Steve Gaines: ‘We’ve got to be soul winners’
By Will Hall, Message Editor MEMPHIS – Describing what his presidential priorities might mean for the Southern Baptist Convention, Steve Gaines emphasized during an exclusive interview the need to pray for revival in our churches and a spiritual awakening in our country, and an equally critical need to train to be soul winners again. Moreover, Gaines said there is a stewardship problem among Southern Baptists – starting with personal budgeting, and he made the point that “the Cooperative Program is by far the very best way to support Southern Baptist missions,” not societal giving. In that regard, Gaines said there needs to be greater emphasis on the value of local associations and state conventions in order to have healthy and growing national programs and entities. Finally, on the issue of Calvinism, Gaines said he believes “anybody can be saved” and that although there is room in the SBC tent for different beliefs, “I do not believe that Calvinism should be taught as the optimal exclusive theological position in our schools, whether our seminaries or our colleges.” DELIBERATE SOUL WINNING “We've got to win souls,” Gaines, pastor of the historic Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, told the … [Read more...]
David Crosby: Cooperation in missions, compassion through ministries
By Will Hall, Message Editor NEW ORLEANS – David Crosby, pastor of the First Baptist Church in New Orleans, shared with the Louisiana Baptist Message some of his thoughts about what his possible election as president of the Southern Baptist Convention might mean for the denomination, emphasizing that “the work we do together is about the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.” Speaking by phone, Crosby said on that point “We’ve got to do both proclamation and incarnation. I think the Gospel requires behavior as well as words.” He added he would work with our national entities to underscore compassion ministries as a way to unleash churches to reach the lost. Crosby also expressed “alarm” about the multi-year trend of designated giving -- the focus on independent work instead of cooperative ministries -- outpacing gifts through the Cooperative Program. Likewise, he expressed grave concern about the “almost accidental” downsizing of the International Mission Board, asking “Why didn’t we have a conversation about this?” instead of “just being blindsided by it.” Regarding the impact of Calvinism on the Convention, Crosby said Southern Baptists always before have been able to live together “with some tensions but in relative … [Read more...]
J.D. Greear: (declined to interview)
By Will Hall, Message Editor Despite making an appointment for a phone interview and after a substantive conversation, J.D. Greear declined to participate in a live question and answer session with the Louisiana Baptist Message about his run for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention. During the exchange, Greear made several special requests, some that were acceptable and one that was not. He asked for questions to be submitted in writing. The Message declined to grant this privilege because the two other candidates for SBC president -- Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, and David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana -- agreed to the live format, which requires the interviewee to be thinking on his feet and avoids getting typed responses ‘written by committee.’ For the record, to start their respective interviews, Gaines and Crosby each were asked to reflect on the axiom “keep the main thing the main thing” and then explain what the “main thing” would be in his presidency. Follow-up questions essentially were the same for both but were asked naturally during the respective conversations. Greear would have been treated the same. Greear also asked to … [Read more...]
‘All in’ soul-winning effort unveiled for LBC
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – Louisiana Baptists are being asked to commit to a massive two-year evangelism initiative that could be the largest joint effort ever by the denomination to share the Gospel. WIN THE STATE During the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board’s spring meeting at Tall Timbers Conference Center, state leaders announced a Harvest Initiative whose end goal is involve at least 700 churches to pray for and share Christ with every household in Louisiana. “The spiritual impact could be enormous,” said Wayne Jenkins, evangelism and church growth director for Louisiana Baptists. “It could be the thing God could use for a genuine awakening in the life of our state. “If 700 churches would get involved, it would create a greater concern for the lost, create a greater impact in our local churches for wining people for Christ and better discipleship, and create a greater excitement in the life of the church. What would it be like if we could say at the end of 2018 we have prayed for and shared with every dwelling place in Louisiana the Gospel? The thought of what could happen is exciting.” PILOT & PREPARE After spending 2016 planning and enlisting leaders and churches, and using … [Read more...]
Louisiana AG Jeff Landry declares Obama transgender mandate unlawful Federal overreach
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced he would vigorously defend the state and its citizens from unlawful action threatened by the Obama Administration’s recent mandate that public schools allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex. In a letter to the leaders of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Board of Regents, Louisiana High School Athletic Association, Louisiana School Boards Association, Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board, and Office of Juvenile Justice – Landry asserted the administration’s threat to remove the state’s Title IX monies jeopardizes the safety of the student body and creates a public education funding crisis. “Let me be perfectly clear, President Obama and his appointees do not have legal authority to require our children to share locker rooms and bathrooms with children of the opposite sex,” wrote Landry. “The administration’s interpretation of Title IX constitutes an improper attempt to commandeer state-owned property in pursuit of a federal policy that has uniformly been rejected by the federal courts.” “The policy position adopted by the Obama Administration irresponsibly creates an environment in which children may be … [Read more...]
