U.S.centric in our way of thinkingabout missions. When we stoplooking at missions through amicroscope and start seeing itthrough a telescope the biggergoal and impact of missionscomes into focus.

It is both refreshing and in-credibly exciting when you cometo learn how missionaries arebeing sent from country to coun-try all around the world. Con-sider this small sample in ourown work at BMA Missions:

We have a Mexican mission-ary to Columbia, a Nicaraguanmissionary to Cuba, a Philip-pine missionary to Hong Kong,a Costa Rican missionary toPeru, and the list goes on.

Maybe, like me, your view ofmissions is limited because yourexposure has been limited. Mis-sionaries are incredible people.Their burden for people isgreater than their fear and dis-comfort.

They will tell you they didn’tchoose to go to a foreign coun-try. They simply chose to followChrist - the country was second-ary. The choice to sacrifice thecomforts of home exists becausethey have such great love forChrist.

And to a person, the best mis-sionaries will tell you that thesacrifices they make pale in com-parison to the joy they experi-ence in knowing that others arecoming to Christ. This is thegreat lesson of missions:

For missions to be real it mustfirst become personal. To bearound missionaries is to be con-victed. What sacrifice am I will-ing to make, what loss am Iwilling to suffer, what risk am Iwilling to take for the cause ofChrist?

Dr. Charley HolmesGuest Lecturer

PresidentBaptist Missionary Association

Theological Seminary

Announcing2019 Danny Pitts Lecture Series

August 19, 20, 21, 20197:00 PM each night

Southeastern Baptist College Campus4229 Highway 15 North, Laurel, Mississippi

601-426-6346

Lecture TopicsAugust 19 - History of AssociationsAugust 20 - The Doctrine of Scriptural Sufficiency & AssociationsAugust 21 - Biblical Foundations for Associational Functions

Dr. Charley Holmes

4 August 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

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 postagepaid at Hattiesburg, MS 39402.

Postmaster:Send address changes toMississippi Baptist Paper

P.O. Box 8181, Laurel, MS39441

Journal of the Baptist MissionaryAssociation of Mississippi

Don BrownEditor

Grover Laird was certainlyfaithful to God and His Wordand preached it faithfully forover 70 years. That being un-derstood, with the endorsementof Mrs. Ester Laird and theirfour daughters and family, anendowed scholarship at the

Grover Laird Endowed Scholarshipfrom Front Page

Grover Laird Endowed ScholarshipTo BMA Theological Seminary

Jacksonville, Texas

An endowed scholarship is being established to honor thememory and ministry of Bro. Grover Laird. Bro. Laird served theLord for over 70 years as pastor, evangelist,prison ministry worker and a number of oth-ers areas. He published the Revivalist News-paper and shared it at no charge for a numberof years.

Bro. Laird had a lasting impact on the livesof so many and was a faithful worker andpreacher of the Gospel.

Donations are being requested and re-ceived to fund this scholarship. This is beingdone with the endorsement of the Laird Family and Dr. CharleyHolmes, president of the BMA Theological Seminary.

Donation

Name ____________________________________________

Church____________________________________________

Address___________________________________________

City______________________________________________

State___________________________ Zip_______________

Phone ____________________________________________

Amount Given or Pledged $___________________________

Send donations to the address below and made payable to:Grover Laird Scholarship

c/o Don BrownP.O. Box 8181, Laurel, MS 39441Call 601-426-3293 for More Information

All donations will be acknowledged and the fund will beunder the management of the BMA Theological Seminary

Rev. Grover Laird

BMA of America TheologicalSeminary in Bro. Grover Laird’sname is being established. Dr.Charley Holmes, president ofthe Seminary, is in full agree-ment and endorses this effort.

An endowed scholarship isone that funds donated are never

spent and the interest is used tohelp a deserving BMA ofAmerica affiliated preacher withtheir education. The amount ofthe help will depend upon thetotal amount given. This efforthas begun and has already re-ceived the first $1,000.00. A goalof $50,000 is not out of reach.Only the Lord knows how largeit will be eventually.

Bro. Laird pastored a num-ber of churches across the BMAof America, preached hundredsof revivals, had a prolific jailministry, taught through anumber of radio programs, andled many to faith in Christ. Hewas an example and inspirationto many, especially his fellowpreachers of the Word. It is withthis thought that we are asking

all of the churches of the BMA ofAmerica to consider donating tothis worthy cause. Many of ourchurches could easily match thefirst $1,000. Each preacher andminister in the BMA of Missis-sippi and America is encour-aged to make a personal dona-tion.

