Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Decision by court in Kate Steinle murder case criticized by Johnson

By Ainsley Holyfield, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Benton) released the following statement regarding the acquittal of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate for the murder of Kate Steinle in June 2015: “The jury verdict in the Kate Steinle murder case is an outrage. The illegal immigrant and career criminal who slayed her deserved the full weight of justice, but unfortunately, he has been acquitted. This tragedy is why I helped lead the passage of Kate's Law and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act in the House this summer. San Francisco, and any other city that endangers law-abiding citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, should not receive another penny of federal funding.” Background Johnson testified before the House Rules committee earlier this year on H.R. 3003, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, and H.R. 3004, Kate’s Law. These bills set strict penalties on dangerous sanctuary city policies that needlessly put innocent lives at risk and take further steps to ensure repeat-criminal aliens are punished accordingly. Both bills passed the House in June of 2017 with bipartisan support. You can view the video of Johnson’s testimony here. The text of the testimony can be … [Read more...]

Louisiana’s Johnson works to protect victims, prevent sexual harassment

By Ainsley Holyfield, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 630 to require each member, officer and employee of the House of Representatives to complete a program of training in workplace rights and responsibilities each session of each Congress to help combat sexual harassment and provide a clear path forward for victims. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Benton) voted in favor of this legislation. In addition, Johnson cosponsored two pieces of legislation, the Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act and the Settlement Tax Deductions are Over for Predators Act (STOP Act) to further combat sexual harassment and assaults. The first bill seeks to tackle the problem on the Hill, empower survivors and eliminate the congressional hush fund that is currently being used to settle such claims with taxpayer money. The STOP Act addresses systemic patterns of abuse that cover up sexual harassment by preventing businesses from deducting settlement payments related to sexual assault or sexual harassment, or associated legal fees, as a business expense on their federal taxes. “There is absolutely no place for sexual harassment in the workplace or anywhere," … [Read more...]

Pastor: Start afresh every year

By Joe McKeever “Now, team, this is a football!”  (Said to have been an opening statement from legendary coach Vince Lombardi after his team’s devastating loss the previous day.) Coach Dabo Sweeney sits in the catbird seat.  As his team, the Clemson University Tigers, sits atop the latest football poll–making them number one in the nation–they are preparing to face the tough Miami Hurricanes this weekend.  Survive that, as they probably will, and Clemson will be set for the championship playoff, two games to decide the final ranking of the 2017 season. This morning on ESPN’s “Golic and Wingo,” Sweeney was asked how he gets players not long out of high school ready to face these tough challenges.  He said two things worth our consideration: “I start over every year.”  “I try to get buy-in.” A college coach trains his leadership just the way he wants them.  Finally, about the time they are functioning at peak level, they graduate.  A new group of freshmen comes in and the coach has to start over. A coach does, however, have a sizeable cluster of sophomores and juniors who have heard all this before. Presumably, they are already on board with the coach’s lessons and will need little prepping. But “I start over … [Read more...]