Articles

Brotherhood Retreat

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The 6th Annual BMA of Missouri Brotherhood Retreat is Friday September 30, 2016 and Saturday October 1, 2016 at Camp Garwood. Speaker is Bro. Joey Duckworth. Make plans to attend and bring a friend.

Program
Friday Evening 7:30 p.m. Supper
Program: Bro. Joey Duckworth
Saturday 7:30 a.m.
Breakfast
Archery Competition
Lunch
Dismissal

Who Can Attend?
Adult men and young men who have an interest in outdoor activities. We encouraged you to bring your friends who do not attend church. Please Note: Anyone over 18 planning to stay overnight at the Retreat MUST complete the on-line application. If you were okay for camp this year you are okay for the retreat. This is a requirement for all who use the camp overnight. More info concerning that is available online at
bmamissouri.org

What is the Cost?
There is no cost for those attending, but an offering will be taken to help with expenses.

What is the Purpose
To provide an avenue for fellowship and encouragement for the men of all ages. There will be a bunch of door prizes, food and also Trophies for the winners!!

What to Bring
Archery equipment, personal items, sheets, blankets (or sleeping bag),
and pillow. Beds, food and fun are provided.

Questions: Contact the following for more information:
Dennis Baker 636-461-1625 bbvsafety4332@gmail.com
James Hoffann 314-277-8644 jmhoff@charter.net
Claude Evans 573-438-0740 cbe34@earthlink.net

August 2016 – Assistant Mission Director’s Report

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I enjoyed our annual Camp in July and rejoice to see so many improvements in the facilities. Each year just gets better
and better. We praise God for souls being save and many saved folks who are now walking closer to God as a result of our
Camp Ministry. Camp Garwood is a good mission outreach.

I plan to attend the annual meeting of the BMA of Southwest Missouri which meets at Grandview Baptist Church in Springfield August 20th. I look forward to getting better acquainted with our brothers and sisters in that area of our great state. As we approach our annual meeting in October prayerfully prepare for what God has for us to do.

Preparing for LifeWord Sunday

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Lifeword_WebLogoOctober 23 is 2016 LifeWord Sunday and we want all BMA churches to be involved in learning about, praying for and giving to Lifeword on that day. To help each church participate in this emphasis day, we will be mailing out what used to be called “walk packets” to all BMA churches. Each packet will include a letter from Executive Director Steve Crawley, a 2016 Lifeword video, two posters and a sample bulletin insert. (Order more inserts online when you order your T-shirts at lifeword.org/lifewordsunday/ or contact holly@lifeword.org. We want BMA church members to understand our unique ministry that uses media to spread the gospel even if their churches no longer hold a fund-raising event like Walk for the World. The short video and bulletin inserts will help to tell our story. Pastors who commit to participate in Lifeword Sunday by registering their churches will be entered into a December 12th drawing for a 60-inch TV. Other requirements for entry include the following: naming a contact person for Lifeword Sunday/Walk for the World and sending in contributions (marked “Walk” or “Lifeword Sunday”) by December 12.

To register your church or order T-shirts, go to lifeword.org/lifewordsunday/. In addition to being entered into the drawing, pastors and Team Lifeword leaders will receive free T-shirts just for registering.

Don’t forget to mark your church calendar, register your church, show the video, give out inserts, and send in your contributions to enter to win the TV. (Churches who have already registered will be included in the drawing.)

Another Great Camp!

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It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. Several have been asking about camp numbers. So lets begin by looking at some numbers. Our 2016 camp saw 347 campers, including 118 adults.

    The class breakdown was:

  • Teen Boys with Joey Duckworth had 30.
  • Teen Girls with Diatre Gilliam had 55.
  • 10-12 yr. old boys with Don Burke had 38.
  • 10-12 yr. old girls with Ladonna Baker had 31.
  • 8-9 yr. olds with Sharon Lourance and Lisa Payne had 16.
  • 6-7 yr. olds with Kari Hartlein and Allison Bisher had 17.
  • I didn’t get a count of the 1-5 yr. olds with Robin Elsey.

