Good News for Today

Hurricane Helene washes ashore; Good News for Today's last broadcast

Residents of Florida, Georgia and Alabama need your prayers today as they deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The storm quickly intensified before coming ashore in the Florida panhandle on Thursday afternoon before zipping north into Georgia and Alabama overnight. Disaster relief crews are on standby as first responders do their work and assessors move into the area.  Despite the tragedy, it’s a blessing to know that people who care are quick to rush to the help of others facing dark days. -- You are learning every day. You don’t need a scientific poll to realize that. Some sort of media or influence is affecting your thinking and view of the world every day. An election season billed as the most important of our lives lends itself to stories where falsehoods outpaced the truth [https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/hope-for-springfield-as-churches-civic-leaders-join-to-help-haitians/], at least for a time.  Southwestern Seminary Professor Malcolm Yarnell says this is why Christians should stay tethered to the truths of Christ. “Let’s not turn our politicians into messiahs [and] political parties into a church,” he said. “That is where we begin to confuse the Kingdom of God with the kingdom of this world.” -- For the past two and a half years Baptist Press has had the privilege of bringing you Good News for Today. We’ve tried to find a way to report news accurately and fairly with a biblical and Christ-centered perspective.  Due to some changes at Baptist Press, unfortunately, today marks the end of our radio and podcast feature. Thank you for listening. We do not take our readers…or listeners for granted. Thank you for the opportunity to share news and content with you over radio stations across North America. After 76 years, the work of Baptist Press will at our website. We hope you’ll read our stories there. -- The world’s greatest problem is lostness. You can help share the light of Christ. Learn how at IMB.org.

Students pray during See You at the Pole; VP Kamala Harris makes abortion a "centerpiece issue"

Millions of elementary through college students gathered at flag poles on their campuses yesterday file in the U.S. and 63 other countries to pray in the student-led “See You at the Pole” initiative in its 33rd year. The early sunrise, clouds and rains variously served as the backdrop for social media photos attesting to student participation. The event is designed to spark a continual prayer movement and lifestyle change, with resources available through the partner ministry Claim Your Campus [https://claimyourcampus.com/], and was preceded in some communities by prayerwalks and student ministry events, organizers said. Held annually on the fourth Wednesday in September since 1991, See You at the Pole grew from a DiscipleNow weekend in Burleson, Texas, in early1990. Compelled to pray, a small group of teenagers drove to three area schools, stood under flagpoles and prayed for schools, leaders and friends. Word of the Burleson event spread, drawing 45,000 students in prayer under flagpoles in four states in September 1990, and a million at school flagpoles in September 1991, according to event promoters. Today, events are held in Canada, Korea, Japan, Turkey, the Ivory Coast and beyond, with students “responding to God and taking seriously the challenge to pray,” promoters said [https://syatp.com/pages/press].   -- Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris told an interviewer Tuesday (Sept. 24) that she would be in favor of eliminating the filibuster for votes on abortion-related legislation in the Senate. That, in essence, would clear the way for abortion legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes needed to overturn a filibuster. Harris has made abortion a centerpiece of her campaign, pledging to sign any bill that “restore[s] reproductive freedom nationwide,” according to her website. Ethics & Religious Liberty President Brent Leatherwood said it appears such abortion extremism is a hard sell for many Americans. “I’ve often found that calls to end the filibuster are the result of an inability to win consensus on an issue. It means you are losing,” Leatherwood told Baptist Press in written comments.  -- The world’s greatest problem is lostness. Learn how you can help at IMB.org.

Our words affect our world; Overwhelmed? Look to the empty tomb

Words are important. Southwestern Seminary professor Malcolm Yarnell says, “Christians ought to have a leavening influence on their society.” “But when we forget our primary allegiance to Jesus Christ [in favor of] political parties, movements or leaders, we begin to run into trouble.” An average of Gallup polls in 2023 found that 68 percent of [https://news.gallup.com/poll/358364/religious-americans.aspx#:] Americans identified [https://news.gallup.com/poll/358364/religious-americans.aspx#:] with the Christian religion. However, that reflected a consistent drop from the high point of 96 percent in 1956. Christians are being educated by something, he added. That can be the culture, social media, mainstream media or the church. All have a way of affecting our worldview to some degree.  Yarnell spoke of C. Gardner Taylor, a preacher and contemporary of Martin Luther King Jr. Very concerned with social issues, Taylor’s wife would at times comment on her husband’s sermon “thickness.” “Sometimes she would tell him that his sermon was a bit ‘thin’ to let him know he was getting too much into political and social issues,” Yarnell said. “Those issues need to be addressed, but if it was his primary proclamation, it was robbing from the emphasis on the Gospel.” -- Feeling overwhelmed? Tennessee pastor Abraham Creemens encourages you to look to Jesus. “The first step on this journey of hope is to recognize that there is only one Savior, and it is not you. It is not me, or your pastor or the most spiritual person in the world. It is Jesus. We turned the world upside down and Jesus turned it right-side-up. Paul explained this in 2 Corinthians 5:21 [https://ref.ly/2%20Cor%205.21;csb?t=biblia]: He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. “ Creemens says when life is too much, you can look to the empty tomb where Jesus overcame the grave. “See the beauty of the resurrection. Jesus died a real death. But the grave was not strong enough. The invitation is to lean into the person, purpose and promises of God every day and lay your concerns at the entrance of the empty tomb.” Read the full piece at Baptist Press. -- More than 2 billion people are facing food insecurity. Learn how you can help at IMB.org.

