Becoming a Christian disciple is not an easy task. Yes it begins with a conscious decision to be a follower of Jesus. But becoming a disciple — a student of Jesus — is a lifelong journey.
Learning the teachings of Jesus is only the beginning. Knowing the implications and applications of those teachings and incorporating them into one’s life is a vital part of Christian discipleship.
Jesus said, “If you hold to My teachings, you are really My disciples” (John 8:31). James, the half-brother of our Lord, added, “Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only” (James 1:22). Knowledge and action, faith and works always go together.
Some have called Christian discipleship a “process.” It involves regular Bible study, disciplined prayer times and faithful obedience resulting in personal growth as a student of Jesus. If one were to draw a graph of the process, it would show peaks and valleys but the trend line would be generally upward.
For many Alabama Baptists, a valuable resource in the process of becoming a Christian disciple is their state Baptist paper. For generations, the state Baptist paper has been called “a lifelong companion for a lifelong journey.” Flowing from its pages week after week are stories that capture the heart, articles that refresh the spirit, information that challenges the mind and reports that build up the body of Christ.
One week The Alabama Baptist may help one appreciate how Baptists understand a particular Scripture passage. The next week an article may provide insight into a pressing moral issue by examining it through the lens of biblical principles.
A report in The Alabama Baptist about what God is doing in a distant part of the world may help one value the way Baptists work together to share the good news of Jesus. The next week the state Baptist paper may rally Baptists to minister to an immediate community need.
Information about a typical family crisis may provide new insights that help a family cope amid stress and pressure. The information may spark ministry ideas for a church desiring to serve in Christ’s name to people caught in difficult circumstances.
Week after week after week The Alabama Baptist informs, interprets and inspires and week after week after week readers take steps, sometimes ever-so-small steps, on the upward way of Christian discipleship.
Helping Alabama Baptists grow in their Christian discipleship is not accidental. The vision statement for the state Baptist paper says, in part, that the paper “will help empower Baptists of Alabama … to live out the biblical concepts of Christian discipleship.”
For 170 years the state Baptist paper has been dedicated to serving Alabama Baptists so this people of God can better serve the Lord. That is part of the reason the paper has been called “a lifelong companion for a lifelong journey.”
While The Alabama Baptist focuses primarily on developing individual Christian disciples, it continues to make invaluable contributions to thousands of local churches. The state Baptist paper is the only missions publication providing important, reliable, up-to-date information about Baptists in the state, in the nation and around the world. Its stories illustrate the implications and applications of Bible teachings.
Regular reading helps lift the missions vision of a congregation beyond the boundaries of a local community to include the ends of the earth. Articles and stories help develop an appreciation for Baptists and other Christian believers who serve God elsewhere, often in difficult circumstances.
Consistent attention to what Baptists believe and how Baptists work together helps flesh out what it means to be a Baptist and enables churches to practice cardinal Baptist teachings such as the Lordship of Christ, the primacy of Scripture, the priesthood of all believers and autonomy of the local church.
The state Baptist paper promotes all that Baptists do together — benevolent ministries such as the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries; special missions offerings for state, national and international missions; and ministries such as disaster relief efforts.
Through reading The Alabama Baptist, generations have formed a sense of identity as a convention of believers. In his book, “Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie,” Wayne Flynt wrote, “Next to the colleges, no institution was more important to the emerging denomination than The Alabama Baptist. The paper communicated news, provided a forum for debate, publicized associational meetings and state conventions and generally welded disparate Baptists into a well-informed cooperative unity.”
Such contributions to Baptist churches and the convention as a whole over the years of its existence are the kinds of contributions The Alabama Baptist continues to make today. Perhaps that is why studies show churches providing the state Baptist paper as part of its Christian resources for active resident families have members who give more to missions, on average, than churches that do not. Studies also show that churches that include the paper participate more in convention activities than churches that do not include the paper among their resources.
The value of regular reading of The Alabama Baptist to the believer’s walk with the Lord is unquestionable. So is the importance of the state Baptist paper to a church when active members use the state Baptist paper as a resource in their growth as Christian disciples. The resulting significance to the convention of strong individual Christians and healthy local congregations is obvious.
That is why the ministry of the state Baptist paper is vital and why the Alabama Baptist State Convention sets aside a special day each year to emphasize the role and contribution of this unmatched resource. No other ministry can do what The Alabama Baptist does for individual believers, for cooperating churches and for the convention as a whole.
About three out of four Alabama Baptist churches include the state Baptist paper among resources provided to active resident families — at least for those who request it. If your church is among them, be sure to read the paper each week. Encourage those not receiving the paper to sign up today by contacting the church office.
If your church does not include the state Baptist paper for active resident families, you can subscribe individually by contacting the state Baptist paper. Better yet, you can ask church leadership to include it. After all, The Alabama Baptist is “a lifelong companion for a lifelong journey” for believers who are serious about being students of Jesus.
For more information, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org or call 1-800-803-5201.
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