Had I known how stressful this week was going to be, I might have tried to skip it. The frustration and aggravation and inconvenience were almost too much. Had I known how stressful this week was going to be, I might have tried to skip it. The frustration and aggravation and inconvenience were almost too much. The week itself had been no more or less stressful than most any normal week, but the absence of the stress reliever compounded all other stresses. Normally, a man can come home filled with job-related stress, and with only five minutes with this marvelous mechanism, he can feel together, almost at peace, in control. This apparatus at first distracts one’s mind, then absorbs the mind, then takes one’s mind into the numbness and oblivion of control. With the aid of this small piece of equipment, one can be in touch with the world, the past, what is going on at this moment and sometimes even the future. What most men learn, we learn with the aid of this piece of equipment. Actually, this is one of the reasons men know so much - not to be chauvinistic. So losing it - rather, having someone else lose it - or misplacing it even momentarily causes immediate anxiety. Just when you need it the most, it is … [Read more...]

President Elect George W. Bush and Vice-President Al Gore could teach Baptists a lesson. President Elect George W. Bush and Vice-President Al Gore could teach Baptists a lesson.   For months and months, the two waged tremendous campaigns to beat the other in the race to be president of the United States. The campaigns lasted for months and then more weeks.   Each one did his best to prove to American voters that he would be a better president than the other. Not only did each man point out why he would be good but why the other man would be bad. Any kind words spoken by one candidate in behalf of the other were minor and offered begrudgingly.   Each man skated on thin ice when it came to saying something negative about the other. Listening to one man talk about the other would cause the uninitiated to wonder why the other candidate was not in jail, much less running for the highest office in the land.   After the "normal" grueling campaign and the votes were reported, there followed another tremendous campaign waged in the courts of the land. The legal teams of both men did their best to persuade the courts to accept their view of what was legal and what was … [Read more...]

I found your reporting of the recent annual LBC very biased and not factual in the Nov. 23 edition. I found your reporting of the recent annual LBC very biased and not factual in the Nov. 23 edition. By the unfortunate choice of writing you are not helping the division in our SBC and LBC.   Your use of "strong majority" and "easily out passed" in denoting the outcome of election of our LBC president for the coming year was not the best reporting words. If you had taken into consideration that usually an incumbent would be favored by 10 percent to 20 percent, it would make the count closer.   Secondly, I believe most pastors and you in your interims would not be happy with a less than two-thirds majority on vote of church business. This was expressed in a letter to the editor in the Nov. 30 edition of the Baptist Message by a pastor.   I did not attend the recent LBC annual meeting for several reasons. One of which is I’m sick of politics! I do not lean heavily in either direction when it comes to our SBC disagreement. With the hurt going on in this controversy, your choice of words and reporting did not help the healing that needs to take place. Freddy F. Franks Minden … [Read more...]

For the week of January 4, 2001 Potpourri •SHREVEPORT — Calvary church: "Night of Praise," concert; Jan. 5, 6:30 p.m.; Canaanland, Johnny Parrack, the Bennetts, the Allen Family, music; W. D. "Step" Martin, pastor.   •DENHAM SPRINGS — Riverside church: Associational Ministers Conference; Jan. 8, 10:30 a.m.; Gerald Martin, pastor. Revivals •WASHINGTON — Washington church: Jan. 13, 7 p.m.; Jan. 14, 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Jan. 15-16, 7 p.m.; Ed Long, evangelist; Louis Charrier, pastor. Available •WALKER — Bret Gilmore; available for pulpit supply and interim ministry until June 2001; for information, call (225) 667-7341 or email: bret_gilmore@hotmail.com.   •LIVINGSTON — Yancy Wilmot; available for revivals, youth events, pulpit supply. Threefold Truth, musical group, available to accompany; for information, write: Yancy Wilmot, P.O. Box 1114, Livingston, LA 70754 or call (225) 686-7653. Ministers Needed •DENHAM SPRINGS — New Bethlehem church: bi-vocational youth pastor; send resumes to: Jeanie Achord, 11219 Cloverleaf Dr., Denham Springs, LA 70706 or call (225) 665-1321; James Courtney, pastor. Ordinations •ALEXANDRIA — Calvary church ordained Terry Arceneaux, Mixson "Doc" Bankston, Ronald … [Read more...]