College football sees dozens of students come to faith; South Carolina learning the joy and sorrow of sending

In north Georgia close to 50 football players on the team at Shorter University made decisions for Christ this year before the season started, and 17 followed through with believer’s baptism. Zach Morrison, in his seventh year as head coach, described what happened after players arrived at the school in early August for preseason training and conditioning camp. “We took them to a couple of local churches,” he said, “and about 150 players visited Life Church.” That Sunday, Morrison recalled, Life Church Pastor Jason Stockton preached and closed with an invitation. Team chaplain Topher Stockton (no relation) said 48 players followed Christ that morning. Morrison says local pastors have been meeting with the players talked through what their decisions meant, and what baptism is and is not.  Coach Morrison said in addition to helping the players learn the playbook, he’s making sure these new believers learn the first step in being disciples of Jesus. -- There is a sense of loss when people leave a church. There are also times when that loss is coupled with celebration. Christ Fellowship Church Cherrydale, South Carolina began 15 years ago, sent out by another young church, Crosspoint in Clemson, S.C. As church planter in residence at Crosspoint, Matt Rogers learned about looking at the bigger picture and serving in a ministry that remains small even though it is in consistent growth. Christ Fellowship, with attendance of 500-600 each Sunday, is currently in the middle of showing what that looks like. Five families have recently pledged to go overseas and help start new churches, with two of them already on the field. Another will have their last Sunday this weekend. The final two will be gone by the end of the year. Rogers says the families will be missed, but the sorrow is worth the pain to carry the Gospel forward. -- The world’s great problem is lostness. Learn how to share hope at IMB.org.

Churches help those struggling with opioid addiction; Facing the mundane tasks of life

In 2022, opioid abuse resulted in 82,000 Americans’ deaths, the most ever recorded, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates#Fig1] (CDC). In 2021, an estimated 2.5 million adults [https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2023/08/only-1-in-5-us-adults-with-opioid-use-disorder-received-medications-to-treat-it-in-2021] in the U.S. dealt with opioid use disorder, while more than 10 million [https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/statistics/index.html] people misused prescription opioids in 2019, according to the CDC. Many churches felt the impact. Lifeway Research found around 2 in 3 pastors (64 percent) say a family member of someone in their congregation has been affected by opioid abuse. Around half (51 percent) say a local neighbor they know or a member of their congregation is dealing with opioids, while 45 percent say a member of their congregation has been personally affected by opioid abuse. Most pastors say their church is currently serving people with opioid addictions, but that support is primarily spiritual. Almost 3 in 4 (72 percent) offer spiritual support including prayer or discipleship. Fewer say they’re providing physical support including food, shelter or clothing (41 percent) or a 12-step program or other support groups for substance abuse (32 percent).  -- How do you get through the mundane seasons and tasks of life? In a Baptist Press Toolbox, Jacki C. King writes, “Many of us find ourselves in long seasons of mundane tasks and routine responsibilities. There are parts to our jobs and ministries that don’t feel particularly fulfilling or productive. Whether it’s printing handouts, putting in attendance, or setting up and taking down events, these tasks can often feel monotonous and unrewarding. While these mundane tasks may not be glamorous or exciting, they are essential for the health and growth of our ministries. Everyone, from the most seasoned leader to the newest volunteer, has to deal with these less-than-glamorous aspects of their work. It’s how we respond to these seasons that matters. * Find joy in the small things: Look for opportunities to praise God in the midst of everyday tasks.  * Seek God’s graces: God is showing up in big and small ways. Keep a journal or list of how you see Him working.  * Mix it up: If you hate doing a mundane task, make sure you schedule in between things that fuel you. How you schedule your tasks can play a huge role in working through your day. More than 2 billion people face food insecurity everyday. You can help. Learn how at IMB.org.