Those who were saved underBro. Laird’s ministry, or whowere blessed by his preachingand teaching, are encouraged tomake a personal donation. Byhelping a ministerial studentwith their education throughthis effort, this scholarshipwould be extending the minis-try of Bro. Laird. This will be ablessing to a deserving student

and would honor Grover Lairdand his lifetime of ministry. Itwill speak of him as Hebrews11:4 speaks of Abel, “...and by ithe being dead yet speaketh.”

To make a donation, send acheck to Don Brown, P.O. Box8181, Laurel, MS 39441 andmake it payable to “Grover LairdScholarship”. Each donor willbe recognized and the funds willbe invested and handled by theBMA Seminary in Jacksonville,Texas. Candidates will be rec-ommended by Seminary person-nel and approved by the Lairdfamily.

Your support is vital. Yourdonation and help is deeply ap-preciated.

New Team Leader at National Missions OfficeEli Brito Semedo, a former missionary, is the newteam leader at the BMAA Missions Office. “We cer-tainly are appreciative of all that Paige West did inthis role for the past five years and we are going tomiss her,” said Dr. John David Smith, BMAA Mis-sions executive director. “We are thankful for theaddition of Eli in this position. His unique gifted-ness, along with the fact that he has served on theinternational mission field, make him a great fit for

this ministry. Eli and his wife, Ana have two girls, Liana (7) andAliyah (3), and are members at Antioch Baptist Church in Conway.”

God Delights In Answering Our Prayersby Bro. Grover Laird

"Call unto me, and I will answerthee, and shew thee great andmighty things, which thouknowest not." (Jeremiah 33:3)

This encouragement to praythat was given by our HeavenlyFather should excite all of us. Itreally does sound good when weremember that our Father "can-not lie," (Titus 1:2) and that He"is able to do exceeding abun-dantly above all that we ask orthink."(Ephesians 3:20) It alsoencourages us to know that Heis all-wise and will answer inthe best way, (II Corinthians12:7-9) and in the best time.(Luke 1:13)

In this little message I wantto encourage all of us to have agreater faith in prayer by men-tioning some of the manyprayers that our Heavenly Fa-ther has answered.

When Israel was hurting un-der the bondage of Egypt theycried to God for help. Though Hewaited until a multitude ofprayers had gone up to Heaven,He answered their prayers.Surely all of those prayers af-fected what God did in Egypt, inthe wilderness, and in Canaan.In His own way and time, Godanswered a lot of prayers forIsrael.

When Joshua was fightingfive of the kings of the Amorites

he needed some more time inthat day. He therefore com-manded the sun to stand still,and God caused it to stand stillfor about a day. (Joshua 10:12)Joshua needed help then andGod answered then.

In the days of the Judges,God brought Israel under bond-age to the Moabites for eighteenyears because of their sins - "Butwhen the children of Israel criedunto the Lord, the Lord raisedthem up a deliverer, Ehud theson of Gera...." (Judges 3:15)Sounds like they could have gothelp sooner had they prayedsooner.

Samuel was born in answerto the prayer of Hannah. (ISamuel 1) God waited in an-swering this prayer untilHannah promised to give himback to the Lord all the days ofhis life. God may wait in an-swering some of ours prayersuntil we make some needed com-mitments

Elijah prayed for fire to fallfrom Heaven and it fell. (I Kings18:36-38) He prayed later thatday for water from Heaven andit came. (I Kings 18:42-45) Godwill do great things when righ-teous men pray earnest prayers.(James 5:16-18) But surely Goddidn't answer those prayers tomagnify Elijah. They were nodoubt answered to meet Israel’s

need of food and a revival.(IKings 18:39)

Jabez prayed for severalthings and got them all. TheBible said, "And Jabez called onthe God of Israel, saying, O thatthou wouldest bless me indeed,and enlarge my coast, and thatthine hand might be with me,and that thou wouldest keep mefrom evil, that it may not grieveme! And God granted him thatwhich he requested.” (1Chronicles 4:10) Jabez mighthave got his desire for materialblessings because of his strongdesire for the Spiritual.

Asa and Jehoshaphat wonvictories over armies muchlarger than they had, in answerto prayer. (II Chronicles14:11;20:12) Hezekiah had hislife extended fifteen years, inanswer to prayer. (Isaiah 38:1-5) Nehemiah was able to returnto his homeland, rebuild a walland move reproach from Israel,in answer to months of earnestpraying. (Nehemiah 1) TheJerusalem church prayed andsaw multitudes of souls saved,experienced God's power sostrong until the buildingtrembled, and caused an angelto free Peter from prison thenight before he was to be ex-ecuted.

