Kentucky

When Christians become discouraged it should be taken as an opportunity to learn what God is teaching them about their priorities, a prominent Presbyterian minister said before a large crowd of church leaders.

"God wants us to learn things in our disappointments," Ligon Duncan, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Miss., told some 8,000 pastors and ministry leaders at the Together for the Gospel conference held this week in Louisville, Ky.

"Discouragement is no stranger to the lives of faithful pastors and Christians," Duncan explained. "God wants us to study our disappointments because if we look at our disappointments … when the bottom falls out, you will learn things about what you love that you never knew before." more >>

What should Christians make of "cavemen" fossils in light of Scripture? That is the question two Christian apologists tackle in a recent magazine article published by Answers in Genesis, an apologetics ministry founded by Ken Ham.

The apologists featured in the Answers magazine article, David Menton and John UpChurch, explore the "often misunderstood and confusing" topic of cavemen, addressing questions like: Were they our primitive brutish ancestors? Did Adam and Eve really exist? The men address the ongoing debate about whether Christians should believe in the biblical account of creation without question, or whether they should explore how the account can be scientifically supported.

"Variation among post-Babel humans has led to a great debate among evolutionists, who wonder where they fit on the roadway to being 'truly human.' But that way of thinking misses the fundamental truth. When God created humans, He didn't define our humanness in terms of physical characteristics. We aren't human because we have two arms or legs or skulls of a certain shape or size. Our Creator, who is spirit, made us in His spiritual image," the authors write in the article. more >>

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (RRT), in conjunction with Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse, is one of the organizations providing support on the ground to victims of last week's tornado disaster – but the recovery aid they provide is of a spiritual kind.

While many other organizations focus on rebuilding homes and clearing roads after tornadoes hit four U.S states hard last week, the RRT deploys chaplains to speak with and provide support to families of those who have lost loved ones or their homes. Deadly storms ripped through the Midwest and South late last week and left at least three dozen people dead in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama.

Founded in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the RRT has ministered to over 110,000 people around the world. Its outreach efforts are expanding to various countries around the world, but it is also one of the main sources for spiritual comfort for victims of disasters in the U.S. Since 2002, it has responded to more than 125 natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and shootings. more >>

The last piece of land needed for a multi-year project to build a full-scale Noah's Ark on an 800-acre site in Williamstown, Ky., has been purchased by a group of developers led by Answers in Genesis, the biblical apologetics ministry announced Wednesday.

Despite tough economic times, project leaders are hoping to offset costs by building the "Ark Encounter" attraction in multiple phases over many years, and opening the Ark and other supporting elements during phase one.

Answers in Genesis (AiG), which also oversees the Creation Museum in Petersburg, had previously delayed ground-breaking for the estimated $24.5 million project after funds had only reached $4.4 million. more >>

The pastor of a small church in Eastern Kentucky that barred interracial couples from becoming members or leading worship said he planned to ask members to strike down the decision, perhaps as early as Sunday.

Pastor Stacy Stepp of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church said he would call for a new vote on the ban, possibly on Sunday. “We’re going to get it resolved,” Lexington Herald-Leader quoted him as saying.

Stepp said he was confident the roughly 45 members of the church in Pike County, Ky., will overturn the resolution. more >>

A Kentucky pastor has accused a Baptist governing body of ousting his church from its association for showing "too much grace" after board members took issue with the ministry sharing its place of worship with a gay-friendly group.

The Daviess-McLean Baptist Association (DMBA) voted 242-24 in favor of dropping Journey Fellowship Church in Owensboro, Ky. from its credentials committee due to members of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) being allowed to hold meetings at the church.

While Journey Fellowship's pastor, Bob Coons, sees the issue as a matter of grace, Jerry Tooley, executive director of DMBA, sees the board's decision as a matter of orthodoxy. more >>