ST LOUIS - Brad Jurkovich appreciates many things about the SBC Annual Meeting each year, but shared with the Baptist Message what he enjoys the most. "I love what God's doing - the passion for prayer, revival, awakening," said Jurkovich, pastor of First Bossier. https://youtu.be/IRzdMfIgD7o … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Pastor shares about what he learned from this year’s SBC Pastors Conference regarding the role suffering plays
ST LOUIS - Mike Holloway shared with the Baptist Message about the role suffering plays in everyone's lives. He was reminded of that during a message at the SBC Pastors Conference. Holloway, who served as president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention in 2008 and 2009, is now the pastor of Ouachita Baptist Church in West Monroe. In the last few months, the church has gained 50 new members and now averages 150 in Sunday morning worship. Since February, the church has baptized 15, with another 16, including 11 children, awaiting baptism. https://youtu.be/u_3NxgANVUI … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Prior to book signing at LifeWay booth, David Crosby thanks Louisiana Baptists
ST LOUIS - A day before the SBC presidential election, New Orleans pastor David Crosby took a few moments to thank Louisiana Baptists. He is one of three candidates for the office. The election will take place Tuesday afternoon. Crosby is pastor of First Baptist New Orleans. https://youtu.be/XDXVkt-Bx0M … [Read more...]
Louisiana Baptists at WMU Annual Meeting
The Southern Baptist Convention's WMU Mission Celebration/Annual Meeting got underway Sunday in the Ferrara Theater at America's Center in St. Louis. Here are some photos of Louisiana Baptists who were in attendance. Look for more photos and videos of Louisiana Baptists sharing what they thought of the meeting later today. … [Read more...]
New ‘stealth’ controversy at SBC replaces Conservative Resurgence battle
By Joni B Hannigan, Christian Examiner ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Christian Examiner) – It has been nearly 20 years since the Southern Baptist Convention met for its annual meeting in St. Louis with 25,607 registered messengers in the midst of the Conservative Resurgence. It was there, at the Gateway City to the West, after years marked by passionate discussions over liberalism, neo-orthodoxy and inerrancy, the SBC approved a report from "The Peace Committee" formed in 1985 to determine the sources of controversy in the SBC and recommend how it could be resolved. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]
Video, photographs chronicle final day of NOBTS Gezer dig
By Gary D. Myers, NOBTS communications Finished. Today we wrapped up the 2016 Tel Gezer Water System Expedition. We removed the last few buckets of dirt and pottery from each of the excavation area and began the clean-up process by 10:30 a.m. yesterday. Today we took final photos of each area, took down the dig tent, and packed all the tools and equipment for storage. This was a great dig season – with important finds that we cannot mention and new questions to answer. Each year we are inching closer to a firm answer about the date of the water system – the primary question we are looking to answer. We collected countless pottery sherds, charcoal samples and ancient material items. Much study will take place in the months to come. Databases of pottery information were created and will be studied closely. The pottery evidence is the most important aspect of our research – the pottery will help us determine the date of the system and who built it. Experts in archaeology have developed finely tuned typologies of pottery in Israel – these experts (like Dr. Eli Yannai) can date a piece of pottery within a 100 years or less. Even with all the research left to close out the books on this season’s dig, before we left the tel today, … [Read more...]
NOBTS dig team reports best finds to date
By Gary D Myers, NOBTS communications You may have noticed that the blog has been less active this dig season and especially less active this last week of the dig. There are several reasons – the addition of a third digging location makes this our busiest dig season at Tel Gezer. More people, more pottery, more contemplation, more paperwork, and more work. The extra work leaves us ready for bed much earlier than usual. Another reason for the lack of blogs is the complicated and theoretical nature of our work this season. We are trying to answer complicated questions regarding the dating of the water system construction and we are trying understand the relationship between the water system and fields C and D. It was much easier to blog when we were only focused moving dirt from the tunnel. Once we broke through all the fill material in the tunnel several years back, even the discussions of our progress in the water system became more complicated. The main reason for the lack of blogs is the wonderful season we are having. We have made our best finds to date at the Tel Gezer Water System Expedition. We would love to tell you all about the finds, but we can’t until each has been studied and published. The team is well and we are … [Read more...]
I am sold on VBS!
By Waylon Bailey, Pastor First Baptist Church Covington Vacation Bible School begins Monday. It’s going to be a really big day – more than 1000 kids and hundreds of volunteers. It costs a lot of money and takes a tremendous amount of effort. I am thankful for the volunteers who have made this happen. Why am I sold on Vacation Bible School? First, I am sold on VBS because of my own experience. I still remember many things that happened in my own Vacation Bible School. I can’t remember anything negative, but I remember many things positive. When I attended the Brantley Baptist Church VBS, I was blessed by kind, loving, and gracious people who loved Scripture and loved Jesus. I believe much of my faith and trust came from my experiences in VBS. I’m thankful for those folks. Second, Vacation Bible School opens the door to many children who otherwise have no understanding of Scripture or of Jesus Christ. Many of these children will not re-enter a church until they can do so on their own as adults or older teenagers, but they will return. When they do they will have a warm feeling about Christ and His church. One of the values of a long pastorate is that you get to see some of the fruit of your labor in the past. Third, VBS helps … [Read more...]
Vacation Bible School and Reaching the Next Generation
By Steve Horn, Pastor First Baptist Church Lafayette One of the stated core values of our church is that we will share the Gospel with the next generation. We are passionate about this in our church’s ministry. We are unashamed in pursuit of this passion. We believe that this is a command of God from the beginning. Consider just one passage of Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:7 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. If we believe in the reality of Heaven and Hell, how could we not be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure we communicate effectively the Gospel of Jesus Christ? How important is this? Some of you have heard these things before, but I think it is good that we hear them again. George Barna concluded that, “those between the ages of 5 and 13 have a 32 percent probability [of accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior]; individuals in the 14 to 18 age range have a 4 percent probability; and people between the ages of 19 and death have a 6 percent chance. In other words, we have the greatest window of opportunity for reaching … [Read more...]