If our churches were moreGodly, prayed more earnestly,exercised more faith, and spentmore time praying, we wouldsee greater things from Heavenalso. This I verily believe.

Semedo

5August 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

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

Southeastern Baptist College Serving ChristWith A Biblical World ViewIn A Christian Atmosphere

Dr. Scott CarsonPresident

President’s Perspective“Let every one of us please

his neighbour for his good toedification.” Romans 15:2

As I make my way around thegreat state of Mississippi,preaching at our churches andvisiting local association meet-ings, I am always encouragedby the number of people who areeager to tell me that they enjoyreading the Southeastern Bap-tist College reports in the Mis-sissippi Baptist. “Y’all’s” com-ments encourage me a greatdeal! Sometimes I wonder ifwriting this article every twoweeks has any impact and youhave confirmed that it does in-deed!

One would think that, be-cause we are between classesduring these summer monthswe could take time to relax, takevacations, and enjoy a slowerpace of life.That could notbe fartherfrom thetruth! Thestaff and Imay actuallywork ourhardest in thes u m m e rmonths. Weare busy tack-ling important administrativeissues with long meetings fol-lowed by writing required docu-

ments for accreditation and re-vision of policies and procedures.We are also addressing themyriad of prospective studentinquiries, while the other staffmembers are on the road re-cruiting. In addition, we aremoving forward with renova-tions and repairs. These activi-ties make for long days withsome of us working all day onSaturday as well!

Now, I’m not complaining! Infact, it’s just the opposite. I amrejoicing in the work we have toaccomplish because the Lord isproviding and leading us towarda blessed future for SBC. Plansare coming together and reno-vations and repairs are pro-gressing. There is activity in

every corner of the campus. Andthe best news is, the studentpopulation for the Fall Semes-ter is looking very promising!

Please keep us in your prayersas we approach registrationweek. As I write this article FallRegistration is only 8 days away!Registration is August 5ththrough the 8th, 8:30 a.m. to 3p.m. each day. The night of Au-gust 8, we will have our FallFaculty In-service Meetingwhere we discuss the changesin policy and procedures, andaddress any faculty concerns. Ifyou are considering takingclasses at SBC, now is the timeto contact us. Classes beginAugust 12.

On August 9, we will be hav-

Southeastern Baptist College welcomes to our leadershipstaff as Dean of Student Affairs, Mrs. Anderle Foster. Mrs.Foster is a native of Jones County, the wife of Tim Foster, andblessed to be the mother of three wonderful daughters. TempleBaptist Church of Laurel is her home church where, as adeacon’s wife, she serves the Lord in many capacities. Mrs.Foster teaches a ‘teen’ Sunday schoolclass, assists in the student music min-istries program, and is an active pianist.Being actively involved in the work ofthe Lord is a high priority in her life.

Mrs. Foster has lived in the Sharoncommunity most of her life. She is a WestJones High School graduate and holdsadvanced degrees from the University ofSouthern Mississippi and William CaryUniversity, has National Board Certifi-cation credentials in education, andserved as the Supervising Principal ofNorth Jones Elementary. Mrs. Fosterretired this year from the Jones County School District, bringingwith her thirty years of experience.

As Dean of Student Affairs, Mrs. Foster will be working withstudents, both on campus and online, focusing on building theirspiritual knowledge and strengthening their walk with theLord. As such, Dean Foster will be reaching out to many of thelocal churches for support, encouragement, and guidance forthese young people. “The traditional foundation of Southeasternis designed to build and prepare students to become ministersand missionaries. That focus remains an integral part of ourschool mission, as we broaden the ministry dynamics thatincludes focused ministry in evangelism and discipleship di-rectly to our student body who may be in pursuit of other careerpaths as the Lord leads them. What a wonderful opportunity Godhas laid before the BMA of Mississippi!’’ said Mrs. Foster. “Withmuch prayer, collaboration, hard work, and support from theBMA of Mississippi, and other churches in the area, Southeast-ern will once again be the hub of Christian ministry preparation,as well as an outlet for God to touch many students whootherwise may have never known the Lord”.

You are encouraged to call or come by the school to see the newand exciting programs we are putting in place to make thisvision a reality. “God has a plan for Southeastern Baptist Collegethat is bigger than anything we could imagine. We are theChargers and we are charging toward the goal that God has putbefore us. I would like to encourage the churches of the BMA tostand united with your college and give it your full support!”exclaimed Mrs. Foster.

ing a parent student Orienta-tion Day. We are very excitedabout this event and believe itwill help our new students andtheir parents have a successfulstart to their Southeastern Bap-tist College educational experi-ence. Our new Dean of StudentAffairs, Anderle Foster, is orga-nizing and leading this program.You can read her bio in the adja-cent article which highlights ourstaff members.

