Associations Seek Leaders • Northeast Association needs pastors at Fairbanks Baptist Fairbanks, Peniel Baptist West Monroe, Fellowship Baptist Monroe, First Baptist Swartz, Memorial Baptist Monroe. Ministers of music needed at Clark Springs Baptist Eros, Edgewood Baptist West Monroe, First Baptist Monroe, Lighthouse Baptist Monroe, Loch Arbor Baptist Monroe. Ministers of youth needed at Bethel Baptist West Monroe, Clark Springs Baptist Eros, Emmanuel Baptist West Monroe, Highland Park Baptist Monroe, Lighthouse Baptist Monroe, New Light Baptist Monroe. Children’s Minister needed at Fairbanks Baptist Monroe, Mt. Vernon Baptist West Monroe. • Northwest Association needs pastors at: Cypress Baptist Benton, Fillmore Baptist Princeton, Northwoods Baptist Shreveport, Oak Hill Baptist Plain Dealing, First Baptist Vivian, Willow Point Baptist Shreveport, Woodland Hills Baptist Shreveport. Minister of Music/Education needed at: First Baptist Haughton. Minister of Evangelism/Discipleship needed at: First Baptist Haughton, Kingston Road Baptist Shreveport. Ministers of Youth needed at: Kingston Road Baptist, Shreveport; Mooringsport Baptist Mooringsport, North Keithville Baptist Keithville, Northwoods Baptist Shreveport, First Baptist … [Read more...]

COMINGS AND GOINGS • Jonah Callais, new as pastor of Bayou L’Ourse Baptist, Bayou L’Ourse. • David Mitchell, new as minister of music of Youngsville Baptist, Youngsville. • Jene Wilton and Tim Parker, new as co-youth directors of First Baptist, Benton. • Barry LeBlanc, new as music minister of First Baptist, Greenwood. • Clarence (wife Shirley) Chism, new as pastor of North Keithville Baptist, Keithville. NEEDED • Pinewood Derby track needed at First Baptist, Chalmette. Call 504.715.1479. John Jeffries, pastor. • Full-time worship leader needed, First Baptist, Moss Bluff. Send resumes and DVDs c/o Shawn Thomas, First Baptist Church Moss Bluff, 276 Old Hwy. 171, Lake Charles LA 70611 or pastor@fbcmossbluff.org. • Part-time minister of music needed, Crestview Baptist, Farmerville. Contact Chantele Maxey at 318.292.4159 or 318.548.1639. • Full-time minister of music and education needed, First Baptist, Jena. Send resume to First Baptist Church, PO Box 1379, Jena LA 71342 or jenafirst@centurytel.net. • Full-time pastor needed at Trinity Baptist, Oakdale. Send resumes to Pastor Search Committee, 210 W. Beck Avenue, PO Box 748, Oakdale LA 71463. DEATHS • Dwight Wesson, interim pastor of First Baptist, … [Read more...]

Names of Louisianans can be found on virtually every one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s committees and agency boards. STATEWIDE – Names of Louisianans can be found on virtually every one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s committees and agency boards.  Others are part of the various entities’ programs set for or adjacent to the SBC’s 2008 annual meeting, set for June 10-11 at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind. The list of Louisianians who have been given the nod by denominational entities: • When the North American Mission Board hosts a national Hispanic celebration in Indianapolis on June 8, Gonzalo Rodriguez, pastor of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Metairie, will be one of two guest speakers. The other? NAMB President Geoff Hammond. • When the members of the Black Southern Baptist Denominational Servants Network meet for their annual meeting June 8 in Indianapolis, they’ll distribute the sixth annual Journal of African American Southern Baptist History. James Jenkins, LBC regional strategist, wrote one of the articles for the Journal this year, titled “The Early Black Baptists: Slavery and the Great Awakening.” • David Cranford, pastor of Tioga First Baptist Church in Pineville, … [Read more...]

The best way to understand the “emerging church” is to approach the movement from a missiological perspective, Ed Stetzer told a Baptist College Partnership meeting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – The best way to understand the “emerging church” is to approach the movement from a missiological perspective, Ed Stetzer told a Baptist College Partnership meeting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The emerging church movement, much like postmodernism, has proven too diverse for easy definition, with participants scattered along a lengthy continuum, said Stetzer, who is an experienced church planter and director of LifeWay Christian Resources’ research division. Participants in the emerging church say much of contemporary Christianity is consumer-driven, Stetzer noted. The movement essentially seeks to express Christianity in a way relevant to people outside the church. “The emergent/emerging church stands as something of a collective voice in an attempt to call attention to the ways in which contemporary expressions of Christianity have been domesticated,” Stetzer said in his April 4 comments. That collective voice began in a 1997 event sponsored by the Dallas-based Leadership … [Read more...]

