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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Arrested pastor had abandoned Louisiana Baptist congregation in February

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – In an email to the Baptist Message, Chris Holloway, senior pastor with Little Pass Baptist Church, Charenton, Louisiana, which sponsors Baldwin Baptist Mission Church, Baldwin, Louisiana, said that the former mission pastor, Shane Wiggins, who was arrested April 9, had abandoned the Baldwin congregation at least as early as the first Sunday in February. Holloway also serves as the associational mission strategist for the Gulf Coast Baptist Association that includes the Little Pass congregation as well as the Baldwin mission. Wiggins is being held in the Lamar County Jail in Texas while awaiting extradition to Morgan City, Louisiana, to face allegations of rape and molestation of a child. Hollaway said that Wiggins had previously served as pastor of the Baldwin Baptist Mission Church prior to 2011 and had returned in 2015 to again lead the small congregation (which averages 10 in worship services according to the Louisiana Baptist database). “Shane left town around the first of February,” Holloway wrote. “My last conversation with him was on Jan. 28, 2025.” Holloway also noted that Wiggins had been replaced as pastor on Feb. 12 by Warren Guidry, the associate pastor … [Read more...]

FIRST PERSON: Silent Saturday

By John Kyle, special to the Baptist Message ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- It’s what’s commonly referred to as “Holy Week,” the week leading up the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. We just celebrated Palm Sunday and later this week is Maundy Thursday which gives way to Good Friday and last, but certainly not least, is Easter Sunday. In the midst of this busy, significant week, let me suggest a new day for you and I living on this side of the resurrection - Silent Saturday. Allow me to elaborate … Two thousand years ago the events leading up to what we now call Easter were a whirlwind - to say the least. And things certainly didn't turn out the way the way those early Christ followers envisioned.  So there they were, after a bizarre week that began with a celebration and ended with a crucifixion.  It was Saturday. The crowds gone. Their minds and hearts numb. And they were not sure what's next. Now, on this side of history we know what's next - but they didn't. Our lives are often the same way - crazy busy – and sometimes bizarre.  Our smartphones light up with one notification after another. Great anticipation is often replaced by great disappointment in our careers, in our relationships and even with God. And … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptist pastor, Shane Wiggins, arrested

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) — Shane Wiggins, pastor of Baldwin Baptist Mission Church, Baldwin, Louisiana, was arrested, April 9, on charges of rape and molestation. Wiggins has been with the Baldwin congregation, a mission of Little Pass Baptist Church in Charenton, Louisiana, since March 2015. According to the police department of Morgan City, Louisiana, Wiggins was arrested in Paris, Texas, and faces extradition. The MCPD reported via Facebook, April 9, that Wiggins has been under investigation since December 17, 2024, when a mother of a child filed a complaint, accusing Wiggins of inappropriate behavior with the juvenile. Recently, unable to contact Wiggins at his residence or by phone, MCPD detectives suspected he had left the state. Police did not report why they believed Wiggins was in Paris, Texas, but that was where they focused their search in collaboration with the Lamar County Sheriff’s and Paris Police Departments. Wiggins was arrested while driving in Paris and is now detained in the Lamar County Jail in Paris. … [Read more...]

FIRST PERSON: The LBC does not oppose Amendment 2

By Will Hall, director, LBC Office of Public Policy, and executive editor, Baptist Message ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists saw a 19 percent jump in baptisms in 2022 and a 31 percent surge on top of that in 2023. Last week, many Louisiana Baptists took part in the Livingston Parish GO TELL AMERICA Crusade and witnessed more than 1,300 spiritual decisions -- with at least 602 new believers who are counted among that number. Moreover, there are similar evangelistic events planned around the state in 2025 as Louisiana Baptists commit to establish a culture of soul winning in our state. However, this week, all of that has been overshadowed in some circles because of the poor decision by a few individuals to wrongly characterize, or otherwise allow the wrong perception, that “Louisiana Baptists” oppose Amendment 2, a tax reform measure which is on the statewide March 29 ballot. Unfortunately, their misdirection on this issue involves a video clip of my testimony before the Senate Committee on Revenue & Fiscal Affairs regarding HB 7 (which removes language from the Constitution pertaining to property tax exemptions for ministries and nonprofits) and HB 11 (which transfers the exact same language to the statutes … [Read more...]

More than 1,300 spiritual decisions made in Denham Springs

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (LBM) – The Den­ham Springs High School football stadium became a house of God during the Livingston Parish GO TELL AMERICA Crusade, March 16-19. By the end of the four-day spiritual encounter, including all related out­side events, 1,316 persons had made decisions for Christ, with 602 individ­uals stepping forward to accept Christ, according to Chris Palmer, GO TELL director of ministry out­reach. Evangelist Rick Gage, founder of GO TELL Min­istries in Duluth, Georgia, shared that more than a year ago his team met with pastors and other lead­ers to plan a crusade that would help reach a parish that Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association leaders believe is 80-90 percent unchurched. Over the next year, this group prayed and prepared with anticipation of a mighty harvest. “It’s just been a great move of God, and it’s an area that was ripe for a harvest,” Gage told the Baptist Message. “We’re seeing pockets of revival across the nation and a great move of God among the younger generation. “And as you study the moves of God and the revivals of the past, you learn that many of those great moves of God started with young people. Wasn’t it two and a half … [Read more...]

FIRST PERSON: No, Amendment 2 does not place taxes on churches

By Julie Emerson, Louisiana State Representative, District 39 (Lafayette Parish) and member of FBC Lafayette BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) -- Politics is an increasingly wild and quite unpredictable sport. By now, you’ve likely seen claims that Amendment 2 (on your March 29 ballot) will somehow place property taxes on our churches. This just could not be further from the truth. Amendment 2 does not place any taxes on properties that are currently enjoying exemptions…and certainly not churches. As a third term State Representative and current chairman of the House Committee on Ways & Means (that governs the state’s tax code), I authored four bills in the 2024 tax session—two to make our corporate tax structure more competitive, one that gave us the largest personal income tax reduction Louisiana has seen, and the final to rewrite Article VII of the Constitution, which is Amendment 2 on your March 29 ballot. In drafting House Bill 7 (Amendment 2), the aim was to declutter and strengthen the Louisiana Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is short, concise, to the point. It serves as a framework and a guiding document that has made our country great for almost 250 years. There are no tax exemption protections for churches or … [Read more...]