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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

What every church needs

By Waylon Bailey Most of the people who read this blog are very much interested in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Most go to church and most want the church to do well. What is it that every church needs? Let me give you some ideas. First, people who pray. Almost always we look for the wrong things to be first and foremost about the church. We look at power or prestige or money instead of looking at the prayers of the people. The church needs people who pray—fervently,  believing, and urgently. Second, people who serve. Jesus made serving the centerpiece of the church. He gave the church Himself as an example. He did not come to be served but to serve. Churches are blessed or crippled by the amount of service by the people. Third, people who give. Most churches give far below their potential. We’ve said it many times before, God has provided all we need if only we will give what He has given to us. Fourth, people who exalt Christ. The church is about Christ. It is not about us or our desires. Christ is the head of the church, and we are His body. Fifth, humility. God opposes the proud but exalts the humble. Humility pleases God. Every church needs it. Humility is the recognition that the Lord is God and … [Read more...]

Ginn urges LC students during chapel to “love one another”

By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE - Jeff Ginn, lead pastor of Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, keynoted Louisiana College’s Jan. 23 chapel service, urging students to “love one another” as Romans 12:9-10 instructs. That love must be true, tough and tender, he said. “Biblical love by its nature hates what harms others and hates, as God does, what is evil,” Ginn said. He also said that the Greek word for brotherly love, which is prescribed by God’s word, literally means to be born “from the same womb. ... We are family.” “We are elated to have so many top-notch leaders, pastors and laypersons who ably encourage and challenge our Louisiana College family,” said LC President Rick Brewer, noting that the “common denominators among these speakers is a love for God, a love for the Bible, and a love for college students.” Others speakers scheduled for LC chapel include: Michael Wood, pastor, First Baptist Church, West Monroe; Jerry Pipes, president of Jerry Pipes Productions, Lawrenceville, Ga.; Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, and a former Southern Baptist Convention president; Steve Horn, pastor of First Baptist Church, Lafayette, and a former Louisiana Baptist Convention president; … [Read more...]