Mary Margaret Flook

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Part One — Building Pillars of Renewal: An Extended Interview with SBC Presidential Candidate Willy Rice

(Editors’ note: This is an extended version of an interview that was published in the June 2026 edition of The Baptist Courier magazine.) William (Willy) Rice is from Tampa, Fla., and has been a pastor for 42 years. He’s... Continue Reading »

Part Two — Building Pillars of Renewal: An Extended Interview with SBC Presidential Candidate Willy Rice

Why would you say cooperation isn’t just important, but also cooperation with certain Baptist distinctives? It’s kind of like a railroad track. You have to have two parts: The cooperation is we work together, the conviction is we work... Continue Reading »

Part Two — ‘Honored and Privileged to Be Considered’: An Extended Interview with SBC Presidential Candidate Josh Powell

Where do you think complementarian and egalitarian beliefs fall? I think we are clearly complementarian. The Baptist Faith and Message is clearly complementarian. I think the BF&M 2000 — especially as it was amended in 2023 — becomes even... Continue Reading »

Part One — ‘Honored and Privileged to Be Considered’: An Extended Interview with SBC Presidential Candidate Josh Powell

(Editors’ note: This is the extended version of an interview that was published in the June 2026 edition of The Baptist Courier magazine.) Josh Powell grew up at Red Bank Baptist Church in Lexington where his dad pastored. In... Continue Reading »

Chicken and Church Planting: How a 40-year-old Country Boy Planted a Church in Anderson

It was never just about chicken or church planting; it was about God’s sovereignty. Stephen Watson grew up in Camden, S.C., riding four-wheelers and exploring the woods. He trusted in Jesus as His Savior at a revival service when... Continue Reading »

The Nature of Sin and Three Choices to Overcome It

I’ve listened as friends reacted to news about a strong believer committing a grievous sin. Their reaction is often one of shock, disgust, and anger. They might say, “This person was such a strong Christian, so I never saw... Continue Reading »

Trading Sinful Discontentment for Godly Ambition

I prepared well. I prayed for pure motives and repented from impure ones. I disciplined myself not to dwell on “what others would think.” I drove to the church with one aim: to glorify God and encourage the ladies... Continue Reading »

Living an Ordinary Life with an Extraordinarily Faithful God

The coffee shop barista spoke about her upcoming trip. She plans to drive in her Crosstrek Subaru from South Carolina to Alaska to work on a train during the summer. The barista’s coworker also spoke of her plans for... Continue Reading »

8 Ingredients for Bold Evangelism (part two)

In the previous article, we defined what boldness is and said that prayer, God’s presence, God’s power, and our preparation help us become bold in evangelism. In this article we’ll cover the last four P’s. 5. Practice Typically the... Continue Reading »

8 Ingredients for Bold Evangelism (part one)

We’ve heard the commandment—go and make disciples of all nations. We know the gospel, but we’re too scared to share it. We sense the Holy Spirit’s prompting but rationalize disobedience by promising ourselves that “we’ll share next time.” So... Continue Reading »

Parenting a Church: The Story of Christ Fellowship Cherrydale (Part 3 of a Series)

Matt Rogers’ time at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary was about to conclude. But a new season was beginning. His wife, Sarah, was pregnant with their first child, Corrie, and parenting would soon begin. But raising a little girl (and... Continue Reading »

A Church Plant Redeemed: The Story of Crosspoint Church in Bluffton (Part 2 of a Series)

Our January issue carried the story of Ken Lewis and Jeremy Chasteen planting Crosspoint Church in Clemson in 2005. Now, the focus turns to Crosspoint Church’s first church planting partnership: Crosspoint Church, Bluffton, led by Carl Martin. Ken Lewis,... Continue Reading »