Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Adding value to others

By Waylon Bailey James Clear is a favorite writer. He has written about the power of habits and how you develop those powerful habits. Recently he wrote about adding value to other people. He said that before you ask for value you must give value to others. This fits many areas of life. Think about marriages. Most of the time we think about what our spouse doesn’t do. He/she doesn’t meet my needs, think about me, etc. James Clear would say that we have to add value to others before we can ask value from others. In other words, be sure that you are giving fully before you ask to receive. While I don’t know about James Clear’s religious beliefs, like so many other helpful people he is really expressing powerful words found in Scripture. Jesus told us to “do unto others as you want them to do for you.” Have you applied that to your marriage, your family, your friends at school, or your workplace? Have you considered the kind of difference this could make? What about what Jesus said about loving others as you love yourself? Would this turn everything around you upside down? And, what if two people in the marriage practice “doing unto others” and “loving others as we love ourselves?” Have you thought about your … [Read more...]

Skills of a church planter: Using the giftedness of others

By John Hebert ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)—I’ve learned a lot about leadership through the years, especially as a pastor and working with other pastors in my ministry with the Louisiana Baptist Convention. But some of the most memorable lessons, and many of the fundamentals, I learned while playing basketball for great coaches: -- Dale Skinner, the Rapides High School head coach during my freshman year, was inducted into the Louisiana High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame; -- Rick Huckabay was my Rapides High coach for the next three years; won the 1973 AA State Championship; and was inducted to the Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame; and, -- LSU Coach Dale Brown, a four-time SEC Coach of the Year, and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. What was common about these championship coaches is the unique emphasis each of them placed on using each player’s strengths, or giftedness, as they put together top teams. Wise leaders always use the giftedness of others – taking inventory of the resources of the people around them and employing them on their team according to their giftedness. In a previous article on creating ownership, I discussed in depth the need for leaders to recruit capable … [Read more...]

Revival brings focus on Christ

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer GLENMORA (LBM) – Cadence Fontenot frequently viewed her life through a dark lens, but an encounter with Christ during the Focus 2020 revival at Glenmora High School gave her a new perspective on life. At the challenge offered by evangelist Ken Freeman “to live for Christ,” Fontenot repented for salvation, turning from her sins and giving her life to Christ. She was among 80 new converts who proclaimed Jesus as Lord during the revival, Jan. 18-20. Fontenot later joined five other members of the youth group at First Baptist Church in Oakdale, Feb. 2, for a baptismal celebration service. All six students had placed their faith in Christ during Focus 2020. “Before I gave my life to Christ, I thought negatively about everything and was never happy,” Fontenot said. “My pastor, youth pastor and Sunday school teacher had been working to prepare me for about a year, and when I finally gave it all to God, I was changed and felt love like never before.” FOCUS 2020 Each night during the revival, Freeman shared messages of hope to more than 500 people who gathered inside Glenmora High School’s auditorium. Freeman encouraged students and adults, alike, to make the right choice to … [Read more...]

Thousands march for life: Push for Love Life Amendment launched with Life Marches

ALEXANDRIA (LBM)--During a pivotal year that will see a ballot initiative in the fall that offers a constitutional amendment to protect our pro-life laws from being overturned, Louisianans gathered on multiple weekends in January and February around the state to declare their love for life and to offer support for the Love Life Amendment. According to information provided by Louisiana Right to Life, a crowd of 2,500 gathered in Shreveport Jan. 19; 500 in Lake Charles Jan. 22; 1,500 marched in Baton Rouge Jan. 25; 2,500 participated in Monroe/West Monroe Jan. 26; and 4,000 rallied in Alexandria/Pineville Feb. 1. At each event, all under the theme of “Louisiana Loves Life,” participants held a large “Louisiana Life March” banner to lead the procession. Others held up signs proclaiming “Life Matters” while some displayed signs urging pro-lifers to “End Abortion Now.” PIVOTAL YEAR All five marches come at a time when Louisiana voters will have the chance to pass the “Love Life Amendment,” slated to be on the statewide ballot Nov. 3. This proposed constitutional amendment reads “To protect human life, nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of … [Read more...]

Northwest Baptists seek revival

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY, La. (LBM)--Nearly 350 members of the Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association’s 118 churches came together to cry out to God to bring revival during the local fellowship’s fifth annual “Call to Prayer.” Hosted by Bellaire Baptist Church in Bossier City, the Jan. 26 gathering brought together Christians of various ages and ethnicities to pray for law enforcement, educators, missionaries serving around the world, pastors and other church leaders, and the persecuted church. Just like previous gatherings at First Baptist Church, Bossier City, Summer Grove Baptist Church, Shreveport, Cypress Baptist Church, Benton, and Broadmoor Baptist Church, Shreveport, this event was marked by prayer from the worship center stage, in small groups around the room and by individuals who pleaded with God for revival in their community, state and nation. “The time when pastors pray for each other is always special,” NLBA Associational Mission Strategist Lane Moore told the Baptist Message. “These men come from different cultures, different worship styles and different preaching styles, but when we pray for each other’s ministry it pulls them together.” SEEK REPENTANCE AND … [Read more...]