By Deanna Wallace, Louisiana Right to Life BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana House of Representatives has passed two important pieces of pro-life legislation, HB 386, the Women's Enhanced Reflection Act, and HB 488, the Board Certification Requirement for Abortion Providers Act. The bills now move to the Senate. HB 386, authored by Rep. Frank Hoffmann (R-West Monroe) and approved by a vote of 89-5 on Wednesday, would increase the current time for reflection between pre-abortion counseling and the actual abortion procedure from 24 hours to 72 hours. Louisiana Right to Life Legislative Director Deanna Wallace said, "We are thrilled that the Women's Enhanced Reflection Act passed the House floor in a strong bipartisan manner. This important bill empowers women considering abortion with additional reflection time before an abortion so women can can consider their options more effectively. Not only would this protect women from future emotional and psychological harm, but it would give victims of coercion and violence more time to reach out for help before being forced into an abortion they do not want." HB 488, authored by Rep. Katrina Jackson (D-Monroe) and unanimously approved on Wednesday, would require that abortion … [Read more...]
Restoration of Christ’s tomb at Church of the Holy Sepulcher brings Orthodox, Apostolics and Catholics together
By Tobin Perry, Christian Examiner JERUSALEM (Christian Examiner)—Three often competing Christian groups have committed to work together to save one of Christianity's most treasured sites—the shrine to the empty tomb of Jesus housed in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Leaders of the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches announced last month a $3.4 million renovation effort that will begin in May. The three churches will split the costs evenly (along with some private and public contributions). Each of the three will also appoint architects to help. The work should be done by early 2017, before the next Easter season. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Lean on each other, God for encouragement after disaster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bZaiQnnEUA By Message Staff COVINGTON – Waylon Bailey has a message for all those affected personally by the recent flooding in Louisiana – the key on the road to recovery is to lean on one another and God for encouragement. Bailey speaks from first-hand experience. He also knows just how beneficial Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams can be to people trying to recover from a natural disaster. In late 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of southeast Louisiana, disaster relief teams from Louisiana and throughout the US showed up in force. For several months, teams worked out of the parking lot at First Baptist Church in Covington, where Bailey serves as pastor. Throughout that time, teams not only helped rebuild homes but offered a spiritual uplifting to many who were hurting. Ten years later, disaster relief teams have come to the state once again to give a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name. “Based on Hurricane Katrina, remember the same God who is always been with you in the past is going to be with you,” Bailey said. “There are people who are going to show up and they are going to continue to show up and help and encourage. “We all need church,” he said. “We … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Involvement in Disaster Relief efforts essential for advancement of the Kingdom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhHC_8bRsCg HAMMOND – The need for more volunteers to respond to clean-up efforts in the state is great said Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief Southeast Regional Coordinator Tom Long. “Get involved,” Long said. “We can get people involved who haven’t been trained. We have a program set up where we can sign them up to send them out with our regular teams.” For more information on donating or volunteering with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts, go to louisianabaptists.org/DisasterRelief. … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Cooperative Program, Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering provide path to share Christ’s love through Disaster Relief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET5KdvRt-Bs By Message Staff Without the Cooperative Program and the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, current efforts, such as responding to last month’s historic flooding would be difficult, said Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief state director Gibbie McMillan. That’s why McMillan is so thankful for Southern Baptists, including many individuals and churches in Louisiana, who continue to see the need to give to the Cooperative Program as well as the state’s missions offering. The money given provides funding to purchase tools, mold-fighting chemicals like Shockwave, train new volunteers and cook meals for those affected by a disaster. “If it had not been for the Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing right now in dealing with this flooding and clean up,” McMillan said. … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Faithful Disaster Relief servants man incident command center in Hammond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2TsZ5hc3uE HAMMOND – Four weeks and counting – that’s how long Freddie Arnold, Tom Long and Pat Hayen have been manning the southeast regional incident command center at Woodland Park Baptist Church. A normal rotation is between 7 and 9 days but because of the scope of the recent flooding in the region, Arnold is working longer than usual. After opening not long after heavy rainfall caused flooding in mid-March, the incident command center could close on Friday or Saturday. Since opening, teams have completed 60-70 jobs. “Our goal is to finish our remaining jobs by Friday,” said Tom Long, southeast regional disaster relief coordinator. … [Read more...]
IRONY: Rating systems have killed family-friendly TV shows
By Michael Foust, Christian Examiner LOS ANGELES (Christian Examiner) – Parents who believe television content has grown coarser in recent years now have data confirming their suspicions, and it shows that one of the elements meant to assist families – the ratings system – has actually made things worse. The 29-page report by the Parents Television Council (PTC) compared a two-week period of programming in 1997 – the first year of the ratings system – to a similar two-week stretch in 2014 and found that: The number of hours of TV-G programming fell 100 percent, from 27 hours in 1997 to 0 hours in 2014. The number of hours of TV-PG shows decreased 39 percent, while the number of hours of TV-14 shows increased 160 percent. Every hour of content on broadcast primetime TV is rated either TV-PG or TV-14, meaning that broadcasters recommend all of their programming for either young teens or children – a concept that many parents would find objectionable. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Southern Baptist Disaster Relief workers offer hope during long road to recovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbkXKb-dVcI By Message Staff COVINGTON – Waylon Bailey has a message for all those affected personally by the recent flooding in Louisiana – the key on the road to recovery is to lean on one another and God for encouragement. Bailey speaks from first-hand experience. He also knows just how beneficial Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams can be to people trying to recover from a natural disaster. In late 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of southeast Louisiana, disaster relief teams from Louisiana and throughout the US showed up in force. For several months, teams worked out of the parking lot at First Baptist Church in Covington, where Bailey serves as pastor. Throughout that time, teams not only helped rebuild homes but offered a spiritual uplifting to many who were hurting. Ten years later, disaster relief teams have come to the state once again to give a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name. “Based on Hurricane Katrina, remember the same God who is always been with you in the past is going to be with you,” Bailey said. “There are people who are going to show up and they are going to continue to show up and help and encourage. “We all need church,” he said. “We … [Read more...]
Prisoner released from double life sentence to start churches in prisons throughout the U.S.
By Tobin Perry, Christian Examiner LAKE FOREST, Calif. (Christian Examiner)—At worship services last weekend Saddleback Church commissioned Danny Duchene —who had spent 33 years in a California prison—as a pastor. Duchene will lead the church's efforts to put a church in every prison in the United States. "As I stand here today, I'm aware I'm only here by God's mercy," Duchene told the assembled crowd during one of Saddleback's worship services. "I am very grateful to the pastors, friends and family that God has shown his mercy through. The Bible says in James 2:13 that 'mercy triumphs over judgment.' My life is an example of that truth." Duchene's testimony came as part of Rick Warren's sermon called "God Can Use Anybody," during a message series on "The Miracle of Mercy." To read the rest of the story, click here. … [Read more...]
Traditionalist pastor challenges ‘younger’ pastor for SBC president
By Joni B Hannigan, Christian Examiner ST. LOUIS (Christian Examiner) – A week after a Florida pastor announced 42-year-old J.D. Greear would be nominated as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Johnny Hunt, a former SBC president, announced he would nominate Steve Gaines, 59, pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church, to the post during the denomination's June meeting. The second nomination earlier this month for the position marks the first time in six years — since the election of Marietta, Georgia Pastor Bryant Wright in Orlando in 2010 — there has been at least three nominees. Baptist Press announced March 24 that New Orleans pastor David Crosby would be nominated for president by former SBC president Fred Luter. To read the rest of the story, click here. … [Read more...]