I invite you to stop by thecampus and see the upgradesand renovations we have accom-plished this summer. It is onlyby your prayers and financialsupport that we are able to makethese necessary repairs andimprovements. We are buildingon a strong legacy of spiritualleadership for a bright and thriv-ing future for Southeastern Bap-tist College!

Equipping the Saints!Dr. Carson

Anderle Foster

Fall Pre-registrationPreregistration is open NOW

for the Fall Semester! Regularregistration is August 5-8;Classes begin August 12. Weoffer in-classroom and onlinecourses in Bible, ministry, busi-ness and general education. Youcan work towards a two-yearAssociates of Arts degree or afour-year Bachelor of Arts de-gree. Transfer of compatiblecredits are welcomed. We re-main one of the most inexpen-

sive accredited colleges in thenation! Contact Admissions Of-fice at 601-426-6346.

Danny Pitts Lecture SeriesSoutheastern Baptist College

will host the Danny Pitts Lec-ture Series with Dr. CharleyHolmes, President of the Bap-tist Missionary AssociationTheological Seminar, as guestspeaker to be held on the cam-pus of the college. Mark yourcalendars for August 19-21. Theprogram will begin at 7 p.m.each evening. See the adjacentflyer.

SBC ChoirWe are blessed to have Krista

McKenzie as the Director of ournewly formed SBC Choir. Kristahas recruited fifteen local stu-dents who will register for theFall Semester. Does your churchor ministry want to host theSBC Choir? Now is the time toreserve dates for their perfor-mance. Hurry, we anticipatetheir schedule to fill up quickly.Contact Krista at 601-426-6346.Please note the professor high-

Byrn Jones, of CitruSolutionCarpet Process, cleaning thefloors in the men’s dormitory

The Jones County Circuit Court Community Service crew paints therecently renovated gymnasium stands

light that features Krista andher vision for the Choir.

A Golden Opportunity!SBC possesses the Gold

Award level as a militaryfriendly college! Have youserved in America’s armedforces? Then you probably haveVeterans Administration tu-ition benefits that you can usetoward a free education righthere at SBC. I urge you to con-tact your local VA representa-tive for an evaluation of yourbenefits. You earned them! SBChas numerous students receiv-ing VA assistance for both onlineand in-classroom tuition.

David Bond is the Commander ofLaurel’s chapter of the DisabledAmerican Veterans. David oftenvolunteers to mow the SBCgrounds

SoutheasternSpecial Emphasis

August 2019

Professor & Staff Highlights

6 August 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

Listing of names does not indicateendorsement.

This column is forinformation purposes only.

AVAILABLEFOR SERVICE

Matt HudsonMatt Hudson is available for

preaching appointments, fill-ins,revivals, and sings. He resignedas pastor of Hopewell BaptistChurch, Fulton, Mississippi, 8months ago and is a member ofFirst Baptist Church in Mantachie,Mississippi. You may contact himby calling 662-260-0244 or byemail atmlhudson85@yahoo.com.

Church seeking Full-time Association & Youth PastorFirst Baptist Church of Bay Springs, Mississippi, is looking and

praying for an individual to be a dynamic youth and children’s pastorwhile also serving as associate pastor. Duties will include teachingyouth on Wednesday nights, organizing youth and children’s eventsthroughout the year, as well as taking the kids to camps for each agegroup in the summer & VBS oversight and involvement.

The position also will include involvement in the kid’s lives byattending extracurricular school activities and functions & extra-church activities in which the youth are involved. Associate Pastoralduties will include virtually any duty performed by the pastor as needed(i.e. hospital visits, giving sermon in pulpit, etc.).

Please contact Gabe McNeil at 601–670–6374 via phone call or textmessage, or email at Gabe@mcneilcabinets.com.

West Point Church seeks pastorLone Oak Baptist Church in West Point, Mississippi, is seeking a full-

time pastor. Anyone feeling led should send their resume' to Joe Arick,P.O. Box 1097, West Point ,MS 39773, or emailjoe@ahelectricalhvac.com. He may also be contacted at 662-574-5391.

Kansas Church Seeks PastorFirst Baptist Church in Galena, Kansas, is seeking a Senior Pastor.

Resumes should be sent to the email address listed here: Attn: CliffMcQuillen at fbcgalena@gmail.com.

Fulton Church Seeks pastorHopewell Baptist Church of Fulton, Mississippi, is looking for pastor.

Send resumes to Johnny Mann, 750 Chester Shumpert Road, Fulton,MS 38843 or email jrmann1951@yahoo.com.

