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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Calvary, Forest Hill, grieves beloved pastor

By Message Staff FOREST HILL, La. (LBM) – Family, friends and members of Calvary Baptist Church in Forest Hill are mourning the loss of their Pastor Wayne Dunn, who died unexpectedly from prior medical complications, June 25. His wife, Kathy, said her husband was a testimony of how Christ can transform a person’s life. The two met in 1988, two years before Dunn accepted Christ during a battle with drug addiction. “He’s not dead,” she told the Baptist Message. “He just started living and is rejoicing today.” Born June 4, 1953, in Houston, Texas, Dunn accepted the call into Gospel ministry in 1990, and three years later became pastor of Center Hammock Baptist Church in Rapides Parish. Through the years Dunn also served as pastor of the First Baptist Church, Lone Pine, Laurel Heights Baptist Church, Winnfield, Macedonia Baptist Church, Effie, Good Hope Baptist Church, West Monroe, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Oakdale, Hopewell Baptist Church, Elizabeth and Calvary Baptist. Jessica Martin, a member of Calvary Baptist, appreciated Dunn’s desire to see his members grow closer to the Lord. “When I left church I knew that I was being led down the right path,” she said. “He would tell you he was the lowest of the low and … [Read more...]

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Epilogue)

By Chuck Kelley Optimism is the tendency to expect the best. Pessimism is the tendency to expect the worst. An “optimistic pessimist” is someone who chooses hope in spite of discouragement. In a series of nine blogs, I explored the reality that the Southern Baptist Convention is in the grip of prolonged decline. That decline was first manifested in our evangelism statistics, but as it grew unchecked, decline spread to nearly every statistical category that matters to people concerned about the Great Commission. The chart on the total number of SBC churches and their baptisms over a period of more than one hundred years (see Part 1) and the chart showing key SBC statistics over the past decade (see Part 8) are two of the most unsettling documents I ever presented. The numbers give Southern Baptists no place to hide and no room to wiggle. The knowledge of what happened to Methodism in the aftermath of their failure to heed the similar warnings of W. E. Sangster in 1938 (see Part 9) is a chilling reminder of how very serious this moment is in the Southern Baptist story. Having painted this bleak picture of the SBC present, what do I see in the SBC future? I am an optimistic pessimist. I choose hope! Here is why. The SBC leaders … [Read more...]

Location to change for 2020 LBC Annual Meeting

ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- Due to recent spikes in COVID-19 cases across the state, the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention will not be held in New Orleans on Tuesday, Nov. 10, as originally planned. Franklin Avenue Baptist Church was slated to host this year’s gathering in that city. The LBC Executive Board, as directed by Article XII of the LBC Articles of Incorporation, will recommend an alternative venue. That new site will be announced during the Board's regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at the Tall Timbers Conference Center in Woodworth. According to Steve Horn, LBC executive director, the decision was prompted by the state’s extension of Phase 2 in its COVID-19 restrictions, coupled with New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell’s efforts to keep the city from repeating the health crisis it experienced earlier in the year. “Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue, and I visited via phone Tuesday and we determined in light of continued uncertainties relating to COVID-19 restrictions, it would be best for the church and the Convention to make alternative plans for this year’s annual meeting,” said Horn. “We appreciate Franklin Avenue’s willingness to host the annual gathering of Louisiana Baptists … [Read more...]

Niece ‘branded’ as new believer after uncle’s invitation to Cowboy Church

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Morgan Moses was looking to restart her life when her uncle, Perry Moses, invited her in early March to attend Cross Branded Cowboy Church in Pineville. She found a loving church family and the Holy Spirit guided her to a spiritual rebirth that culminated with baptism on her physical birthday, June 29. Steve Speer, pastor of His Church in Pineville, performed the baptism because the church is without a pastor at this time. “I felt like this was meant to be,” she told the Baptist Message. “While I didn’t plan to be baptized on my birthday, God knew exactly what was going to happen and I’m so excited that he allowed me to share my joy with so many people.” Morgan Moses was among two new converts who participated in a baptism service during Cross Branded’s weekly Monday night service, which averages 70-80 people inside its worship center. COWBOY-STYLE MINISTRY While Cross Branded opens its services to anyone, it especially draws in those who are part of the cowboy culture. Started in 2008 as a mission of Pine Grove Baptist Church in Ruby, this cowboy-style congregation began with 20 people, and a year later grew to 30 members. Four years … [Read more...]