By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor

As I write this column, I do so with a new mantle of responsibility.

On Jan. 23, the Baptist Message Board of Trustee voted unanimously to approve a proposal that will place me over the public affairs work of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. See article on page 8 for more on this.

I accept this new capacity because I believe it is needful and necessary. We live in a republic that is predicated upon a participatory democracy.

By Andy Johnson, Pastor Crossroads Baptist Church Farmerville, La.

Recently on her OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) show titled “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” the 57-year- old talk-show icon interviewed the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas: Joel Osteen, and his wife Victoria.

Lakewood Church is recognized as the largest church in America, meeting in what used to be the Compaq Center in downtown Houston. The building seats more than 16,000.

Among the topics discussed during the interview were televangelist scandals and mega-church business practices as well as the 48-year-old Osteen’s success in authoring several New York Times bestselling books.

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor

Thirty-nine years ago the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Roe v. Wade. The justices decided 7-2 that the practice of abortion in America was a right protected by the Constitution and thus legal throughout the United States. The date was Jan. 22, 1973.

The specific date of the Roe decision deserves to be remembered as a day of infamy along with other tragic events such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Roe ruling also deserves to be compared to the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide. All are despicable atrocities.

By Keith Manuel, LBC Evangelism Associate

Louisiana Baptists are uniting to pray, plead and prepare for a movement of God.

As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Baptist work in our state, our theme is Awaken.

When thinking about revival, there is a distinct difference between the words ‘contrive’ and ‘contrite.’ While no convention theme can bring revival, God’s people must not be remiss in begging Him for an outpouring of His Spirit.

By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor

While researching the subject of New Year’s resolutions I came across the following quote: “He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool.”

The person from who made this quote is obviously as much a pessimist as a cynic when it comes to making a fresh start on Jan. 1.

G.K. Chesterton had a different take on the making of resolutions. “The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes,” wrote the English author. “Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”

By Wayne Taylor, Executive Director Louisiana Baptist Foundation

I recently opened a checking account for my son, and we looked at the interest rates being paid by the bank.

They offered 0.01 percent on checking accounts and .25 percent on a one-year CD.

I explained to my son that for many years the common passbook savings rate was 5.25 percent, and rates were higher if your money was locked in for a period of time. I explained to him that people save money all their lives in order to retire and live off the interest or earnings from their investments.

By David E. Hankins, LBC Executive Director

One of my theology profs used to say to us, “Christmas is big stuff!” He was not making a comment about commerce, although merchants routinely make 60 percent plus of their annual sales during the Christmas season alone.

Neither was my professor making a comment about family, although millions of families across the world consider Christmas their favorite time of year. He was not making a comment about human kindness, although the Christmas season is noted for its widespread emphasis on peace and brotherhood and generosity.

In a sense, all of the above could earn Christmas the description “big stuff.” But the professor, in the hip-est way he knew how, was declaring that Christmas celebrates the most significant event in the history of the world. Everything that the God of the universe purposed in creation and everything that humankind needs for fulfillment centers in the event that began with the birth of the God-man Jesus and ended with his death on the cross and his resurrection from the tomb. This is the story of God and man.

By Kelly Boggs, Editor Louisiana Baptist Message

Public expressions of Christmas in America – as in the commemoration of Christ’s birth, not the “I’m dreaming of a white ...” or “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ...” variety – have become increasingly controversial.

Schools and other government venues have taken a dim view of any representation that calls attention to the reason for the season – Jesus Christ.

The environment at one West Coast elementary school was such that a mother wrote in a local newspaper that her son, reared in a Christian environment, felt guilty about celebrating Christmas.

By Waylon Bailey, Pastor First Covington

For all of the problems in the United States of America, we are a blessed people.

I hope that every day is a day of thanksgiving for you. We are blessed to live in a land of plenty and to be people who are free to vote, protest, speak, and worship.

In my way of thinking, the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States is a blessing from God. I thank God for the right to worship Him openly and without fear. I thank God that we can communicate the Gospel to others.

By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor

On Aug. 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. for the express purpose of making a unified statement that all citizens of America – regardless of their skin color – should be treated with equality. It was to this mighty throng that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most memorable oratory. With an economy of words, Dr. King eloquently articulated a vision that still moves people committed to life, liberty and justice for all.

Throughout his “I Have A Dream” speech, Dr. King echoed his vision of a colorblind America where people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

“In a sense,” he told the crowd, “we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

By Kelly Boggs, Editor of the Message

While a battle concerning the legal status of pre-born children may have been lost with the defeat of Initiative 26 in Mississippi on Nov. 8, the war over the definition of personhood is far from over.

Initiative 26 was a ballot initiative that would have amended The Magnolia’s State constitution so as to define life as beginning at conception. The simple 21-word amendment stated: “The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.” Mississippians defeated it, 58-42 percent.

Abortion advocates saw the initiative as a threat to abortion access throughout the U.S. and pulled out all the stops in seeking to beat it. The opposition, however, skirted the issue of personhood and instead focused on possible problematic ramifications if the initiative was passed. It was speculative fear-mongering at its best.

By Curt Iles, Author, Dry Creek, La.

It’s a beautiful word that gently rolls off the tongue: gratitude.

It’s also a visible word: You can see gratitude when a person is full of it.

The best lessons I’ve ever learned on thankfulness are from two unlikely teachers: a southern guitar picker and an African orphan teen.

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor

Important Vote: Mississippi voters Tuesday could have made the state the first in the nation to pass an amendment defining personhood from the moment of conception.Mississippi has become ground zero in the debate over the legal status of the preborn. Citizens in the Magnolia State went to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 28, to vote on Measure 26, a ballot initiative that if passed will amend the state constitution and ascribe the status of “person” to “every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.”

For pro-life advocates the proposed amendment is not revolutionary. Most who advocate for the protection of pre-born children would agree that life begins at conception. What is relatively new is seeking to apply the legal status of person to the preborn, which has some abortion advocates seeing red.

“When does a person actually become a person? Seriously, is this the question we now face?” opined columnist Funmi F. Franklin in an opinion piece blasting Measure 26 that appeared in the Jackson Free Press.

By Chuck Colson, Founder of Prison Fellowship

Imagine that your laptop finally gives up the ghost. You have several options: You can drive to the store and buy a new one, or you can shop online.

If you choose the latter, you have another option: You can buy it from an online retailer, or you can connect to a retailer via an online portal. Why? Because some portals, like CGBG – Charity Give Back Group – splits its share of the profits with a charity of your choice.

It’s as close as shopping gets to “win-win” in our consumerist culture.

By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message editor

A California law recently went into effect that bans minors, defined as anyone under the age of 18, from using a tanning bed.

The prohibition is absolute and there is no provision for parental permission.

Lawmakers say the tan ban is necessary in order to protect the health and well-being of young people. California is the only state thus far to have a complete ban on tanning for minors. Other states allow the practice with a parent’s permission.