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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

LC C3 speaker: Fight for religious freedoms!

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Freedom of religion is a long-held constitutional right, and it is up to the younger generation and others to fight for this important belief through thoughtful and civil engagement, Brittany Jones said during Louisiana College’s Christ Church Culture (C3) event, Oct. 28. “I encourage you all as you seek to live out your life and go on from Louisiana College to think through ‘How can I meld what I have been taught here and meld my beliefs and my beliefs system but also approach issues with kindness and compassion and to engage our world well?’” Jones told LC students and community members gathered inside Guinn Auditorium. Jones made a special emphasis to address vaccine mandates by governments and for-profit corporations, and church closure orders during the pandemic. Jones, director of policy and engagement for Kansas Family Voice, made “The Case of Religious Freedom” at the second C3 event of the fall semester. Jones, an attorney, graduated from Louisiana College in 2014 and earned her law degree from Regent University School of Law. Her focus at Kansas Family Voice primarily is on religious freedom, pro-life, education choice and combatting … [Read more...]

Tornado is latest weather-related disaster to hit Lake Charles, SW Louisiana

By Baptist Message staff LAKE CHARLES, La. (LBM) – Members of University Baptist Church are grateful for God’s protection after a tornado passed by the building where they were holding a Bible study Wednesday, Oct. 27. Pastor John Astling told the Baptist Message that 15 members of University Baptist were meeting when the storm passed by the church Wednesday afternoon. While the damage at the church was limited to only a few downed tree limbs on its lawn, the Walgreen’s drug store located across the street from the church lost a portion of its roof and homes nearby sustained significant damage. Preliminary reports from the National Weather Service in Lake Charles indicated an EF-2 tornado (130 mph winds) touched down around 12:20 p.m., Wednesday. Around a dozen homes received significant damage and at least two people were injured. The tornado is the latest weather-related disaster to impact southwest Louisiana in a 14-month period. Hurricane Laura made landfall Aug. 27, 2020, as a Category 4 hurricane (150 mph winds) in Cameron. Then, on Oct. 9, 2020, Delta crashed ashore as a Category 2 storm (100 mph winds) in Creole, nearly 13 miles east of Cameron. In mid-February, an ice storm left residents without … [Read more...]

Kennedy advocates for military’s vaccine freedom, protecting their benefits

By Office of Sen. John Kennedy WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.)  has written to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III regarding the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate and the Navy’s recent order that U.S. military service members could lose their veterans’ benefits for failing to comply with the mandate. “Without an approved medical exemption or religious accommodation, service members who decline to fully vaccinate against COVID-19 within the timelines prescribed by Secretaries of Military Departments will be found to have disobeyed a lawful general order. . . . As a result, service members found in violation may face punitive or administrative action, including the initiation of discharge proceedings,” wrote Kennedy in his letter Oct. 26. “These heroes are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to defend American liberties, but they are now losing their own freedom and possibly their livelihoods at the hands of this administration,” he continued. Kennedy also raised concerns that the vaccine mandate will compromise military readiness and America’s national security at a time when America’s adversaries are looking for weakness in U.S. resolve and readiness. The senator asked Austin whether service … [Read more...]