Submitted by philip on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 09:12 Beyond the walls of Angola, other prisons have adopted programs similar to the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary extension center at Angola. The inmate students meet in a classroom such as this one on the prison grounds. So far, prisons in 11 other states have adopted the program used at Angola. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is running out of room at its extension center building at the Louisiana State Penitentiary and is expanding. Since early February, construction has been ongoing for the Joan Horner Center of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. A concrete slab was poured and two weeks later inmates began their 24-hour, six days a week work on the 11,000-sq.-ft building, made possible by a $300,000 donation. Warden Burl Cain said when the building is dedicated with a target date of April 18, to coincide with the weekend of the Angola Rodeo, it will provide much needed breathing room for what has become a growing program and cramped workspace for the seminary students there. “What Louisiana Baptists have done is sustain the seminary which has changed lives, so thank you Louisiana Baptists,” … [Read more...]

ANGOLA – The annual revival at the Louisiana State Penitentiary is several months away but those wanting to participate in evangelistic efforts there must register by March 25. Every year, around 150 Louisiana Baptists participate in the opportunity to share the gospel with the 6,000 men, one-on-one, who are in the facility. Worship services also are scheduled to take place in the camp chapels on the prison grounds. This year’s revival begins at 3 pm on Friday, April 10 and ends at 3 pm on Saturday, April 11. Dinner on Friday and breakfast and lunch are provided on Saturday. Housing is provided as well in the state police training facility on the grounds to the first 100 men who turn in their Department of Correction clearance forms to the Louisiana Baptists Evangelism Office. Women may attend the worship services but cannot participate in the personal evangelism efforts in the camps. In addition, women must obtain housing in an area hotel. Everyone must complete a new Department of Corrections clearance form, even if participants turned in one last year. Forms must be emailed to Dianne.York@LouisianaBaptists.org or faxed to Dianne York’s attention by Feb. 25 to 318.445.0055. Anyone attending the revival should review the … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 09:16 Since Burl Cain became warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in 1995, violence inside the prison has decreased by 85 percent. Of the 6,300 who are inmates at Angola, nearly 50 percent are thought to be Christians. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer St. Francisville – Burl Cain, who is the longest-serving warden of any prison in the U.S. and in the history of Angola itself, is mulling over the possibility of running for governor. His name has been mentioned by some in the state as a possible candidate but Cain has yet to committ to whether he will or not. Signs in support of his potential candidacy can be found around Louisiana and the Facebook page “We Want Warden Burl Cain La Governor 2015” has garnered nearly 1,700 likes so far. He said that April 15 is the latest date he would make a decision on whether or not to run. Cain said he has not received an answer from God but is praying about the decision. And he asks for Louisiana Baptists to pray for him as well. “It’s important to serve Him and look for His blessing and direction,” Cain said. “When you are not in God’s will, disaster occurs. No answer would mean I didn’t get an answer and I would … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 09:19 In this graphic, IMB President David Platt outlined his organizational plan for Christians and churches to be mobilized to take the gospel to unreached people. IMB trustees adopted the plan during their meeting Feb. 25 in Houston. By Anne Harmon, Baptist Press HOUSTON (BP) – International Mission Board President David Platt proposed streamlining the mission agency’s strategy and structure – in keeping with his desire for IMB to exalt Christ and work more effectively toward accomplishing the Great Commission – during IMB’s Feb. 24-25 trustee meeting in Houston. Trustees unanimously voted to approve the plan. “We want to empower limitless missionary teams to make disciples and multiply churches among unreached people,” Platt said. “We need a strategy that doesn’t cap our number of missionaries merely based upon how much money we have.” Platt noted the IMB operated “in the red” last year, with the agency’s operating expenses exceeding income by nearly $21 million. “Right now our funnel is really small ... such that we’re turning people away,” Platt said. “And what I’m saying, what we know, is that we need to blow open this funnel and create as many pathways as possible … [Read more...]

By Erich Bridges, IMB Global Correspondent RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – Will a new Cold War begin over the hot war in Ukraine? Will the European Union crumble, sparking another global recession? Will Iran go nuclear? Will the tottering Arab world collapse? Tyranny is cruel, but anarchy may be worse. Ask anyone living in one of the increasing number of failed or failing states around the world as 2015 stumbles toward ... what? “Our age is insistently, at times almost desperately, in pursuit of a concept of world order,” writes Henry Kissinger, chief architect of U.S. foreign policy for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, in his recent book “World Order.” During tumultuous times, Kissinger engineered Nixon’s historic 1972 opening to China. He also helped craft the détente that eased decades of nuclear-armed tensions with the Soviet Union. Today, however, order and agreement are becoming hard to find. “Chaos threatens side by side with ... the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the disintegration of states, the impact of environmental depredation, the persistence of genocidal practices, and the spread of new technologies threatening to drive conflict beyond human control or comprehension,” Kissinger warns. “Are we facing a … [Read more...]