The best I can tell we had between 10-15 professions, and a couple decisions to serve the Lord in specific areas of ministry.
The Harper family once again did an excellent job leading our worship services preparing hearts to hear the word. Bro. Steven was a real blessing. Everyone seemed to be engaged during the services. Camp week overall was a great week. It’s our hope that the campers returned home safely, tired physically and refreshed spiritually. From what I’ve seen and heard, “Mission accomplished.”

Here are some other numbers that may interest you about camp week. We ate $7,889.15 worth of food and burned about $ 1,000 worth of electricity. Camp has 330 bunks, we filed 288 of them. Of the 42 empty bunks only 12 were in the girl dorms. We have 21 camper sites and used 17. Here are yet more numbers to ponder: Camp has 9 buildings, 14 A/C units, 3 water wells, 6 septic systems, 7 electric water heaters, 3 LP water heaters, 33 toilets, and 32 showers. We have plans to add 1 building and two new septic systems this year. Along with more camper site improvements and some general grounds improvements.

We have collected $ 25,518.08 for the new dorm and spent $2,000 of that on the bunks to fill it. Also, in 2016 we collected
$4,049.65 in DEW funds. While camp has just ended for most of you. I see it as camp 2017 is just starting. I have already repaired some things that broke during camp this year. The mowing continues until fall. And we are already working on some camper site upgrades. I’m looking forward to Camp 2017 and hope you will join me in praying for our speaker Bro. Shawn Hammontree and our camp committee as we make plans for next year’s camp!

by Chris Polk, Camp Superintendent (and super worker!)[editor’s note]

Free course on Comparative Religions

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BMA Seminary has good news for those who want to explore the other religions and compare them with Christianity. Good news for those who want to learn to distinguish between Christianity and other world religions. This fall our free course will explore many of the new religious movements as well as the older world religions. This course compares tenets of Christianity with those of major world religions and domestic cults such as: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Taoism, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Christian Science, Seventh Day Adventism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientology, and other religions both in
America and world-wide.

Dr. Tony Cleaver, professor
The course will begin on September 5th and last 8 weeks.

    Textbooks:

  1. The Holy Bible – Student selected English translation
  2. Handbook of Religion: A Christian Engagement with Traditions, Teachings, and Practices – Terry C. Muck, Harold A. Netland, and Gerald R. McDermott, Baker Academic (ISBN 978-0-8010-3776-4)

    3. Please follow the link below to fill out the registration form.
    http://bmats.edu/other-educational-opportunities/freecourses/

    Lisa Satterwhite, Dean’s Assistant
    Dr. Philip Attebery, Dean

Washington County District WMA

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The Washington County District WMA met June 10th at Temple Baptist Church in Belgrade, MO. After the men left for their Brotherhood meeting, President Barbara Williams gave a devotional on “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” reading from Philippians 4:6-7. At the conclusion of business, the program on “Encouragement” was given by Connie Reifsteck. The next district meeting will be at Zion Baptist Church, St. Louis, MO Friday, September 2, 2016. The host church provided delicious refreshments as all met
in the basement for fellowship.
by Norma Womble, Reporter

BMA of MO Annual Meeting

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bmalogoMark your calendars for the upcoming meeting!
October 22, 2016
9:00 a.m.
Bethel Baptist Church
Sikeston, Missouri

July 2016 – Assistant Mission Director’s Report

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We rejoice with Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Florissant, Missouri, as they have called Bro. Brian Meade as Pastor and he has accepted their call. We pray for God’s blessings upon them as they labor together. Our hearts are saddened as we think of many of our churches who are still searching for pastors. We need to pray for these churches as they go through the difficult time of being without a shepherd and we need to pray that God will call more men who are willing to pastor His churches.

Our main responsibility in these days is to stay faithful to God and do our best to follow His will. May we encourage one another and work together for His honor and glory and work hard to reap a harvest of lost souls before it is too late. Please pray for your Assistant Missions Director and the Special Missions Committee as we meet before our annual meeting to make recommendations concerning our missions program. We need your prayerful support as we seek God’s leadership in our work in Missouri.

