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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Build a lasting spiritual heritage

By Stewart Holloway What is your spiritual heritage? In the Old Testament, we encounter a number of lists of names. Genealogies as well as lists of people going, coming, or making some commitment dot the landscape of the Old Testament story. These lists of difficult to pronounce names are usually met with a quiet grown and a sigh followed by a quick scan to the end and a page turn. The only benefit of the lists seems to be that we get through with our Bible reading plan a little faster that day!... But there are benefits to these lists. Some genealogies are used to fast-forward through time while showing the connections between generations. Others are used to show God’s faithfulness through time or one person’s connection to earlier people. Some lists show people committing to spiritual renewal or doing something historically significant yet difficult (like journeying back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city after the Exile). While you do not have to stumble through every name, you should at least sit back for a moment and ask, “Why did God choose to have these people’s names recorded for all time?” Eugene Peterson writes, “Holy history is not constructed from impersonal forces or abstract ideas; it is woven from names … [Read more...]

2020 Commission update: Reaching the next generation and people’s groups

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists are in the final year of implementing the President’s 2020 Commission Final Report, an initiative undertaken during the leadership of Waylon Bailey, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington, and the LBC president in 2012-2013. The 2020 recommendations were crafted collaboratively by a commission of 400 Louisiana Baptist leaders, staff members and laypeople, working in 20 subcommittees of 20 members each. Ten “key actions in reaching our state” – known as KAIROS – were developed to engage two audiences – the next generation and every people group. These measures for improving the spiritual health and growth of the state were adopted by messengers at the 2013 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. This article is the first in a series published by the Baptist Message to report what successes have been achieved toward the ambitious goals of the statewide initiative, as well as to note what objectives remain to be done. FIRST AUDIENCE –THE NEXT GENERATION “The LBC Executive Director will form a ‘Next Generation Task Force’ whose assignment will be to 1) study the needs of the younger generation, 2) discover and develop … [Read more...]

Sign up with Home Depot to net cash for Disaster Relief

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- A partnership between Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and Home Depot has generated more than $950,000 in funds for disaster relief responses since 2017. This money represents a financial windfall from donations by Home Depot amounting to 5 percent of all purchases made by Southern Baptists who had registered their credit or debit cards for the program. This additional funding from Home Depot stores has supported deployments of disaster relief teams to help impacted areas across the United States, according to Louisiana Baptists State Disaster Relief Coordinator Gibbie McMillan. Funds are given to the North American Mission Board, which disperses money equally to the Southern Baptist state conventions. Rebates from the partnership funded 92 percent of the costs of a $4,500 disaster relief trip taken by an Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association chainsaw team to an area of Connecticut devastated by a tornado in late May 2019, McMillan said. Team members saw four people accept Christ during their week of ministry in Southbury, Connecticut. “What eternal souls are you engaging when you respond to a need like this,” McMillan said. “Only eternity will … [Read more...]

Louisiana declared most pro-life state in nation

By Louisiana Right to Life NEW ORLEANS – Today, the national pro-life policy organization Americans United for Life (AUL) announced that Louisiana is the most pro-life state in America. AUL released its 2020 "Defending Life" report after analyzing progress made legislatively or in litigation in 2019. The annual report contains its annual "Life List ranking all 50 states based on each state's body of law associated with the life issues, ranging from abortion to euthanasia. AUL's decision to place Louisiana at the top of the list was based on the strong Louisiana pro-life legislation passed in 2019, Louisiana’s role in the upcoming June Medical Services v. Gee Supreme Court case, the presence of the Love Life Constitutional Amendment on the 2020 ballot, and the continued bipartisan commitment to the pro-life cause. "We are thankful that Louisiana has been named the most pro-life state in the nation by Americans United for Life," said Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life. "In Louisiana, we are proud of our commitment to the protection of every human life and the safeguarding of the health and safety of mothers. We appreciate our Legislature and Gov. Edwards for their steadfast and bipartisan … [Read more...]

