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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Gov. Edwards extends Louisiana’s Phase 3 restrictions until Nov. 6

By Baptist Message staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Louisiana will remain in Phase 3 of reopening the state’s economy until at least Nov. 6. Gov. John Bel Edwards, during a news conference Oct. 8, said a mask mandate and other restrictions remain in place when the state initially entered Phase 3 on Sept. 11. Businesses and churches will be allowed to continue to operate at 75 percent capacity, indoor social gatherings like weddings and birthday parties can accommodate guests at 50 percent capacity, up to 250 people, and sporting event venues can have up 25 percent capacity. Edwards asked Louisianans to continue wearing masks and observing proper social distancing measures. “All of the data shows improvement in Louisiana’s COVID situation because of the strong mitigation measures we have in place and because of the hard work of the people of Louisiana,” Edwards said. “These measures, which are supported by science, are allowing us to keep our case count and hospitalizations down, even as most of Louisiana’s businesses have expanded their operations and more people are moving about.”   … [Read more...]

Delta adds ‘gut punch’ six weeks after Hurricane Laura

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La, (LBM) —  Louisiana received a "gut punch," Friday, as the second hurricane in six weeks made landfall in the state. The eye of Hurricane Delta crashed ashore at 5 p.m., Oct. 9. as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph in Creole, nearly 13 miles east of Cameron, where Laura made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane (150 mph winds) on Aug. 27. According to the National Weather Service, Delta had weakened to barely a tropical storm (35 mph sustained winds) as it exited into Mississippi at 7 a.m., Saturday, having followed a nearly identical path as Laura. More than 565,000 businesses and homes in the state were without power as of 10:15 a.m., Oct. 10. Delta also dumped heavy rain on parts of the state, which resulted in numerous road closures. AccuWeather reported late Friday that approximately 17.02 inches of rain fell in Iowa, just east of Lake Charles. Meanwhile, Bell City, about 7 miles south of Iowa, received 16.31 inches of rain and Lake Charles, 15.68 inches. While reported damage was still unknown, Baptist Message learned Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth received water damage in the Indian Creek Lodge, as well as the activities … [Read more...]

Lord, we are weary!

By Steve Horn Lord, we are weary! Especially your people in Louisiana. First, it was COVID-19. We spent weeks leading the nation in cases per capita. We went home. The economic impact of that is still being felt. When people went home, gas prices plummeted. So many of our people who make their living in the oil and gas industry suffered. Some were retired before they planned to retire. Others were not so fortunate. They are just unemployed. We are weary. Then hurricane season arrived. Six times we have been in the “cone of uncertainty.” The “cone of uncertainty” became the “certainty of catastrophe” with Hurricane Laura. We. Are. Weary. We are weary of blue tarps, if there is even something left to tarp. We are weary of FEMA. We are weary of the hum of the generator. And yes, we are tired of our new guest Jim Cantore. We are weary from all that has been lost. We are weary of the debris that is piled up at the road waiting to be removed. Like Elijah of old, some days we want to find a tree to sit under to pray, “Lord, I’ve had enough.” But Lord, and I’m laughing to keep from crying, the tree was blown down by Hurricane Laura. And now, comes Delta. Dear Lord, we’ve run out of names this year and have turned to the … [Read more...]

Carlos Meza, soul winner and LBC leader, goes on to Heaven

By Baptist Message staff BOSSIER CITY, La. (LBM) – Carlos Meza, a venerable Louisiana Baptist leader, died Tuesday, Sept. 29. He was 84. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Meza accepted Christ when he was 43, after he met his wife Lupe, who introduced him to Jesus and shortly afterward married him. He was ordained as a pastor in 2007 at Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport and served the next 13 years as pastor of that congregation’s Hispanic mission church, Iglesia Bautista del Calvario. He also planted two Hispanic churches (with First Baptist Church, Haughton, and New Zion Baptist Church, Bossier City). Meza participated in 17 mission trips to Brazil, as well as to Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Nicaragua. He was well-known for being innovative in reaching the lost with the Gospel – leading a South American college student to the Lord using a mannequin and successfully sharing the Good News with a Brazilian businessman (whom no local pastor had been able to reach) by using an onion patch in the man’s backyard. He was active in the LBC: making history in 2017 as the first Hispanic elected to office in the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving as 2nd vice president; and, at the time of his death he was serving on the … [Read more...]

Alaska Baptists mark 75th anniversary with historic vote by internet

By Randy Covington, ABRN executive director, treasurer ANCHORAGE, Alaska (ABRN)--First Baptist Church, Anchorage, led by Pastor Gary Moats hosted the 75th anniversary gathering of the Alaska Baptist Resource Network with messengers from 50 churches coming together to celebrate statewide cooperative efforts in evangelism and church planting. Organized in March 1946, the Alaska Baptist Convention, now known as the Alaska Baptist Resource Network, began with three churches in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, and today has 116 affiliated churches, missions or preaching points in its network. “With Endurance” was the theme based on Hebrews 12:1. Special recognition was extended to Earl and Shannon Midkiff who came to Alaska in 1966. Having started their ministry in Soldotna, they moved to southeast Alaska where they served for over half a century as pastor, director of missions, interim pastor of several churches and now as pastor emeritus in Petersburg. History was made with the first gathering of Southern Baptists in America that offered electronic participation of messengers -- 19 registered messengers from remote places in Alaska joined a zoom gallery in which they had opportunity to comment, make motions, join … [Read more...]

Credentials Committee: Messengers must register for annual meeting

By Baptist Message staff PINEVILLE, La. (LBM)—In order for a church to be represented during the business portions of the Louisiana Baptist Convention to be held Nov. 10 in the Guinn Auditorium on the campus of Louisiana College in Pineville, it will need to elect messenger(s), who then must register and be certified by the Committee on Credentials. Chairman Todd Free noted to the Baptist Message that there are five ways for messengers to register and be approved: — The first and simplest way is for messengers to pre-register using www.LaOne.org and printout the registration card to bring to the annual meeting. This way allows messengers to be certified within a matter of minutes, Free said. — Second, a messenger may bring a note on official letterhead signed by the pastor or church clerk, stating that the individual was elected by the congregation. — Third, a church officer can phone in the names of elected messengers. — Fourth, a person can be vouchsafed as a duly elected messenger by a fellow registered church member. — Finally, when there is no other means by which to validate a person, a meeting of the Committee on Credentials may be called to make a determination. Free emphasized that pastors are not automatically … [Read more...]

Vote your pro-life beliefs on Nov. 3

By Bill Cassidy, M.D., U.S. Senator BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM)--The political and cultural wars in America contribute to a divided nation with regard to many issues that are important to the church. A group called the “Freedom from Religion Foundation” recently demanded that I stop sharing Scripture on social media. As the Left has done to try to quiet many before, they attempted to bully me into silence. But I did not back down. The freedoms to worship, to voice our religious convictions, and to live according to our beliefs at home and in the workplace are rights I cherish and that I work daily to protect. I also vote my values to protect the lives of the unborn, and to see that federal judges are appointed who interpret the U.S. Constitution with the intent as it was written, not how they wish it was written. On November 3rd, Louisianans will have the opportunity to vote our values when it comes to electing a president and vice president of the United States. Additionally, we will choose six representatives to the House. Finally, you and I will have the opportunity to vote our values in choosing a U.S. senator. Likewise, we will have the privilege to vote for the Love Life Amendment, which will ensure our Louisiana … [Read more...]