Do you know of someone who feels led to plant a church in Missouri or do you know of an area we need to investigate concerning
the potential of planting a church? Let me or a member of the Special Missions Committee know and we will consider your suggestions. We will be glad to interview possible missionary candidates, investigate possible fields, or do whatever we can to plant new churches as God leads.

Thank you for your support of Missions in Missouri!

Teaching Children Transgenderism Is Normal Is Child Abuse

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By Larry Page, Executive Director Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council via The Baptist Trumpet

The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) has issued a warning to educators, policy-makers and others whose work involve children. The message is simple and straightforward — do not set policy and adopt curriculum that teaches the young that transgenderism is normal.

Transgenderism is defied as “a state or condition in which a person identifis with or expresses a gender identity that
differs from the one which corresponds to the person’s sex at birth.” Since the condition of transgenderism is classified as
a mental illness, to teach it as being normal and to promote it as being a healthy alternative is child abuse, so says the ACP.

In its report, the national doctors’ organization said that, “Facts — not ideology — determine reality.” The report further explained that “No one is born with an awareness of themselves as male or female; this awareness develops over time and, like all developmental processes, may be derailed by a child’s subjective perceptions, relationships and adverse experiences from infancy forward. People who identify as ‘feeling like the opposite sex’ or ‘’somewhere in between’ do not comprise a third sex.
They remain biological men or biological women.”

When an otherwise healthy child believes he or she is a member of the opposite sex, that indicates a psychological problem requiring treatment of the mind, not the body. In other words, it is a mental issue and not a physical one. The psychological condition is known as “gender dysphoria,” once called gender identity disorder. It has been recognized as a mental disorder by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

Research shows that most children who are gender confused accept their biological sex after they pass naturally through
puberty transition. However, if prior to puberty, the gender confused children are given puberty blockers to help them
mimic the other sex, the gender confusion will not only likely continue but will be further reinforced with the introduction of
cross-sex hormones during later adolescence. Those misguided professionals who want to “help” those children find their “real” identities by providing them with cross-sex hormones are consigning many of them to a life of confusion, despair and serious consequences — both physical and mental. Cross-sex hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen, must be administered regularly if any semblance of being the other sex is to be maintained. Those drugs are linked to high blood pressure, blood clots,
strokes, cancer and other serious health conditions. Also, higher rates of suicide among adults, up to 20 times greater,
are associated with the use of crosssex hormones and so-called sex reassignment surgery.

Those facts underscore the reality that gender dysphoria is a psychological issue, not a physical problem. The ACP reiterated the main point when it said, “Conditioning children into believing a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse.” (llp@arfaith.org)

“Church Health”

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Bro. Tom McCanless has been led of the Lord into a new ministry, “Church Health.” A healthy church is a more successful church in fulfilling the Great Commission: winning souls, baptizing the saved, and disciplining church members. It is estimated that over 100,000 churches in America are ailing or in the process of dying. Your church is only as healthy as each member on your church roll.

Bro. McCanless, at a church’s invitation, will help that church work through three steps that will help an ailing church. Those three steps are: Examination, Restoration, and Separation. (Ezra 10:1-8)

1. EXAMINATION – Each church member will receive a questionnaire with thirteen questions. The Holy Spirit will examine the heart of each church member as he or she answers these pointed personal questions. (Note) There will be no request for this questionnaire to be returned to the church. The Holy Spirit and the one answering the questions will be the only ones to know the response to these questions.
2. RESTORATION – After completing the questionnaire, each church member will be given a copy of the “Church Covenant” to read and asked to sign a personal pledge of re-commitment to honor this Covenant.
3. SEPARATION – For those who are on the church roll, who complete the questionnaire and will not sign a pledge of re-commitment to the “Church Covenant,” that person’s name will be removed from the church roll. (Amos 3:3) “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
(Note) Each church member will be required to return a signed Church Covenant pledge.