Big Creek WMA &Brotherhood to Meet

The Big Creek District Brother-hood and WMA will meet on Au-gust 5, 2019, at Salem BaptistChurch in Bay Springs at 7:00p.m. This will be our annualmeeting - officers will be electedand locations for next year’s meet-ing will be determined. Pleasemay plans to be there -we will belooking for you.

Church Positions

Lifeword Welcomes Lauren Crawleyby Holly Meriweather

It was January 4, 2014, myfirst day at Lifeword and thebeginning of a new area of min-istry for me. My role was to fillthe shoes of Diane Ward, whohad been the national walk co-ordinator for many years. Fiveand a half years later, my role ischanging but my love for BMAministries is not.

The months and years haveflown by, and although I havevery few skills to offer, God hasshown me that he can make alump of clay become a beautifulvessel for his kingdom.

Your Lifeword team serveshumbly, selflessly and enthusi-astically as vessels to be used bythe Lord. Each team memberhas talents and skills that theylay before God’s throne everyday. I am blessed to be a part ofa media ministry that does thatfor one purpose: Spreading thegospel to the world.

Since I began serving atLifeword, those team membershave changed. Steve Crawleywas executive director when Istarted, and Donny Parrish hasbeen since 2017. Carol Gipsonand Rick Russell have retired.Jon Dodson has joined the teamin the last year and anotherchange has taken place recently.

My title has been Director ofChurch Connections, but

Lauren Crawley now has thatrole, and I will begin to supportall ministries at the Global Min-istry Center as lead writer.

It is with joy that I hand overthe reigns to a young lady wholoves the Lord and loves people.In the next few months Laurenwill be planning her firstLifeword Sunday (10/20) and theCentral Arkansas Area Walk(10/9).

She is coming on board at anexciting time for Lifeword: Me-dia content at lifeword.org (cur-rently in twenty languages, butquickly growing) allows millionsmore people to hear and under-stand the gospel message of hopethrough Jesus.

Lifeword contributions dur-ing this giving season allow thatto happen.

Lifeword SundayOctober 20 is 2019 Lifeword

Sunday, but it really doesn’tmatter what date you choose.Since the first Walk for theWorld in1980, churches havesponsored walks and other fundraising events during this sea-son of giving.

But whatever event you de-cide on, we just want churchmembers to know about, prayfor and give to this unique min-istry that has used the latesttechnology for God’s kingdom

work since 1965.So, for the last time, here is

your to-do list from me:Register for Lifeword Sunday

at lifeword.org/lifewordsunday.* Once you’ve registered and

sent in contributions before De-cember 9, pastors will be en-tered to win his and her Applewatches on the December 11drawing.

* Order T-shirts atlifeword.org/lifewordsunday

* C o n t a c tlauren@lifeword.org for moreinformation.

Please join us as we pray for aGod-honoring Lifeword Sundayand our global partners as theyupload content to lifeword.org.

Thank you all for your part-nership with Lifeword and ourefforts as “We Tell the Story” toa lost world.

Lauren Crawley

SENIOR SOURCESbyBecky Ulmer- becky.ulmer@jghms.com

Becky Ulmer

It’s hot –Avoid the Clots !

Mississippi is known for itshot weather and humidity. Yes,you may have lived here all yourlife and worked out in it fortwelve hours a day most of yourlife – but (this is where realitysets in) things change. #1 – you were younger –flexibility and flow tend to bebetter then

#2 – you were more mobile –arthritis, deteriorated joints andback issues tend to feel better atrest or at least with some “downtime”.

#3 – you tend to drink lesswater – the control of the waterleaving one’s body can alter thedesire to drink ad-equate amounts –especially if plansinvolve traveling.

#4 – you are tak-ing diuretics (fluidpills) or laxatives.Couple this with adecreased intake ofwater – the “dry-ing-out effect” canbe serious.

#5 – you are tak-ing pain or arthri-tis meds – both which can affectkidney filtering and suppressappetite / thirst.

There are many other factorsrelated to the age and conditionof a person that predispose him/her to a higher incidence of bloodclots, smoking, hypertension(high blood pressure) edema(swelling of feet/legs), diabetes,heart and circulatory conditions.

The signs of a “blood clot” in

the legs may be present as painin the calf/thigh muscles withwalking. This is a different painother than normal aches/pains.The leg appears to be largerthan opposite leg. You feel painin the leg when the foot is flexedup or down. There is increasedwarmth in the leg when com-pared to the other side. Youmay see redness to the skin inthe affected area.

