Weary travelers stand alongside a river somewhere in South America’s Amazon Basin. RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – Weary travelers stand alongside a river somewhere in South America’s Amazon Basin. After three hours of trying to maneuver upstream by motorboat to a remote village, a group of International Mission Board missionaries grudgingly accepts the realization that the day’s journey has ended. Shallow waters, exposed rocks, tree limbs and a rough current that nearly capsized the boat won’t allow the group to go any farther. Score a victory  for the Amazon  Thousands of miles of dense jungle create a daunting “wall” for those wanting to take the Gospel to this area. For some of the people groups in remote areas, their only hope to hear about Jesus is through faithful Christians praying that the Gospel message will reach them. “A lot of people don’t realize how big the Amazon See Amazon on page 6   Basin and the jungle really is,” says Terry*, an IMB missionary who leads work among indigenous peoples in portions of South America.     “It covers a huge area the size of the United States,” the Texas native adds. “You have massive areas where there are no airstrips, no roads. The only way to get there … [Read more...]

With 30 Mighty Men of God, David built an army of thousands. DEVILLE – With 30 Mighty Men of God, David built an army of thousands. In today’s time, Gibbie McMillan, director of Men and Volunteer Ministries for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, wants to find more than just 30 mighty men of God. He wants to find thousands, and he believes Paul David Freed is the man who can help him find and prepare those men. Freed is the founder and president of Mighty Men of God based in Orlando, Fla. “I believe we are in a spiritual battle, and we need to raise a mighty army in order to combat and defeat the forces of Satan,” McMillan said. “We must also look to recruiting more of our younger men and boys to this army. “If we don’t pass the baton to the next generation, we are going to be in trouble. You may not realize it, but we are just one generation away from becoming a heathen nation, and that’s upsetting” McMillan told a group of 150 boys, young men and older men at the Mighty Men of God Conference held last Friday and Saturday (April 25-26) at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville. It was the second regional conference in a month’s time. The first took place at Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, and drew over … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s trustees have approved a number of academic initiatives likely to have a worldwide reach. The board approved three online undergraduate certificate programs and four online graduate certificate programs. In addition, three new graduate certificates will combine online and traditional classroom training. One church-based undergraduate certificate program also was approved during an April 15 trustee meeting. NOBTS Provost Steve Lemke said the online certificates were designed primarily for individuals who cannot attend a residential seminary campus, such as church planters and missionaries in both North America and internationally. “Our aim is to make theological education accessible to anyone in the world, wherever God leads them to serve,” Lemke said. The undergraduate online initiatives include certificates in Christian ministry, biblical studies and biblical ministry. Though designed for students not enrolled in other types of seminary training, the courses can be applied to later theological training. The courses in each of the 18-hour certificates are fully transferable into a bachelor of Christian ministry program available through the seminary’s … [Read more...]

Shiloh Christian Fellowship is back. This wonderful congregation filled up their newly rebuilt sanctuary at 2441 North Claiborne Street in New Orleans at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 13. Pastor Michael Raymond was all aglow, and we were for him. NEW ORLEANS – Shiloh Christian Fellowship is back. This wonderful congregation filled up their newly rebuilt sanctuary at 2441 North Claiborne Street in New Orleans at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 13. Pastor Michael Raymond was all aglow, and we were for him. There must have been 200 to 300 people filling the building with joy and love. Freddie Arnold was there, returned from two weeks of house-building at his place in Walker, La. Freddie and I agreed. We have been to quite a number of these first-time-back-since-Katrina worship services, but this one was unique in one respect: Pastor Michael baptized eight people. Great beginning! The sky-blue worship center walls inside Shiloh’s dark sand-color, wood slat, corner building are a perfect complement to the royal blue carpet and comfortable blue-gray upholstered chairs. It’s a place that feels reverential; cozy, yet light and airy. In the printed bulletin, the pastor thanked Operation NOAH Rebuild, Baptist Builders, the Baptist General … [Read more...]

Worship through the sound of silence is a foreign concept to many Christians, but not to the Praising Hands Worship Team. BATON ROUGE  – Worship through the sound of silence is a foreign concept to many Christians, but not to the Praising Hands Worship Team. The deaf group from the First Baptist Deaf Church of Baton Rouge may worship in literal silence, but their hands shout praises to the Lord Jesus Christ. Their form of worship is beautiful and infectious. “This is the first time in over 40 years in deaf ministry that I’ve seen the deaf minister to the hearing,” evangelist Arnold Austin said. “It’s the first deaf group I’ve been a part of that enthusiastically sing praises to God.” Enthusiasm is an understatement. The Praising Hands tell a story that is reflected in their faces. Sometimes tears flow as they sing about a savior who willingly gave his life to redeem them from their sins. Joy and thanksgiving create an aura of expectancy. The worship team recently traveled to Pine, La., to lead a hearing congregation at Pine First Baptist in a weekend revival. Two cultures separated by a gulf of silence came together and allowed the Holy Spirit to bridge that chasm. “I was a bit apprehensive about this revival,” Pine … [Read more...]

rustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary have approved a new master’s program in women’s ministry and a new apologetics institute, in addition to electing a new faculty member. NOBTS TRUSTEES: Board OKs women’s ministry degree track, apologetics institute By: Gary D. Myers Original article can be found here, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=27885. NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Trustees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary have approved a new master’s program in women’s ministry and a new apologetics institute, in addition to electing a new faculty member. A new master of divinity degree track in women’s studies, approved by trustees April 15, includes the core ministerial competencies of the basic master of divinity program. Emphasis on biblical languages, biblical exegesis and theological and historical reflection is included in the 95-hour degree plan to help women minister to women and to address the needs and concerns of women from a biblical basis. The program also includes a built-in internship component to provide women with supervised, practical women’s ministry experience. “This specialized focus in women’s studies will provide our female students an excellent blend of both the classical … [Read more...]

F.C. Fogleman chuckles, recalling how his uncle paid him for cutting the 5-acre Big Cane Baptist Church Cemetery when he was a young boy. MORROW – F.C. Fogleman chuckles, recalling how his uncle paid him for cutting the 5-acre Big Cane Baptist Church Cemetery when he was a young boy. By today’s standards it wouldn’t even come close. “Usually it was a cold, bottled Coke or sometimes it was two, maybe four, bits,” the 75-year-old Fogleman said. “And to a 10-year-old boy, it certainly seemed like a lot back then.” Using a push mower, Fogleman would cut at least once or twice a week after school and all through the summer, he recalls. “My uncle – Henry Gordon – would help every now and then, but usually he did other things, like fixing different things around the church. It wasn’t hard because there wasn’t as many graves back then.” Today, the cemetery is full, and the church, which is landlocked, has had to buy another two acres adjacent to it, but church members, such as Fogleman and 88-year-old Leo Rabalais, work diligently on the upkeep of both. The church also utilizes the help it gets from inmates who are brought to the cemetery by the St. Landry Sheriff’s Office. The inmates trim and do extra cleaning, such … [Read more...]

”If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t,” the famed literary character Alice quipped. “And contrary wise; what it is wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” ”If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t,” the famed literary character Alice quipped. “And contrary wise; what it is wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” The aforementioned quote from Lewis Carroll’s children’s classic, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” seems to be nonsense. But if you read it again slowly – very slowly – you will see that it adequately sums up the current state of sexual dysfunction in America. Consider the recent sensational news headline, “Man becomes pregnant,” that reverberated around the world. Reading the story, it became very clear that everything was not quite as the outrageous headline made it seem. The story indicated that an Oregon female-to-male transsexual was indeed pregnant. But how could this be? I thought that a person suffering from “gender identity” or “gender identity dysphoria” (belief that a person was born … [Read more...]

It gets pretty crowded around the oasis this time of year. It gets pretty crowded around the oasis this time of year. People from all over are here drinking of this wonderful water. There’s nothing like it in the entire desert. We just received some bad news. Abdul just brought word of a neighbor seen a few hundred yards from here, dying of thirst. His description made cold chills run over me. It’s tough to think about it. That Abdul is great with words. He can make you think it’s you that’s dying. He’s getting up a power-point presentation to go with his talks. We’ve formed a kind of club. We call it ‘Desert Dwellers Who Have Found the Water.’ We meet every week. We even have officers, the whole bit. We talk about how we came to the water, and we drink. Right now there’s a discussion – argument, actually – as to whether the water in well “A” or well “B” is better. Some prefer “A” because they say the water is purer. The others say “B” is cooler. I don’t really know. Seems to me the water is the same since the wells are only twenty feet apart. One time our club sent out a scout to find and rescue the thirsty. He did all right for a while, but carrying delirious and dying people to the water of life was hard, … [Read more...]

n America’s celebrity-driven culture, perhaps the most harmful “Pied Piper” of heresies leading millions astray is Oprah Winfrey. Her adoption of anti-biblical doctrine is on display every day this year through her satellite radio network channel “Oprah & Friends.” It’s time for Christians to “just say no” to the big “O.” JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) –  In America’s celebrity-driven culture, perhaps the most harmful “Pied Piper” of heresies leading millions astray is Oprah Winfrey. Her adoption of anti-biblical doctrine is on display every day this year through her satellite radio network channel “Oprah & Friends.” It’s time for Christians to “just say no” to the big “O.” In recent weeks, I have received multiple copies of the same e-mail warning Christians about Oprah Winfrey’s promotion of New Age teaching. Oftentimes, broadcast e-mails are baseless and erroneous –  like the one that warns Madalyn Murray O’Hair is attempting to get the FCC to ban all Christian broadcasting. In spite of numerous repudiations of this bogus warning (to which I contributed with an April 2001 editorial), the claim continues to float around the Internet. Sometimes, however, e-mails turn out to be true and worthy of our … [Read more...]