NEAR THE END? - Baptist Bible Tribune

from the editorOn the TableBy Keith BasshamMisinformation or exaggeration?Have you heard? The days ofChristianity are over accordingto some recent news storiesand headlines appearingin the secular press. Dig a little deeperthough and you will find the declarations(or what Mark Twain referred toas an exaggeration when news of hisdeath were being circulated in the 19thcentury) based upon an amazing datasetof contradictions and a good deal ofwishful thinking on the part of secularistseverywhere.For instance, take the battle oversame-sex marriage in this country. Somenew states have joined the pro side thepast 12 months by way of state legislaturesrather than by court adjudication,albeit with very slim margins and vetooverriding. The current US administration’sagenda is far less friendly to conservativeevangelicals than either Mr.Bush’s or Mr. Clinton’s. One could saythat the culture war is winding downwith the other guys winning.Or is it? Some recent Gallup pollingshows that since 2004, people have becomemore conservative on their viewsof abortion and same-sex marriage, andespecially so in the number of peopleidentifying themselves as prolife. In anonline analysis, Gallup’s Lydia Saadsaid, “…the results are conspicuouslyincongruous with the results of the 2008elections, in which the Democratic Partywon the White House for the first timein eight years.” (www.gallup.com underPolitics and Government tab)In this issue, I take a brief look atsome of this conflicting data and reportingin the cover article, “Christianity:Near the End?” I suggest following upusing the resources I point to in the articlefor a more complete view of the issue.And I will revisit the subject in themonths to come.Also in this issue, we have invitedformer editor Jim Combs to submit anotherpractical article. Mr. Combs continuesto delight and challenge with hiscreative pen. Any of his articles could betaken directly to the pulpit or teacher’spodium with confidence in his logic andpresentation. He is a treasure both tothe Fellowship and to the Tribune, havingbeen with the BBFI since its inception.Our newer readers should knowthat Mr. Combs was the Tribune editorduring the 1980s and ‘90s, and he wasthe one who changed the format from anewspaper to a magazine. So much ofwhat we do now is based upon what hedid then.Speaking of now and then, thisis the last issue of the current volume,number 59. Our next magazine will bethe first in our 60th year, and we prayit will be our best ever. Long story short— our days may be numbered, but if so,only by God, magazine headlines notwithstanding.Here is one of the best Fourth of Julystories I have heard this year, and it wasreported in several news stories in theRochester (NH) Times.When the Rochester, New Hampshire,Jaycees disbanded earlier in theyear, one result was the local fairgroundassociation was left without a partner forthe annual Fourth of July fireworks andcelebration. Mark Perry, Rochester FairGeneral Manager told a local newspaper,“This is really a year when we needthis event,” noting the economic pinch.Sensing an outreach opportunityand a way to serve their community,Rob Willis and Journey Baptist Churchstepped up to fill the gap with fundingand volunteers for the community eventthat did take place July 3.The church underwrote the $15,000expense, arranged for Christian musicfor entertainment, provided about 130volunteers, and accepted canned fooddonations in lieu of admission expense.Perry and the community were appreciative.“I am very pleased. It wasthe biggest crowd in memory, and theyhandled it well. This is one of the nicestgroups I have ever worked with. Theywere extremely happy, even parkingcars and emptying garbage cans, and atthe end of the night they left the groundsspectacularly clean,” said Perry.About 10,000 people attended anddonated two tons of food to a local foodpantry during the event. Pantry coordinatorAnne Ackerman said of the donatedfood, “This makes a huge difference. Itwill help us through the summer monthsuntil we do a food drive in the fall. [TheJourney Church] did really well. And tomake the fireworks free in this economywas wonderful.”Rob Willis is a graduate of BaptistBible College in Springfield, Missouri,and The Journey Baptist Church is thefruit of a mission project of Granite StateBaptist Church in Salem, New Hampshire,where Anthony Milas is pastor.All our pastors and workers, and anychurch members who are able, shouldplan to attend the Fall BBFI NationalMeeting hosted by Pastor Mike Frazierand the Canton Baptist Temple. We arepublishing information in this and thenext issue, and I encourage you to visitthe meeting website, www.bbficanton09.org, to register and to have all the informationyou need to plan your trip. CantonBaptist Temple is a historic churchin our Fellowship, and Pastor Frazierand the church are doing all they can tomake this meeting extra special.Plan to attend!4 Baptist Bible Tribune [ July/August 2009 ]