Signs of a “pulmonary embo-lus” (clot in the lung) may in-clude shortness of breath or

chest pain –sudden onset.These symp-toms usuallypresent andcondition de-t e r i o r a t e srapidly.

Signs of “ce-rebral embolus” (brain clot) maybe a headache, dizziness, nau-sea, slurred speech, drooling,numbness/paralysis of arm/legs/face, double vision and loss ofconsciousness. These symptomsare always a medical emergencyuntil cleared by a qualified medi-cal provider.

If you are like me, Missis-sippi may be really hot and hu-mid and we may have the big-

gest mosquitoes known to man,but it is my home.

In order to make the most oflife and enjoy the good – thereare simple things we can do toreduce the “self- inflicted” riskfactors.

Drink adequate amount ofwater – Six – 8 oz. glasses a dayis a minimum. Most providersrecommend Eight - 8 oz glasses.Frequent breaks while travel-

ing are a must.Stand up, walkaround and takesome deep breaths.Elevate feet whenable to during andafter lengthy trips.Avoid restrictive(binding) clothingduring prolonged sit-ting or sedentary

activity. Avoid massaging legsafter periods of immobility. Seekmedical attention for any signsof a “blood clot”.

Take advantage of the natu-ral resources we have, waterand fresh air. Be keen of theneeds of our bodies to preserveits proper functioning.

A quote from BenjaminFranklin goes along with thistopic. He said, “An ounce ofprevention is worth a pound ofcure”.

How true!

7August 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

Mississippi GMAPresident

Hi! I’m Anna Myers, your2020 State GMA President! Iwant to invite all girls, eventhose who don’t participate inGMA’s, to join us at camp thisyear. The date is March 20-21,2020. The theme for camp isHawaiian and the title is “LeiDown Your Burdens.” We willlearn how we can trust God withour troubles and “lei” them allupon Him! The theme verse forcamp is Matthew 11:28. I reallyhope all of you can come and Ilook forward to meeting you.We will have a lot of fun and youwon’t regret coming!

Former Missionary’s Wife

Karen Moore Succumbs to CancerKaren Sue Moore passed away on Friday, July 26, 2019 in

Slidell, Louisians, at the age of 68. She was born in Marshall,Texas, and lived in Slidell for the past 9 years, after residing inCalifornia for 22 years. From a very early age she learned to playpiano and sing. She had a degree in music. She spent much of herlife leading worship in churches in Americaand the Philippines. She and her husbandserved as missionaries in the Philippines.

She is survived by her husband Travis Moore.and 4 children: Travis (Tara) Moore, II; Nathan(Kelly) Moore; Sharlyn Joy Moore and FallonMoore. She is the daughter of the late Jamesand Frances Burch. She is the sister of Jerene(George) Reddin, and Lynette (David) Stanley.Karen has 9 grandchildren: Christa, Catlin,Emily, Judah, Eli, Selah, Toby, Boaz, and EstherMoore. She also has a new grandbaby on theway next month, her name will be Brielle.

Funeral Services were held at Peace Grove Baptist Church,Lacombe, Louisiana on Tuesday, July 30, 2019.

Family requests donations be made to Peace Grove BaptistChurch for the Philippines Radio Missionary Fund.

Karen Moore

Dr. Charley HolmesGuest Lecturer

PresidentBaptist Missionary Association

Theological Seminary

Announcing2019 Danny Pitts Lecture Series

August 19, 20, 21, 2019

7:00 PM each night

Southeastern Baptist College4229 Highway 15 North, Laurel, Mississippi

601-426-6346

Lecture TopicsAugust 19 - History of AssociationsAugust 20 - The Doctrine of Scriptural Sufficiency & AssociationsAugust 21 - Biblical Foundations for Associational Functions

Dr. Charley Holmes

From The Mind of Chuck Lee

Bro. Chuck Lee

Rise and ShineI'm not one of those cheery,

on your feet running, types ofmorning people. I tend to oozeout of bed rather than jump outof bed. This is not because Iwouldn't like to be a vibrant,sunshiny, smile on my face,greet the new day with energyand new hope type of person. Infact, I have tried on numerousoccasions to meet the sun as itgradually peeks over the east-ern horizon. This normally oc-curs during the beginning ofhunting season, but quicklywanes away as the chill of awinter morning penetrates thelining in my boots and turns my

toes to nubby imitations ofpopsicles.

In my early years of college, Istayed in the dorm room. Aswas my habit, I would set thealarm clock an hour early tocompensate for the many timesthat I wouldhave to whackthe snoozebutton in or-der to be inclass on time.Sometimes Imade it. Ithink some ofmy college professors wageredon how late I would be to theirclasses. It was fine with meuntil they started trying to "fix"the game by giving me extra

homework so I would have tostay up late and study. Ha!When I caught on to their littlescheme, I just quit studying.Let me tell you, the extra fiveminutes I saved by not studyingfor some sillytest was a lifesaver.

