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"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

New poll: state overwhelmingly supports life

By Louisiana Right to Life NEW ORLEANS – A new poll has found that 70 percent of Louisiana residents consider themselves to be pro-life, and they do not believe taxpayer funds should be used to provide abortion. A survey of 1,180 likely 2019 General Election voters was commissioned by Louisiana Right to Life and conducted Feb. 10 and 11 by the Remington Research Group. The sampling was across all demographics. Question 1: On the issue of abortion, do you consider yourself to be pro-life or pro-choice? On this question, 70 percent of responders said pro-life, while 30 percent said pro-choice. Question 2: Do you think taxpayer funds should be used to provide abortion services? On this question, 71 percent of responders said no, 18 percent said yes and 11 percent were not sure. In Louisiana being pro-life is a non-partisan issue, as shown by overwhelming support in both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature on pro-life votes. In this poll, 87 percent of Republicans, 58 percent of Democrats, and 65 percent identifying as non-partisan identified as pro-life. Interestingly enough, while 67 percent of responders who identified as liberals said they were pro-choice, just 40 percent of those said taxpayer funds should … [Read more...]

Turning failure into triumph

By Rick Warren "A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB). We usually think of failure as something negative. But wise people know how to take advantage of it. They learn from it. They use it as an education. Failure is one of the primary tools that God uses in your life to make you what he wants you to be.How can failure be good? God uses failure to educate us. Mistakes are simply learning experiences. Some lessons can only be learned through failure. The Bible says, “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB). If you’re not making any mistakes, you’re not growing or learning. If you’re not taking any risks, you’re not growing. The freedom from the fear of failure is the freedom to grow. God uses failure to motivate us. “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways” (Proverbs 20:30 GNT). Often we change when we feel the heat, not when we see the light. When you fail, God may be trying to get your attention to move you into a new direction. God uses failure to build our character. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be … [Read more...]

Pursue Christ, pursue contentment

By Steve Horn I read somewhere this week that our society suffers from “inextinguishable discontent.” We are on a perpetual quest for more or better. We want a better job, a better boss, a better wage, or a better retirement plan. We want a better marriage or a better spouse. We want a better car, a better house, and a better wardrobe. Some of us just want a better golf swing. And, we live for “what’s next.” We find ourselves wishing for next weekend, or our next vacation, or our next phase of life. All the while in this quest for better and next, we miss today. We miss now. And we miss contentment. And, we learn from Paul that this is not the life worthy of the call of Christ. Consider the text. In comparison, though, Paul addressed the Philippians that he had learned the “secret to contentment.” Just as is the case with joy, true contentment is found in Christ. Joy and contentment seem to run on parallel tracks. Since Paul used that word, “learned,” we ask the question of the text, “What had he learned? The Connection Between Circumstances and Contentment Here’s the simple lesson: There really is no connection between circumstances and contentment. Look at the phrases of this text: whatever circumstances (v. 11); … [Read more...]

LC’s enrollment continues to climb

By Norm Miller, LCNews PINEVILLE (LCNews) - The four-year trend of increasing enrollment continues at Louisiana College. Spring headcount is 1,123, which is up 9.2 percent over last spring and is 25 percent above spring 2016 enrollment. The ratio of undergraduate-to-graduate students is 80/20. The good news does not stop there, Brewer said, noting that LC’s fall-to-spring retention among freshman is at 85 percent, which is 4 points above last spring and considerably higher than in years past. “For two years running, our first-year students are opting to stay with us,” he said. This “bodes well” for future graduation rates. “We’re all in,” said LC President Dr. Rick Brewer. “From faculty to staff, from parents to students, from alumni to donors, and from pastors to our Louisiana Baptist Convention churches, the historic spirit of Louisiana College is on the rebound in numerous encouraging ways.” Several initiatives launched since Brewer’s arrival in 2015 have bolstered enrollment. These include direct marketing to prospective students. The Collegiate Advertising Awards presented its top award to Louisiana College for digital marketing and recruiting. Other initiatives include improved academic advising, the … [Read more...]