Most parents struggle with it - how to interest kids in church and church-related activities as the teenage years arrive. Should the decision be left to the teenager? Most parents struggle with it - how to interest kids in church and church-related activities as the teenage years arrive. Should the decision be left to the teenager? Should the parents force the child to attend church? Will requiring church involvement end up making it a chore that a young person resents and eventually rejects?   What is a parent to do?   Research indicates there is a simple - but challenging - answer to the problem.   As parents do, teenagers likely will do.   Indeed, the best way for parents to ensure their children will attend church once they leave home is to make a regular practice of attending church as a family while the kids live at home, Carol Lytch stressed during a recent report to Scientific Study of Religion members.   At least, that is what research indicates, said Lytch, coordinator of Lilly Endowment programs for strengthening congregational leadership at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary.   "Families who cultivate the collective understanding that ‘our … [Read more...]

For everyone who has - or has had - or anticipates having - a child calling from college to ask for money, take heart. For everyone who has - or has had - or anticipates having - a child calling from college to ask for money, take heart.   Collegians also give!   Indeed, for the 1999-2000 school year, college students from around the country donated $3,417,705 to mission activities through their Baptist campus ministries.   The college students walked, baked, played racquetball and made snow cones, along with many other activities to raise money. They gave - and they had fun.   "Three and a half million dollars is a lot of money," said Bill Henry, director of national collegiate ministries for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. "These college students work hard and make personal sacrifices to raise that kind of money. They are to be commended for that."   State convention and local campus leadership is what gives the students the drive to raise money for missions, Henry said. Without the dedication and determination of the campus ministers, it never would happen, he emphasized.   The money the students raise is sent to … [Read more...]

Now that everyone is agreed the 21st century has arrived, perhaps persons can decide the top stories of the past century. Now that the Christmas wrappings are disposed of and the New Year’s festivities are complete, attention can turn to an annual pastime - selection of the top story for the previous year.   What was it?   The election (finally) of a new president in the United States?   The slow - and often bloody - efforts at peace in the Middle East?   Completion of the human genome pro-ject, providing a genetic map of humans?   The Elian Gonzalez drama?   The Microsoft trial?   The Russian submarine tragedy?   The firing of the Taco Bell chihuahua as a fast food commercial spokesdog?   Or was it something else?   Certainly, the year 2000 offered its range of news and events, including those of the wonderful, weird and wacky bent.   For instance, what other year can boast of having a magician who encased himself inside a block of ice for 61 hours?   And what year can lay claim to the whole reality-based television boom?   And before the year 2000, did anyone even know what a … [Read more...]

Now that the Christmas wrappings are disposed of and the New Year’s festivities are complete, attention can turn to an annual pastime - selection of the top story for the previous year. Now that the Christmas wrappings are disposed of and the New Year’s festivities are complete, attention can turn to an annual pastime - selection of the top story for the previous year.   What was it?   The election (finally) of a new president in the United States?   The slow - and often bloody - efforts at peace in the Middle East?   Completion of the human genome pro-ject, providing a genetic map of humans?   The Elian Gonzalez drama?   The Microsoft trial?   The Russian submarine tragedy?   The firing of the Taco Bell chihuahua as a fast food commercial spokesdog?   Or was it something else?   Certainly, the year 2000 offered its range of news and events, including those of the wonderful, weird and wacky bent.   For instance, what other year can boast of having a magician who encased himself inside a block of ice for 61 hours?   And what year can lay claim to the whole reality-based … [Read more...]

First Baptist Church of Lacombe members celebrated 75 years of ministry in their community during anniversary ceremonies last fall. First Baptist Church of Lacombe members celebrated 75 years of ministry in their community during anniversary ceremonies last fall.   The Louisiana Baptist church was established in 1925 with 11 members. It has had a total of 26 pastors since then and has grown to a membership of almost 400 and an average Sunday School attendance of more than 150. The church currently is planning to construct a new facility.   Glen Carver currently serves as pastor of the Lacombe church, which celebrated its anniversary with a special service and dinner on the grounds.   During the ceremonies, former Pastor Keith Ivey delivered the anniversary address and former Minister of Music Eddie Lightsey returned to lead in music.   In addition, the church recognized Elise Clark, who has been a member of the congregation since 1957. Church members helped Clark celebrate her 90th birthday during the anniversary celebration. … [Read more...]

When President-elect George W. Bush prepares the speech for his inaugural address on January 20, he might well include an appropriate verse from the Bible. When President-elect George W. Bush prepares the speech for his inaugural address on January 20, he might well include an appropriate verse from the Bible.   He would not be the first president to do so. Indeed, several of his predecessors have done the same.   Most recently, in his 1992 inaugural, Bill Clinton cited a verse from Paul’s letter to the Galatians - "And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not" - using it as a call for Americans to serve the good of their country.   Jimmy Carter was the last president before Clinton to use a biblical quote in his inaugural address. On January 20, 1977, Carter said: "Here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first president in 1789, and I have just taken the oath of office on the Bible my mother gave me just a few years ago, opened to a timeless admonition from the ancient prophet Micah - ‘He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly … [Read more...]