Are humans hard-wired for religious faith? NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Are humans hard-wired for religious faith? Atheists from Karl Marx to Sigmund Freud to Richard Dawkins have claimed that religion is a manmade opiate of the masses, a cultural virus that infects the human mind. Christian scholar Paul Copan, however, challenges those who question the existence of God and the human soul. While biology and psychology may play a role in religious faith, it does not prove the non-existence of God, nor does it diminish the existence or role of the human soul, Copan said in a lecture at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on April 4, part of a two-day regional Evangelical Philosophical Society event held at the seminary. Copan holds the Pleger Family Chair in Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla. “God has placed eternity in our hearts, so it makes sense that we would be hard-wired with God-ward inclinations,” Copan said, referring to Ecclesiastes 3:11. “That natural processes contribute to religious belief doesn’t disprove the existence of God.” Supporters of research in what is called “cognitive science of religion” seek to transform religious belief into a psychological or … [Read more...]

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary will combine the Leavell College and NOBTS graduation services this spring. Previous calendars listed separated graduation dates for the undergraduate and graduate programs. However, only one service will be held on May 17, at 10 a.m. The change was made due to a smaller than usual graduating class. NOBTS graduation set for May 17 NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary will combine the Leavell College and NOBTS graduation services this spring. Previous calendars listed separated graduation dates for the undergraduate and graduate programs. However, only one service will be held on May 17, at 10 a.m. The change was made due to a smaller than usual graduating class. “Having a single graduation assures us of having a larger crowd and gives greater significance in the celebration of the achievement of these graduates,” Seminary Provost Steve Lemke said. The move also facilitates greater stewardship of seminary resources, he noted. The change to the commencement service also necessitates other schedule changes. The President’s Reception will move from Thursday evening to Friday, May 16. It will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. at the President’s Home. Only one Graduation … [Read more...]

They’ve turned a corner from complacency to compassion, pastor Phil Bray says. PUXICO, Mo. (BP) – They’ve turned a corner from complacency to compassion, pastor Phil Bray says. Their excitement for what God is doing in southeastern Missouri and around the world stems from a new emphasis on discipleship at First Puxico, coupled with the church’s longstanding commitment to missions through the Cooperative Program. “Giving to the Cooperative Program teaches our people that we don’t live in a box here,” said Bray, who became First Puxico’s pastor in 2006. “The Bible tells us that we have a responsibility to be disciples and to make disciples of all nations. We can’t all physically go, but we can all give. “I don’t think giving money excuses you from going,” the pastor said, “but I do think giving helps our congregation realize we are helping fulfill the discipleship mandate of the Great Commission.” The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptist’s channel of combining the efforts and resources of local churches to make a difference in the lives of people across the nation and around the world. Bray described the Cooperative Program as “the greatest, the wisest, the most resourceful way of supporting missionaries … [Read more...]

Southern Baptist relief workers are in touch with partners in central China to assess needs created by the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the region May 12. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Southern Baptist relief workers are in touch with partners in central China to assess needs created by the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the region May 12. At least 12,000 people were killed and more than 26,000 injured in small cities and towns nestled in hill country north of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. More than 18,000 people are believed trapped in piles of concrete, steel and dirt in the city of Mianyang alone, according to news reports. “We have been in contact with partners in the country and have offered help,” said Jeff Palmer, executive director of Baptist Global Response. “Assessments are being made as to what the response should be.” A meeting of Christian organizations in the United States is expected to be held May 14 “to better coordinate our overall effort to respond,” Palmer added. The Chinese government has said it will accept international relief supplies but has so far declined offers of aid workers because of damage to lines of transportation, news services report. Yingxiu, A town located … [Read more...]

A team of Southern Baptists is on the ground in Bangkok, Thailand, to help national believers from Myanmar deal with the mounting crisis in their country after a May 3 cyclone left 62,000 people dead or missing and drove perhaps 1 million people from their homes. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – A team of Southern Baptists is on the ground in Bangkok, Thailand, to help national believers from Myanmar deal with the mounting crisis in their country after a May 3 cyclone left 62,000 people dead or missing and drove perhaps 1 million people from their homes. Five “initial responders,” led by Sam Porter, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma’s disaster relief director, are setting up a coordination center and training Myanmar Christians in water purification techniques, said Jeff Palmer, executive director  Baptist Global Response, a Southern Baptist international relief and development organization. The five Oklahomans joined Baptist Global Response team members already on the ground in Bangkok. “The specialists we have on the ground in Bangkok have training in many areas of disaster relief,” Palmer said. “Some Myanmar national believer partners are coming out to be trained in technical topics such as water purification, as well … [Read more...]

Cooperative Program giving for the first four months of 2008 from the nearly 1,600 churches in the Louisiana Baptist Convention is up 11.16 percent over the same time period one year ago, Executive Director David Hankins announced at the spring meeting of the LBC’s executive board. ALEXANDRIA – Cooperative Program giving for the first four months of 2008 from the nearly 1,600 churches in the Louisiana Baptist Convention is up 11.16 percent over the same time period one year ago, Executive Director David Hankins announced at the spring meeting of the LBC’s executive board. The Cooperative Program is the Southern Baptist method of combining the efforts and resources of local churches to make a difference in the lives of people across the nation and around the world. The LBC business office reported an additional $830,000 in Cooperative Program giving from churches between Jan. 1 through April 30 than was received during the same time period last year: $8,273,093.10 in 2008, up from $7,442,187.35 in 2007. “We’re moving up the percentage we’re giving the world, and we’re getting more in,” Hankins said in conversation with the Message. He listed four probable reasons for the sizable increase in CP giving: God’s grace, … [Read more...]