Actually, mylife was in ratherextreme dangerfrom my neigh-boring dormmates for wak-ing them up an extra hour earlyevery morning. They were cer-tainly not cheerful, early risers.One weekend, after a visit to theDean's office about my gradesand some other minor indiscre-tions that will go unmentioned,(I think it really had to do withhim losing a bet with some of myprofessors), I finally found thelast nerve of the RA who was

over our section of rooms. I haddetermined that I was going toget up and going in the morn-ings, so I set four or five differ-ent alarm clocks around theroom with the hope of making

myself have toget up. My littleplan would haveworked too if Ihad remem-bered to shutthem off before Iwent out of townfor the weekend.

I returned to find a disheveledRA waiting on me with a crowbar in his hands. He looked likehe hadn't slept all weekend,which as it turned out was prettymuch true. On the bright side,I didn't need a key to open mydoor anymore.

A lifetime later, the semesterended, and not a minute toosoon. It's actually not as easy as

it sounds to sleep with one eyeopen, especially if you are wor-ried your neighbors will takeadvantage of a new open doorpolicy in the middle of the nightinstituted after my RA left mewithout a door. Sensing schoolwas not going to work out forme, (everyone on my flooragreed), I ventured off into theworld of real life and got a job.And another job. And anotherjob. And another job. Andanoth…, well, you get the pic-ture. Seems most employersexpect you to be on time forwork.

Well, I better get to bed. I sawmy wife sneaking a frying paninto the bedroom. I may be closeto finding her last nerve as well.Lee serves as pastor of Pine GroveBaptist Church, Purvis. He maybe reached by email atleecharles47@yahoo.com

Highlights of NationalGalilean Officer’s Planning Meeting

by Kenneth ColvertNational Galilean Director

GIRLS'SMISSIONARYAUXILIARYState GMA DirectorJessica Haden

795 Highway 532Mt. Olive, MS 39119

601-797-4597662-251-0455

jessicahaden3@gmail.com

Going clockwise, starting at 12:00, Kenneth Colvert, National Galilean Direc-tor; Cameron Burroughs, President; Dan Williams, Assistant Director; WillSellers, Music Director; Lawson Townsend, Historian; Andrew Krissel, Mr.Galilean Senior; Neil Aga, Secretarty, Hayden Leonard, 2nd Vice President,Maddox Hendricks, 1st Vice President, and Charlie Martin, Mr. Galilean Jr.

The National Galilean Offic-ers met on Saturday morning,July 19, to make plans for Na-tional Galilean Camp 2020. Themeeting was held in a cabinhigh in the beautiful OzarkMountain Wilderness nearCompton, Arkansas.

National Galilean Camp 2020will be held June 19 – 22 atStoneRidge Baptist Camp inSmithville, Arkansas. Father’sDay falls on Sunday so this willbe a Father/Son Camp. We en-courage all father’s or substi-tute fathers to attend camp withtheir sons. Brother TonyCrocker will serve as our CampPastor.

The theme for 2020 is “Ob-sessed“, with Deuteronomy 6:5serving as the theme scripture.Emphasis will be given to teach

each believer to act out his faith.Action words chosen for our sub-themes are: Surrender, Pray,Go, Do, Fight, and Persevere.Our prayer is that every camperwill leave camp “obsessed withthe Lord, living for the Lord,working for the Lord and lead-ing others to the Lord”. Empha-sis will also be placed on theword “all“ in Deuteronomy 6:5.We want to give our all to theLord.

I hope you will make plansnow for the boys and men ofyour church to attend NationalGalilean Camp 2020. For fur-ther information about camp orthe Galilean Ministry e-mailKenneth Colvert atkrcolovert@cox.net or you maytext or call me at 479-629–3258.

Toon by Joe McKeever

8 August 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

Baptist MissionaryAssociation of Mississippi

www.bmaofmississippi.com

DEPARTMENTS & COMMISSIONS

Mississippi Baptist PaperP.O. Box 8181

Laurel, MS 39441601-426-3293

Southeastern Baptist College4229 Highway 15 North

Laurel, MS 39440601-426-6346

State Youth Department4226 Highway 15 North

Laurel, MS 39440662-397-6832

Baptist Children's Home118 Lowe Rd.

