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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Louisiana College to launch virtual preview day

By Norm Miller, LCNews PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews)—Louisiana College is ready for its Preview Day on April 17. But the commute has changed from a drive to the Pineville campus to a reach for the phone. Virtual Preview Day begins at noon with technology effortlessly transporting interested students and parents to the information needed for exploring the award-winning campus, hearing from professors and students, and gathering financial aid information. “Our virtual Preview Day is one among many adjustments we have made in response to the pandemic,” said Louisiana College President Dr. Rick Brewer. “I am grateful for the technology that will enable me to engage with new people and talk about what makes us unique among peer institutions.” Visitors may engage in a live Q and A session via web chat, as well as experience a virtual tour of the campus, gain details about classes and degree majors from professors, and view videos of current students sharing why they chose Louisiana College for their undergraduate degree. “Our students consistently say how much they value personal attention from their professors and the sense of a close-knit family,” Brewer said. “Parents also appreciate our commitment to traditional family … [Read more...]

CARES Act changes help promote charitable giving

By Jerry Love, LBF Director of Planned Giving ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) - When Congress passed the CARES Act, it offered incentives to promote charitable giving that are being overlooked because of the emphasis given to the federal government’s $1,200 relief payments  to taxpayers and Payroll Protection Program forgivable loans to small businesses and nonprofits, including churches. But, the provisions relating to charitable giving are critically important to churches and other nonprofits because they encourage donors to give more. $300 AGI DEDUCTION For the 2020 tax year, filers may claim a $300 deduction for cash contributions to churches, ministry organization and other charitable organizations. This applies only to those who take the standard deduction when filing their tax returns. Those who itemize their deductions are not able to claim additional amount. There is some question as to the term of the provision, but it likely applies only to 2020 filing year (returns filed in 2021). The $300 deduction may seem like a relatively small amount, but it is an “above-the-line” deduction, meaning a taxpayer may subtract the amount from gross income to arrive at a lower “adjusted gross income” for the tax year. LIMITS … [Read more...]

LC’s Miller contributes to COVID-19 ebook by Toalston

Special to the Message NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Hope amid the COVID-19 crisis is the focus of a new ebook, “A Pandemic Proposal: Viral Vitality … Hope for the Human Soul” by former Baptist Press editor Art Toalston, with Norm Miller of Louisiana College among 42 individuals providing brief reflections. Even amid the horrors of a global pandemic, Toalston writes, “a distinct vitality” can be experienced “in our souls, in our circumstances, in our relationships, in the world within our sphere of influence, and in how we each move into the future beyond the sorrows of the present.” Such an assertion “may seem glib or audacious,” Toalston acknowledges but believes a vitality in Christ “can enhance our daily lives even in a time of social upheaval and widespread grief. A coronavirus pandemic cannot alter God’s creation of the human soul.” Miller, LC’s vice president for communications and integrative marketing, drew from Psalm 23 in his reflection, writing, “Few in history have lived in more triumph and tumult than King David, the one who wrote: ‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life’ as recorded in Psalm 23, verse 6 (NKJV). His life traversed the vast distance between holiness and accursedness. Yet, he … [Read more...]

Good Friday ministry gives hope to NOLA homeless

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM) - A team from the Baptist Association of Southeast Louisiana as well as volunteers from New Orleans spent Good Friday meeting needs of and sharing hope with the homeless of the Crescent City. Volunteers packed 200 meals, 40 snack packs and 40 hygiene kits and delivered them to the Unity of Greater New Orleans, a nonprofit organization that leads a collaborative of 63 organizations providing housing and services to the homeless. “Lots of pieces came together to make this happen,” said Stan Statham, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief chaplain and BASELA mission strategist. “That it happened on Easter made it more special. The Lord sacrificed for us and He in turn asks us to sacrifice for others.” Statham said he appreciated the cooperative effort by all involved. Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief provided most of the funding, with BASELA adding some money and providing most of the manpower. Statham added that Jack Brown Grocery Store in Franklinton assisted in ordering food, and even donated some items, at a time that has been stressful for those in their field. The association’s Hope Center also provided some of the snack items. Once they received the … [Read more...]

LSU BCM ‘Meals to Go’ helps international students

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – The Louisiana State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry has implemented a “Meals to Go” program that provides international students with rice, noodles, cans of vegetables, cans of canned meat, peanut butter, jelly and snacks, to help them during the COVID-19 ordeal. “There are over a million international students attending colleges and universities in the US, including 1,500 at LSU, and many were unable to go home, are stuck in their apartments and are facing financial hardships,” BCM Director Steve Masters told the Baptist Message. “We feel like we should try to help them and are asking other people to join us. We are providing them with food.” The effort began when an international student texted Masters with a plea for help. While the BCM did not have funding to assist individual students, Masters found money to place in an envelope that was picked up eight minutes later outside the BCM building. Masters, his wife, Pam, Associate Director Haley Spell and Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge Director of Missions Tommy Middleton then came up with a plan. Since the effort began on April 7, the feedback has been overwhelmingly … [Read more...]

