PINEVILLE (LC News) – Michael Wood had his own plans that never included living in Louisiana or becoming a pastor. But as Wood, who is pastor of First Baptist Church West Monroe, shared with students during the Feb. 9 chapel service at Louisiana College, God has His own plan for their lives. Furthermore, “never forget your position in God’s grand story.” Drawing from Psalm 78, Wood shared aspects of his ministry journey as he noted three leadership principles: make people a priority, be trustworthy and love others. “Become the best you can for God so people will see God’s work in you,” he said. Wood shared leadership principles, which include leading well begins by submitting well, leadership doesn’t start someday, it starts today, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought and leadership is not for wimps. Regarding pastoral ministry, Wood said, “The good days are better than I thought. And the hard days - harder than I thought. … If my heart is not captured by Christ, I will never love people or be trustworthy, and people will not be my priority.” … [Read more...]

Baton Rouge – The Louisiana Family Forum has released the winner of its contest to name the state’s longest married couple. For the third year in a row, Lawrence and Varrie Player have received the honor. Louisiana Family Forum honored the Players during a reception at their home in Benton. The organization also honored Will Henry and Virginia Teasley of Bryceland as the runner-up. “We pause for a moment today to honor the Top 10 Longest Married Couples in our state,” Gene Mills, President of LFF, said in a news release. “Each have blessed this state with the heritage of long life and good health and they have built a legacy of faith and family. Incredibly, they remind us that true love takes time to fully mature! “Today we share their story of faithfulness to encourage a new generation that ‘happily married’ and ‘for a lifetime’ really do go together. LFF’s message is clear: Marriage can be a beautiful experience that endures for a lifetime!” Louisiana Family Forum dedicated the poem ‘An Ode to Old Love’ in the Players’ honor: Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasped hands, pure hearts on the path to marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love? And the answer is … [Read more...]

By Message Staff NEW ORLEANS - Preaching for the first time since a Feb. 7 tornado destroyed his church building, Jeffery Friend said that God promises that when trouble comes, trusting in Christ is essential for being a shining light. "When trouble comes and since trouble has come, I ask you to do what Job did in chapter 13," said Friend from the pulpit at Gentilly Baptist Church. "I ask you to trust in the Lord." An EF3 tornado - the strongest ever recorded in New Orleans - destroyed Suburban Baptist Church, along with severely damaging homes of many of its members, including Friend and his wife, Stephanie. While Friend is unsure of when his congregation might gather again in its damaged building, he knows the church, damaged during Katrina and managed to come back, can do so again. For Friend knows what seems impossible to man is more than doable for God - giving hope to the hopeless -- which also happens to be the mission statement of Suburban Baptist Church. Until the church is rebuilt, they will continue to meet at Gentilly Baptist Church. "I'm going to have to give up my salary until we get healthy enough to function financially," Friend told the Baptist Message Sunday evening. "When you don't have a … [Read more...]