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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Luter announces 2026 retirement

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, has announced he will retire in October 2026. Luter, who shared about his retirement during an Oct. 19 service that celebrated his 39th anniversary with FABC, said he is grateful to the 65 members who voted to call him as pastor while he was a young street preacher from the Lower Ninth Ward. He also expressed appreciation for being a part of a church that has persevered through four building programs, the COVID pandemic and Hurricane Katrina. During his ministry with FABC, Luter was elected as the first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he has seen the church baptize 6,500 new believers, according to church records. “Just looking back on from when it started to up until now, it’s been a joy pastoring Franklin Avenue,” Luter told the Baptist Message. “To see what God has done in this church, with a guy who never pastored before, and then being a part of a church that grew to be one of the largest churches in the state has been a blessing. “And I look at it as God rewarding my faithfulness,” he continued. “I’ve been thankful to God, to His Word, to my … [Read more...]

LCU celebrates 119th Founders’ Day

By Elizabeth Clarke, LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) - Four Louisiana Christian University faculty members were recognized during its Founders’ Day chapel, Nov. 4, for outstanding service to the university with the presentation of endowed professorships and chair positions. Henry Robertson, vice president of Academic Affairs, introduced the awarded faculty. The endowments come with a salary stipend and medallion. Amelia Davis, Coughlin-Saunders Foundation Chair in Nursing; David Elliott, J.E. Hixon Professorship; Sarah Payne, George F. Kirby Professorship in Chemistry; and Michael Williams, Eugenia Dawson Professorship in Art Founders’ Day is an annual celebration of the college's founding on Oct. 3, 1906. “Our founders believed in Christian education, and they held a conviction that we hold today, said LCU President Mark Johnson. “We get an opportunity to celebrate and connect you to a legacy that you may not know about.” Johnson remarked on how the faithfulness of God has sustained the university through every storm. Two alumni who are now faculty members delivered inspiring comments to students. Maggie Bridges, associate professor of social work, told the students that LC wasn’t her … [Read more...]