President Brewer announces free tuition through Governor Jimmie Davis Scholarship

By Norm Miller, LCNews PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews)--Responding to pandemic-induced financial strains, Louisiana College will offer free tuition to eligible, incoming freshmen through its newly established Governor Jimmie Davis Scholarship. Louisiana College’s President Dr. Rick Brewer made the announcement on KALB-TV’s Good Day Cenla morning program, April 13. “We recognize the Coronavirus impact has curtailed and even stopped certain activities in our state,” Brewer said in an interview prior to the show. “But we do not intend to stop offering the quality liberal arts education that has typified the College since 1906.” Travel restrictions and social distancing advisories prompted Louisiana College to shift its curricula to online, remote learning on March 30 – a move facilitated by a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Brewer told Good Day Cenla host Mark Hamblen the pandemic accentuates the need “to make a college education accessible and affordable” for families especially in these challenging times. Named in honor of two-time governor of Louisiana, the Governor Jimmie Davis Scholarship honors “our emblematic, most famous alum,” Brewer said. Davis completed his undergraduate degree at … [Read more...]

Cypress celebrates Easter in big way

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BENTON, La. (LBM) – Cypress Baptist Church in Benton marked Resurrection Sunday with baptisms and multiple drive-in worship services, reaching thousands on campus and through the internet amid restrictions on gatherings related to the coronavirus outbreak. More than 800 vehicles (2,400 people total), combined, packed the Cypress Baptist parking lot during four drive-in services April 12. The congregation averages 1,800 worshipers for a typical Sunday service. Members and guests took part in, from inside their vehicles, services that featured uplifting music by the worship team, two baptisms that were pre-recorded and an Easter message by Pastor John Fream, all projected on several large screens around campus. The service also was streamed on Facebook Live, YouTube and the church website, which collectively have registered nearly 10,000 views a week since mid-March. “Our folks loved yesterday and couldn’t get enough of the worship service,” Pastor John Fream told the Baptist Message. “One of my favorite responses was from a lady who was pulling on the church grounds and just started weeping. I thought that summed up our members’ emotions when they returned for this special … [Read more...]

Southern Baptist evangelists reach multitudes with Easter message

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)--Southern Baptist evangelists used the internet to share the Gospel message with at least 400,000 individuals during the Easter season. “Covered by the Cross” was presented via livestream on the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists’ Facebook page, April 9, and was available on-demand throughout the next three days. The special one-hour broadcast featured music plus a message by COSBE President Sammy Tippit, who co-hosted the meeting with Richard Hamlet, president and CEO of Global Ministries Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee. “This was a historic moment for our evangelists and our organization,” Tippit told the Baptist Message. “We were able to present the Gospel to hundreds of thousands of people. It has opened a door for us to learn how to minister to a hurting world through the technological tools He's given us in our generation.” Tippit reported that at least 100,000 persons logged into and watched the livestream from start to finish, and that there were 400,000 views, total. But he added that there was no way to count how many additional individuals were watching each device that was logged in (families, Bible study groups, etc.). He also noted that nearly 200 U.S. … [Read more...]

Storms damage homes, airport in northern Louisiana

By Message Staff MONROE, La. (LBM)--Powerful storms produced damaging winds and hail, and spawned tornadoes to leave behind widespread destruction in Louisiana, late on Sunday, April 12. Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo said in a press statement that a tornado heavily damaged more than 200-300 homes, combined, in his city, West Monroe and the rest of Ouachita Parish. The tornado also caused an estimated $30 million in damage at the Monroe Regional Airport, located just 200 yards from the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home. There have been no confirmed fatalities in Louisiana. “Please cooperate with emergency responders and repair crews as they assess and repair damages,” Mayo wrote on his Facebook page. “By the grace of God, early reports show only a few minor injuries.  Please pray for our city! Many of our neighbors and friends have suffered catastrophic damage.  We are hurting; but we are not broken.  Times like this remind us WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER!  Together we are responding.  Together we will rebuild.” Monroe Regional Airport was especially hit hard, with at least one hangar collapsed on multi-engine jets stored inside, and heavy debris scattered across the runways, causing the cancellation of flights until further … [Read more...]