2020 CEC to challenge collegians to ‘Thrive’

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – The next generation of young professionals will be challenged to be a voice for biblical truth during the upcoming Collegiate Evangelism Conference, set for Feb. 14-15 at Louisiana College’s Guinn Auditorium in Pineville. The theme for the conference is “thrive.” “We are encouraging students to develop in discipleship and understanding and application of God’s word in their lives so they may thrive in Him,” Louisiana Baptists state Baptist Collegiate Ministry Director Mark Robinson told the Baptist Message. CEC will feature three speakers: James Doughty, pastor of First Baptist Church in Monroe, Stephen Daigle, associate pastor of Celebration Church in Metairie, and Robinson. Leading music will be the Jason Lovins Band, a Christian contemporary band from Ashland, Kentucky. Those attending the conference will have a chance to learn about possible summer jobs and missions opportunities at booths manned by various national camp staffs situated throughout the foyer of Guinn Auditorium. Students also will have a chance to attend breakout sessions that center around the conference theme. Robinson said a highlight of the conference each year is a chance for … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptists asked to pray for Brazil

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SOROCABA, Brazil (LBM) – David Denton has issued a call to prayer ahead of a Louisiana Baptist-led annual summer mission trip to Brazil. Among the most pressing needs are funding for construction of a chapel that the team will build and guidance as Denton, coordinator of the trip, and Gene Jenkins travel to Brazil to finalize logistics in mid-February. Jenkins is construction coordinator and the brother of Wayne Jenkins, former Louisiana Baptist evangelism and church growth director who passed away Nov. 13, 2018, after leading 34 mission trips to the country. “This preview trip will not only enable us to take care of details like housing and transportation but will also provide opportunity for face to face conversations with our coordinator and local Brazilian pastors who will be participating in the work,” Denton told the Baptist Message. “I am praying that God will lead us to have meaningful conversations about kingdom cooperation. These Brazilian pastors have a big task as they seek to mobilize their people for this effort. Please pray for all these things as they are all essential for our trip.” Last year, 56 participants led 1,835 Brazilians to the Lord. These new believers … [Read more...]

Drop in married couples with children reflects change in marriage views, presents challenges to churches

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor SUITLAND, Md. (LBM)—The U.S. Census Bureau has released data showing that the number of married couples with children under the age of 18 hit a 56-year low of 23,651,000 in 2017, indicating a decline in the traditional family. The drop is even more serious when viewed in terms of population totals then and now. In 1961, there were 23,514,000 married couple families with children under age 18, among a total population of 183,691,481 – a ratio of one married couple with kids for every 8 people in the country. Now the ratio is one married couple with children under 18 for every 14 people, based on 23,651,000 married couples and a total U.S. population of 325,719,178 people. The decline in married couples with children coincides with a rise in single parent families, with that number climbing from 2,375 million in 1961 to 10,641,000 in 2017, the latest data that has been released. Meanwhile, the number of children under age 18 as a percentage of the U.S. population has continued to decline from a high of 36 percent in 1960 to an estimated 22.2 percent for 2020. The implications for U.S. social institutions appear dire with fewer people as a percentage of the population … [Read more...]

United Methodists to split over gay marriage

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM) --After years of struggle within the United Methodist Church regarding the ordination of LGBT clergy and performing same-sex marriages, world leaders of the denomination have proposed a split that would allow conservative congregations to form a separate body. The Book of Discipline that guides UMC churches regarding such matters now states that “the practice of homosexuality is in compatible with Christian teaching” and declares that “ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.” Once the conservatives separate from the present denomination, it will open the door for the existing United Methodist Church to repeal these bans. The proposed separation will be voted on at the UMC General Conference in May. The United Methodist Church has about 6.8 million members in the United States and 12.7 million members worldwide. Although overseas congregations are considered more conservative than those in the United States, surveys indicate that 55 percent of U.S. congregants are conservative in their beliefs. The United Methodist Church is the second-largest evangelical body in the … [Read more...]