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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Trust and partnership – a recovery program for the SBC

By Randy Adams The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) needs a recovery program.  Followers of Jesus, including those who lead, are not exempt from addiction to power, money, and sex, and we have been reminded of this with jarring frequency over the past few weeks and months.  Deep wounds caused by multiple failures are now festering from infection.  Added to the more public matters is a sick hubris that has caused some to weaponize money and leadership, intentionally hurting others, certain that they are smarter, wiser, or better than “them.”  Much of the focus has been on the resignation of leaders and the firing of a seminary president, and rightly so, but perhaps worse than the headlines is our deficit of trust and partnership that has grown as large as the national debt.  Although trust and partnership have been eroded in multiple ways, the serious erosion of cooperation and trust between the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and denominational partners has led to a collapse in the numbers of churches started and the number of new believers baptized. Many think that we are in the midst of a church planting boom in the SBC.  We are not.  In the past two years we have tallied the lowest number of new church starts in … [Read more...]

Racial reconciliation – the way forward

By Ken Hemphill Paula, my wife and ministry partner, loves Psalm 145:4 “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” This verse is the preface for the times when Paula and I talk to our grandchildren about the many ways we have seen God at work in our extended family. Believe it or not, the grandkids love these stories about our history and will often ask for us to “replay” certain stories. Among the issues that have been discussed in recent days is the matter of racial reconciliation and social justice and how we should address them as a denomination. Before we look at the present and future, it might be helpful to take an honest look at our past. While no one would deny that some persons and some churches have been less than Christian in their treatment of persons of other races, I think it is important to look at the positive contributions to racial reconciliation that are also part of our collective history. A look at our past Although critics argue that much of the division between Baptists in the North and South was related to slavery, they often fail to point out the role Southern Baptists have played in trying to remedy racism. (I have included several resolutions from … [Read more...]

Sabine parish pastor hit, killed while jogging

FORT JESUP – Matt Haggard, interim pastor of First Baptist Church in Fort Jesup, was hit and killed by a motorist Thursday morning while jogging. The accident was reported just before 7 a.m. Haggard, 48, was on his daily jog on state Hwy 6 near the Fort Jesup Community which is located six miles east of Many, Louisiana when he was hit by a teenage driver. He died at the scene of the accident according to Sabine Parish deputy coroner Ron Rivers. Haggard was headed west as was the teenage driver of a Chevrolet pickup truck who struck him, Rivers said. Louisiana State Police Troop E is investigating the accident. According to the Annual Church Profile, Haggard previously served as pastor of Oak Hill Baptist Church in Many and First Baptist Church in Marthaville. Phillip Strahan, minister of music at First Baptist Marthaville, told the Baptist Message that Haggard leaves behind a wife, April, and two sons, Sam and Brenden. First Baptist Jesup said in a Facebook message to the Message, “Please pray for his wife and children, and also the driver and his family. Funeral arrangements are still pending but the Message will publish once we have them. … [Read more...]