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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Roughneck’s heart softened by encounter with God

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WATERPROOF – Larry Walters ran from God most of his young adult life, until an encounter with God during a revival service at Hill Ridge Baptist Church in Crowville brought the 35-year-old “roughneck” under conviction for repentance, and planted the seed for a call to ministry. “The week of revival at Hill Ridge Baptist Church I had completed a 12-hour shift as a worker in the oil field and came home to find the pastor and the evangelist praying with my daughter, Melanie, moments after she accepted Christ,” said Walters, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Waterproof since 2012. The home visit made a profound impact on him, he shared, explaining that he attended the revival the following night and “fell under conviction to ask Jesus into my heart.” “At the last night of revival the pastor asked if there was anyone who wanted to say anything,” said Walters, who was honored during the 2018 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting as an Exemplary Bi-vocational Pastor of the Year. “I couldn’t not proclaim to everyone what God had done. I knew He changed my life and I surrendered to whatever He wanted.” When Walters returned to the oil field, he boldly proclaimed Christ as … [Read more...]

Celebration blessed with record baptisms

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – Alfonso and Cynthia Campos were on the brink of divorce when they spontaneously chose to attend the River Parishes campus of Celebration Church for Mother’s Day services last year. But instead of ending their marriage they surrendered to Christ, committing to follow Him as a couple and as individuals. About a month later, they followed their spiritual rebirth with being baptized -- Cynthia first and Alfsono three weeks after her. “Our life on the weekend was going out, drinking, you name it,” Alfonso said. “I knew about the Lord but wasn’t committed to Him. We went from nearly getting a divorce to now having the family we always wished we had. “We don’t have ‘big’ problems anymore,” he continued. “We are happy and stronger. For couples who are thinking of divorce, it’s never too late. If you really want to change your life you have to leave it up to God and He will change it.” FAITH, REPENTANCE, BAPTISM The Campos were among a record number 796 new believers baptized by Celebration in 2018. The congregation recorded 2,669 acts of repentance last year, and is still working to complete new believer’s training for this group. Through April 1, the … [Read more...]

Angola inmates support CP with special gift

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA – Inmates who are members of the first church within a prison approved for membership in a Baptist association have made a generous Cooperative Program gift. The prison congregation of Grace Baptist, located on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, did not have money to contribute through the Cooperative Program, so they used their construction skills to build a cooker as a gift for the Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief ministry. LBDR Director Gibbie McMillian said he is “humbled by the donation,” valued at $8,000, and said the commercial-grade cooker is a welcome addition to the equipment used for emergency responses in the state and around the country. David Goza, pastor of the Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, first learned of the effort by the inmates when he was at Angola to teach a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary class. He said the men really wanted to show Louisiana Baptists their commitment to be part of the Convention’s cooperative missions and ministries. “Giving this grill to the LBC reflects what is in the heart of these men,” Goza told the Baptist Message. “This is a group of Christian men whose hearts have been … [Read more...]

CULTURAL NEWS: Housing allowance for pastors upheld

By Will Hall, Message Editor The ministerial housing allowance allowed by the IRS has been upheld by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago after being struck down for the second time by the same federal jurist for the Western District of Wisconsin. U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb, appointed in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, had ruled in 2017 and before that in 2013, that the housing allowance was a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. In the first case, the 7th Circuit Court ruled that the Freedom from Religion Foundation, an atheist group which brought the suit, did not have standing because they could not show harm from the benefit being extended to clergy. But the court did not rule on the constitutionality of the housing allowance. This time, FFRF executives applied for the housing allowance and were denied the benefit that permits “ministers of the gospel” to deduct housing-related expenses from their taxable income when filing with the IRS. But a three-judge panel, all Republican appointees, was not sympathetic to the FRFF’s claim that the Internal Revenue Code 107(2) tax break for religious leaders effectively “renders unto God that which … [Read more...]

CULTURAL NEWS: Wisconsin voters reject attacks on Christian Supreme Court candidate

By Will Hall, Message Editor In a stunning upset victory, a Christian candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court won his election despite being outspent and vilified in the media as a “bigot” because of his religious convictions, which include support for traditional marriage, National Review reported. Conservative Brian Hagedorn still faces a recount because of his narrow 6,000-vote victory among 1.2 million votes cast, but experts say statistically it is unlikely the election will be overturned barring any major error in reporting by precincts. Just a year ago his liberal opponent, Lisa Neubauer, led by 12 percentage points and appeared unstoppable. But she and outside liberal groups viciously attacked Hagedorn for his Christian beliefs, with the help of the secular media, accusing him of supporting hate groups because he founded a Christian school and spoke to Christian and conservative groups that support traditional marriage. But voters apparently rejected the anti-Christian bigotry at the grass roots level in the state which ranks in the bottom half of states in terms of church attendance by the population. By state law Neubauer can still request and pay for a recount because the vote margin was less than one … [Read more...]