Little Sisters of the Poor, other non profits win at Supreme Court
By Joni B. Hannigan, Christian Examiner ***This article was previously posted at the Christian Examiner and is used by permission. CLEVELAND, Ga. (Christian Examiner) – Following a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court today to unanimously overturn the lower court rulings against the Little Sisters of the Poor, the president of Truett-McConnell University said he was "thrilled" a six year "battle of ups and downs" has finally come to an end. "That's as strong as it gets," Emir Caner told Christian Examiner, about the high court's decision that ordered the government to leverage no fines and work with the Little Sisters' and others who do not want to participate in directly supplying contraception, to offering other ways to provide services that do not require them to forfeit their religious liberties. "You can tell [the Supreme Court justices] have had enough of the government dictating to our conscience what we can or cannot do," Caner said. The Court, according to a Beckett Fund Fund attorney, vacated the lower courts' decision. To Read the Full Article click here. … [Read more...]
‘Remembering the Goal’ movie is running with purpose
By Dave Christiano “Everybody needs a purpose in life” says Dave Christiano, the movie’s director “and one simple verse in the Bible provides the direction we all need.” Remember The Goal is an inspirational dramatic movie about a girls cross country team coming to theaters on August 26th. It follows the story of a new coach, fresh out of college, who takes over the girls cross country program at a private Christian school and attempts to lead them to a state title. “The coach has great wisdom for her young age and imparts this to the girls by covering many situations and issues in the story” says Christiano. “Allee-Sutton Hethcoat plays the lead role of Coach Courtney Smith-Donnelly” says the director. “She is terrific in this role and a strong role model and leader with high character. We need more people like her in real life and my hope is that she will be a positive influence to many.” The theme of the movie is based on 1 Corinthians 10:31: “whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” That phrase 'whatsoever ye do' includes running. Remember The Goal will speak to many important issues. For example, the movie is a visual example of the humility and the character of Christ. It … [Read more...]
A call for compassion in Louisiana Criminal Justice
By Gene Mills, President of Louisiana Family Forum There is a movement in the Louisiana Legislature this session to bring principled, faith-based reform to this state’s criminal justice system. With gridlock and partisanship dominating the headlines at the state and federal level, criminal justice reform offers a unique moment to illustrate that bi-partisanship still exists. With justice reform, we focus on a common goal of restoring families and communities and bringing reliability to the rehabilitation process for those seeking restoration to society. Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the nation, a statistic that we should resolve to repair. Today, approximately 2.2 million Louisiana residents have a criminal record. To make matters worse, for too long we have had a penal system in place whose object is to punish rather than rehabilitate (low-level offenders) offenders with the object of successful re-entry into society. We should be working to promote a criminal justice system that anticipates and pursues the incredible transformation that occurs when an individual accepts responsibility for his or her actions before man and, by God’s grace, becomes a “new creation.” Providentially, a bipartisan group of … [Read more...]
Memorial services set for Pastor Joe Senn
By Staff, Baptist Message WINNSBORO - Memorial services for Pastor Joel Senn, 63, of Rayville will be held at 10 a.m., May 16 at Crockett Point Baptist Church in Winnsboro, with Eddie Wren and Robert Warren officiating under the direction of Brown-Holley Funeral Home in Rayville Senn was born Feb. 25, 1953 in Rayville and passed away Friday, May 13, 2016 in Rayville. A member of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board and the Pledge Leadership team,. Mr. Joe was a member of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Properties, Executive Board, and the Pledge Leadership Program. Casey Johnson, pastor of Bonita Road Baptist Church in Bastrop and a former staff member at Crockett Point, wrote this on his Facebook page, “Words cannot express my heart. There are feelings of sadness, yet feelings of joy. The Apostle Paul said it best, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." His heart was to be with his people but he understood the glory that awaited him … glory that is indescribable. A glory that I heard Joe Senn speak of during the years of I spent in ministry with him. “Yesterday, that indescribable glory became His own,” Johnson continued. “His faith has now been made sight. His presence will be missed but his legacy lives … [Read more...]
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