By Erica Wright, Staff Member 121 Community Church, Grapevine, Texas GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) – I read a tweet the other day that said, “Sometimes the only prayer you can muster is, ‘Help!’” Amen to that. I’m rarely one to nap. Normally my brain doesn’t shut off long enough for me to sleep amidst a day; when the sun is shining, the pressure of productivity and task completion are all too real. I can’t live with time that feels wasted, so naps have just never been for me. But on this particular day, a nap quickly became a necessity. The exhaustion coupled with the cold weather persuaded me with little resistance. As I laid there, I began talking to Jesus. My confessions were real, my frustrations were real and my tears were real. I prayed for something I’ve prayed for every day for a year and seven months. It’s a bold prayer, a specific prayer and an impossible prayer. One that only Jesus can answer. As I prayed, I realized in great humiliation that I didn’t believe for a second that God would answer it. Could He hear me? Yes, absolutely. Was He able to act on my request? Without a doubt. But I didn’t believe He would. Honestly, I still don’t. I confessed my unbelief in that moment, but that didn’t ease it. I was still … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey, Pastor First Baptist Church Covington Over the last few years, churches and church leaders have learned that health is a key metric for churches. Find a healthy church and you will normally find a growing church with positive influence in its community. Healthy churches grow healthy followers of Christ, and they make a difference in the world. What is it that healthy churches emphasize? First, healthy churches emphasize the past. They do this in two ways. Healthy churches remember their foundation both in the church and in Christian history. They emphasize their biblical roots. As the church magnifies the gospel – the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ–it builds on an enduring foundation. The healthy church also remembers those who established the foundation of their local congregation. Remembering the former leaders helps the church recognize its past and encourage its future. A look back to other leaders also helps the church’s humility. Second, the healthy church emphasizes its present. We have to live in the present. We can’t relive the past, and we are not yet in the future. The healthy church makes the most of every opportunity to do good and to proclaim the gospel. Healthy churches are busy … [Read more...]

By Chris Martin, Social Media Facilitator, LifeWay Christian NASHVILLE (BP) – It’s true. Millennials aren’t streaming into churches like their parents and grandparents did years before. Evangelicalism has lost its cultural chic and the cost of discipleship has increased, even if only slightly. Amid these cultural changes and other tendencies among Millennials, 86 percent of this generation claim some level of faith in “God” but only 36 percent self-identify as “religious,” according to Pew Research Center data. Numerous methodologies, strategies, evangelism initiatives and other sorts of structures can be fashioned to reel young people into the church, that is for sure. Whether it’s smoke machines and plaid-clad guitar players or Starbucks coffee, churches have plenty of ideas when it comes to reaching Millennials. My hope is to help with some of those strategies and encourage local churches to look for ways to leverage Millennial values in order to minister the Gospel. But first, I think we need to pray. Before a church can hope to introduce people to Jesus, it must itself intimately know Him and submit to Him all matters of ministry, especially when it comes to evangelizing effectively. A posture of persistent prayer must … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 09:31 Among the ministry opportunities before Level Ground is at Conrad Park. Pastor Joshua Holland, who is a former college football player at Campbellsville University in Kentucky, believes his church can utilize the park’s baseball field for ministry, fielding a team from the neighborhood to compete against teams from outside the neighborhood. Though a league held its games at Conrad Park this year, not a single team from Hollygrove participated. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS – Ever since opening Jesus Project Ministries soon after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the city, Debra Hoffman had prayed for God to send godly men to partner with their ministry. Started in 2007, the ministry is in the Hollygrove neighborhood known for a reputation as poor, often-violent and home to rapper Lil ‘Wayne. Hoffman was thankful when six years later God sent Joshua Holland and his family to the neighborhood, who moved into a home one block away to plant a church, Level Ground. “For us it is important to us to work with churches like Josh’s to be established and rooted in the community,” Hoffman said. “We are committed to Level Ground being a successful church … [Read more...]