CULTURAL NEWS: Christian leaders oppose ‘Equality Act’ as unfair

By Will Hall, Message Editor ALEXANDRIA (LBM) ­­‑ Congress is considering legislation known as the Equality Act that Christian leaders say contains provisions which would marginalize the religious rights of people of faith in favor of those who identify as LGBT. Filed as H.R. 5, the bill would force business owners such as bakers and florists in the wedding industry to provide services that celebrate gay marriage, they said. Likewise, Christian hospitals would be mandated to perform sex reassignment surgery, and religious schools would have to abandon conduct codes and hiring standards that support their spiritual missions. Meanwhile, women athletes would have to compete against biological men who wish to identify as females. The bill would even regulate what pronouns have to be used when addressing someone who does not want to be identified with his or her biological sex. Importantly, parents could be compelled to allow children to undergo sex reassignments or face losing custody rights. In a letter, a coalition of 84 religious leaders urged Democrat and Republican leaders of the House Committee on the Judiciary to oppose the bill. The group assured the lawmakers that “people of faith … believe that all people … [Read more...]

Search committee recommends Steve Horn as next LBC Executive Director

By John Kyle, Louisiana Baptists Communications ALEXANDRIA -- Steve Horn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lafayette, is being recommended as the next Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention according to a statement released by the search committee’s chairman, Waylon Bailey. “After months of prayer, deliberations and interviews we are excited to present Dr. Horn to lead Louisiana Baptists as we work together to fulfill the Great Commission in Louisiana and beyond,” Bailey said. Horn will be presented to the Executive Board’s Administrative Committee during a special called meeting on Thursday, April 11. If confirmed, the recommendation goes before the entire Executive Board during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 7 at the Tall Timbers Camp and Conference Center in Woodworth. If elected, Horn will succeed outgoing Executive Director David Hankins who will retire at the end of June. “Even though we are close, we are not finished,” Bailey continued. “The search committee requests continued prayer for Dr. Horn, the Administrative Committee and the Board as we prayerfully proceed with this important selection.” Bailey expressed his appreciation for the work of the search committee over … [Read more...]

COOPERATIVE PROGRAM: Making cooperation great again

By David Hankins, Louisiana Baptists Executive Director ALEXANDRIA (LBM) -- I recently met with a group of our Louisiana associational mission strategists (formerly called directors of missions). As I stood before these friends and partners in ministry, knowing it would be the last time I addressed them as a group in my current position, I said, “I believe in the way we Baptists do our work.” I stand by those words. During my ministry, which spans 50 years, I’ve studied and observed many models of leadership and organization. While there are strengths in various approaches, none compares to our cooperative model -- when we work it, when we actually cooperate. I am concerned whenever any of us devalue the cooperative model we felt led of the Lord to establish decades ago. I believe this has a ripple effect through almost every area of Baptist life -- including baptisms, missions enterprises, Cooperative Program giving, and more. Whenever we minimize our denominational partnerships, sadly, every measurement we use to gauge our progress in fulfilling the Great Commission will trend downward. So, here is my prayer as I prepare to move into the next season of life and ministry: May Southern Baptists make cooperation great … [Read more...]

Easter ministry a passion for Lanier Baptist

By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE – For the past 13 years, Lanier Baptist Church in Baton Rouge has presented a musical production chronicling the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and church members are passionate about the message that unfolds. “The production is very dramatic with heart-throbbing moments. You can’t help but be moved. Our prayer is that we can reach out to the lost with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Rev. Mike Ferguson, the pastor of Lanier Baptist Church. The Easter musical drama, “His Amazing Love,” will be presented April 18-20, 6:30 p.m., at Lanier Baptist Church. The passion play is free and open to the public. Each year, new songs and new scenes are added as the Lord leads, the pastor said. “We prayed about it, and we felt the Lord wanted us to do this production again,” Ferguson said. Virtually all of the 120 church members are engaged in the Easter musical with more than 90 adults and children from the church composing the cast and crew. The drama will feature live animals, stunning scenery and a powerful message of hope, the pastor said. The play, which is divided into three acts with 12 scenes, lasts about an hour and 15 minutes. A Gospel … [Read more...]

State “Love Life” constitutional amendment announced

By Will Hall, Message Editor BATON ROUGE (LBM) – A coalition of pro-life groups and individuals has launched a public campaign to support an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution that would prevent state courts from establishing a “right to abortion” or requiring state funds be used for abortion. The initiative comes as radical late-term abortion legislation, described by critics as allowing “up to the moment of birth” abortion, was passed in New York and defeated in Virginia, with other state legislatures lining up to pursue similar measures. Ben Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, told the Baptist Message the amendment simply will read “Nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.” He said that the amendment “is silent on exceptions” such as rape and incest “because these issues are addressed in state law.” “The supreme courts of a dozen states have found a right to abortion in their constitutions,” he said. “We can’t let this happen in Louisiana. Two lawmakers are leading the state house effort for the amendment, which is aimed at preventing state court judges from overturning pro-life laws, for instance, … [Read more...]