Laurel, MS 39443601-426-3928

Missions & Revolving LoanFund

4226 Highway 15 North Laurel, MS 39440

601-428-8616

Commission on Senior Adults4226 Highway 15 North

Laurel, MS 39440601-729-2613

History & Archives Commis-sion

4229 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, MS 39440

601-729-8098

Moral ActionP.O. Box 88

Mantachie, MS 38855662-282-7425

Southeastern Baptist College Special EmphasisMonths are July and August. Each BMA of

Mississippi church will soon receive a“CLEAR THE WALL TARGET” banner and

a ‘Bullseye for Blessings’visual to guide all to share $$$ blessings towardspecific projects for much needed SBC progress.

CLEAR THE WALLIn July & August

by Brenda Hornaday2nd Vice President

bhornaday@hughes.net

Last year, I asked you to“Catch the Vision” and I hopeeach of you caught the visionand reached out to those aroundyou. Our theme for the comingyear will be “SHARE THE VI-SION”. Once we have caughtthe vision, we don’t need to keepit to ourselves. We need to“SHARE THE VISION” as Pauldid in Acts 26:19-20.

What is the vision? It is shar-ing the good news of Jesus Christto all people and nations. Jesusloves the little children—redand yellow, black and white. Heloves not only the little chil-dren, but also the adults, eventhose we may considerunloveable because of their ac-tions and positions in society.Jesus loves them and we need toshare the gospel with them.

Max Lucado says that what

God desires most is that we walkwith Him humbly, quietly andobediently. In thinking aboutPeter’s vision last year, we seethat he immediately acted onthat vision and shared the gos-pel with Cornelius’ household.He was obedient. In Acts 26:19-20, we see Paul explaining howhe was obedient to the visionGod gave to him.

I believe that Jesus gives avision to each of us who acceptHim as Lord and Savior—a vi-sion of sharing what Christ hasdone for us. Let us “SHARE THEVISION” with the world!

At our Women’s MinistryConference at the National BMAmeeting in April of 2020, ourbreakout sessions will be look-ing at “SHARE THE VISION”in several different ways.

Share the Vision throughWomen’s Ministries

Share the Vision through Gos-pel Music

Share the Vision through theWritten Word

Share the Vision throughCommunity Outreach

I challenge each of you to“SHARE THE VISION” whereever God leads you. Let’s all tryto be obedient to the vision Godhas given us of sharing whatChrist has done for us. SabrinaClayton has agreed to be ourkeynote speaker for the 2020Women’s Ministry Conferenceand I look forward to seeingmany of you in Waxahachie,Texas, on April 27th and 28th of2020. If you have never been toone of our conferences, I urgeyou to attend this one. We havehad approximately 200 womenat each of the last two confer-ences and the blessings havebeen tremendous.

"Therefore...I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,but declared to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, andthroughout all the region of Judea, and then to theGentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and doworks befitting repentance."

Acts 26:19-20

Women's Missionary Auxilary - Baptist Missionary Association of America

Share The Vision

Scripture Thoughts by Cleaver

Tony Cleaver

James 1.4 “…let patience haveher perfect work, that ye may beperfect and entire, wantingnothing.

When the physician pre-scribes a medication for me, thebest thing I can do is to take thedosage on the plan the doc laidout for me. If the effect of themedication doesn’t “kick in” af-ter the first dose, should I quittaking the pills? If I plant asmall tree in my yard, and itdoesn’t grow to shade tree heightovernight, should I cut it down?This verse can be translated:“…let perseverance finish itswork…” It can also read: “…letsteadfastness have its full ef-fect…” Resting in the Lord towait patiently for Him (Psalm37.7) is easily and readily rec-ommended for others as theyexperience many trials.

Can I prescribe this regimenfor myself as I face troubles ofcountless kinds? Can I wait pa-tiently for endurance to lead meto maturity and completenessin the middle of a nightmare ofproblems? As anyone wouldwishfully say in the bull's eye ofturmoil, “Lord let my problems

be over now!” This is like pray-ing to God for patience and end-ing the prayer for patience withthis exclamation:“And Lord, giveme patiencenow!”

Endurance isstaying power.That power is notin or of self. It isthe Lord whohelps us endure. James wantsto remind us of this fact in theChristian walk. Look up,brother. Sister, look beyondright now. Look to Him wholoves you and gave Himself foryou. James gives all who areunder the load of trials this bene-diction (verse 12): Blessed is theman that endureth temptation:for when he is tried, he shallreceive the crown of life, whichthe Lord hath promised to themthat love him. 

Dr. Tony Cleaver is a retiredU.S. Army Chaplain and Direc-tor of Distance Learning forBMA Seminary.

You may contact him atjstmcleaver@embarqmail.com