PINEVILLE – During the wee hours of Sept 24, 2005, Phillip Vincent faced his own “shadow of death.” By Brian Blackwell Staff Writer PINEVILLE – During the wee hours of Sept 24, 2005, Phillip Vincent faced his own “shadow of death.” As the twelfth grader witnessed through a television screen Hurricane Rita cause destruction to his hometown – Lake Charles – Vincent began to think about life from an eternal perspective. “As the storms of life come and the winds shake us to our very foundation, we stand in the rubble of our lives with eyes fixed upon the heavens,” the Lake Charles resident recently told hundreds of state Bible Drill and Youth Speakers’ Tournament participants at Louisiana College in Pineville. “Waiting for some miraculous show of might to save us, we, like Elijah, must wait for the silence and the whisper – peace that can only come from God, the strength of conviction that allows us to say, ‘I have faith in a God who’s much bigger than any of this.’” One of two twelfth graders who participated in the Youth Speaker’s Tournament, Vincent captured first place among those in his grade level. In all, seven teenagers participated in the tournament. The Youth Speakers’ Tournament is … [Read more...]

Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, expressed concern in recent commentary about a trend in Christian radio that is replacing teaching and issue-oriented programs with programming that is more entertainment oriented. By Kelly Boggs Editor Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, expressed concern in recent commentary about a trend in Christian radio that is replacing teaching and issue-oriented programs with programming that is more entertainment oriented. “One station canceled my four-minute BreakPoint commentary,” Colson wrote, “saying that four minutes is the equivalent of one song.... Besides, the station manager allowed, BreakPoint is too serious and not contemporary enough.” It is not only his radio commentaries that Colson is concerned about. “Several stations recently -– many acting on the advice of a leading consulting firm –- have dropped serious programming in favor of all-music formats,” he reported. “For example, a major station in Baltimore has dropped four talk shows in order to add music.” American society and even Christians, it seems, are surrendering to the insatiable desire to be entertained. Our quest for amusement has become not only a national pastime, it has … [Read more...]

RUSTON – The world is hungry for Jesus and the only way they will come to know Him is through Christians’ witness, Darryl Wilson said last week. By Brian Blackwell Staff Writer RUSTON – The world is hungry for Jesus and the only way they will come to know Him is through Christians’ witness, Darryl Wilson said last week. “It begins in our community,” Wilson told 39 people attending the “Assimilation: Closing the Back Door” Conference at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ruston. “If we ever want them to get to Jesus, we’ve got to start there.” One of three such events held in recent days, the conference was for pastors and other key church leaders to receive training so they could strengthen their ability to retain and disciple church members. Eighty-three people attended the conferences, which were sponsored by the Sunday School and Discipleship Ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Wilson, director of adult Sunday school for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, said assimilation is “connecting people to the body and mission of Christ through relationships, small group involvement, expectations and ministry involvement in order to lead them to become fully devoted followers of Christ.” Churches … [Read more...]

GOLDONNA – Mill Creek Baptist Church members voted unanimously at their May business meeting to start giving to missions through the Cooperative Program and Shady Grove Baptist Association. By Karen L. Willoughby Managing Editor GOLDONNA – Mill Creek Baptist Church members voted unanimously at their May business meeting to start giving to missions through the Cooperative Program and Shady Grove Baptist Association. The Cooperative Program is the Southern Baptist Convention’s widely acclaimed method of global missions involvement. “The Cooperative Program offers so many things to not only our church, but the state and nation, and these programs are designed so we are educated to reach out better,” said Craig Stephens, pastor since July 2003 of the church established in 1954, where about 30 people worship on Sunday. “We brought up the church tithing about a year and a half ago,” the pastor said. “It wasn’t received real well then, and in the democratic process we let it go, but a couple of months ago we said we need to be obedient about this. ‘I’m not going to take a vote today,’ I told them. ‘I’m just going to ask if you are willing to be obedient.’ “It’s not just obedience in tithing but every … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS – Jars of herbs, roots, and oils lined one wall of the voodoo priestess’s dimly-lit room. The pungent perfumes of candles and incense greeted the nostrils of guests who ventured through the door. By Keith Manuel Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – Jars of herbs, roots, and oils lined one wall of the voodoo priestess’s dimly-lit room. The pungent perfumes of candles and incense greeted the nostrils of guests who ventured through the door. I must confess I wanted to meet a very dark figure with an exotic Creole name when Carolyn Curtis of the North American Mission Board and I entered the “Salvation and Magical Pharmacy,” in the Bywater district, not far from the French Quarter. Instead, an average all-American girl transplanted from Kennebunkport, Maine, greeted us. “Hi, I’m Sallie Ann,” she replied after I introduced myself. I still expected a cold, damp hand dripping with an evil potion to reach out and grasp my extended hand What I received was a wide smile and a warm hand from Sallie Ann, who identified herself as a Jew of the reform tradition who went to Haiti to study Voodoo. I did feel more “in the moment” when I realized she had to put down a dried chicken foot to shake my … [Read more...]