Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Evangelism Task Force)

By Chuck Kelley In 2017, SBC President Steve Gaines appointed an Evangelism Task Force, chaired by Paige Patterson, to investigate how Southern Baptists could be more effective in personal soul-winning and evangelistic preaching. Unlike earlier initiatives which received significant Convention attention, this Task Force made its final report to a distracted SBC President and largely uninterested messengers during the SBC meeting in Dallas in 2018. Evangelism and concerns about decline were completely overshadowed by other issues. The report was merely read into the record and formally approved by the Convention with little comment. However, while it is much too early to assess its impact, initial indications are that the recommendations of this Task Force may eventually make a measurable difference in SBC baptism numbers. The Evangelism Task Force (2018) The Evangelism Task Force can be distinguished from others in several ways. Clearly and publicly, the Task Force was instructed by the Convention to focus on direct evangelism. Clearly and publicly, members were told to suggest how churches could act effectively on the evangelism mandate. More importantly, the Task Force created an expectation for the North American Mission … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptists remain faithful during social, economic storm

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) - While many businesses in the state have been hit hard by coronavirus-related closings or reduced operations, a number of Louisiana Baptist congregations have reported remarkable faithfulness by members in financially supporting ministries across the state. Stacy Morgan, an associate with the Louisiana Baptists communications team, said most of the almost 400 pastors he has spoken with since mid-March have reported little to no significant financial hardships. He said creative measures taken to continue worship services, offer online giving platforms as well as the special efforts by pastors to touch the lives of their congregations despite "social distancing" and "stay-at-home" mandates have made a difference. “Church members are seeing first-hand how much their pastors care for them, and the pastors are really desperate to find any way necessary to reach their people,” Morgan told the Baptist Message. “Many churches are concerned about the coming months and the prospect of jobs returning. “However, God's faithfulness thus far has fueled their hope for the future,” he continued. “The recurring theme has been the faithfulness of God and His … [Read more...]

Webber, pastor, LBC servant, goes home to glory

By Message Staff VIDALIA, La. (LBM) - Ralph Webber, whose ministry spanned 70 years, died May 28. He was 89. Born June 3, 1930, in Jonesville, Webber was ordained to preach at 20 years old while attending Louisiana College. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from LC and later earned divinity degrees at the master and doctoral levels with New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Throughout the years Webber with his wife, Ann, by his side during their 66 years of marriage, served as pastor of Utility Baptist Church, Jonesville; Sicily Island First Baptist Church; First Baptist Church of LaPlace; Suburban Baptist Church, New Orleans; Vidalia First Baptist Church; Harrisonburg First Baptist Church; and, the Osyka Baptist Church in Mississippi . He also served as interim pastor of the Immanuel Baptist Church, Natchez, Miss., as well as a number of other congregations in Delta, LaSalle, and Ouachita associations. Webber also served as director of missions and ministry with the Louisiana Baptist Convention from May 1981 to February 1997. During that time, he worked with 78 churches in Catahoula, Concordia, LaSalle and Tensas parishes. Funeral services for Webber were held May 31 at First Baptist Vidalia. Webber is … [Read more...]

Five old innovations for our new day

By Lane Corley It’s a new day. New normals will emerge. Our churches are picking up new technologies and new innovations to help us continue to deliver the gospel. In this season of new, of change, of adaptation, there may also be some OLD innovations that we need to circle back to. As we reset our churches over the coming days, consider resetting these five practices and attitudes: The prayer chain –principle: mobilize prayer for the church and the lost. Growing up Southern Baptist, every church my family was a part of had a prayer chain. The prayer chain was a phone network built to mobilize prayer quickly when need arose in the congregation or community. How can your congregation be more effective at mobilizing prayer for one another, for the lost, for the community? Today, we have technologies available to us that can greatly enhance the impact of prayer mobilization. We all encourage prayer. How can we move from encouraging prayer to mobilizing prayer? What innovative approaches to prayer can we develop in the new normal? Discipleship training – principle: train the faithful to train others. The creativity of churches has grown tremendously over the last 20 years. Graphic design, stage design, sermon series … [Read more...]

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Pastors’ Task Force)

By Dr. Chuck Kelley In 2013, only three years after the GCR proposals were adopted, Al Gilbert, NAMB Vice President for Evangelism, convened a task force of twelve pastors and five denominational workers to take yet another look at the issue of steadily declining baptisms. The group sought to examine carefully the state of evangelism in Southern Baptist churches, to identify whatever problems might be at play, and to ask how those problems could be addressed. Pastors’ Task Force on SBC Evangelistic Impact and Declining Baptisms (2014) The group assessed key Great Commission statistics, sharing honestly the evidence indicating the regression of evangelism in the SBC. They found clear indications that SBC churches were experiencing a crisis in making an evangelistic impact on their communities. The task force did not refer to the GCR proposals, the God’s Plan for Sharing initiative, or any other previous approach to SBC decline in their report. Without elaborative details, the Task Force concluded that five problems were driving decline in the Southern Baptist Convention: Southern Baptists had a spiritual problem (need for revival), a leadership problem (need to model evangelism), a discipleship problem (lack of intentionality), … [Read more...]

Ebenezer girl became child of God on Mother’s Day

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HAMMOND, La. (LBM) – The most recent Mother’s Day weekend resulted in an extra celebration for Lachee and Chris Morgan. Their daughter, Bry’Anna, 8, told her parents on May 7 – three days before the holiday – she had declared Jesus as her Savior and wanted to share the decision publicly through baptism. “We prayed together and all cried,” Lachee told the Baptist Message. “As a parent, the only thing you can hope for is your children accept Jesus and that you will all be together for eternity. Eternity is so much bigger than life here and are excited Bry’Anna will join us in Heaven one day.” Bry’Anna, who stirred the baptismal waters at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hammond, May 24, said her salvation experience evoked an incredible joy and excitement that has not waned. “I was happy and excited then, and am still now,” Bry’Anna said. “My job as a Christian is to tell everyone about Jesus and what He did. I can’t wait to do so much for Him.” PRAYER-FOCUSED RESULTS Pastor Ken Schroeder credits a church committed to pray for a harvest for Bry'Anna's openness and readiness to receive salvation and her subsequent obedience in baptism. Hers was the sixth salvation and baptism … [Read more...]

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Great Commission Resurgence)

By Dr. Chuck Kelley In 2009, SBC President Johnny Hunt appointed a task force, chaired by Ronnie Floyd, to consider how to generate a Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) in the Southern Baptist Convention. As noted last week, the term “Great Commission Resurgence” was first used at the SBC by NAMB President Geoffrey Hammond in his report to the 2008 Convention as he announced the launch of the National Evangelism Initiative that became God’s Plan for Sharing. There was no connection between that usage of the term and what Dr. Hunt proposed. The GCR name was intended to evoke images of the movement known as the Conservative Resurgence, which produced the most profound changes in SBC history, transforming the theological direction of the SBC and its entities. The Great Commission Resurgence, dealing with SBC decline, bears no resemblance to the Conservative Resurgence in either method or outcome. The Great Commission Resurgence (2010) The Great Commission Resurgence proposal received far more time and attention in Southern Baptist life, both before and during the 2010 Convention meetings, than any of the other approaches to the evangelism crisis, more than all the others combined. There is one simple reason for the dramatic … [Read more...]

Because Christ lives, Ravi Zacharias also lives

By Ron F. Hale It was on Ravi’s seeming death bed in Delhi, India, that a man walked into his hospital room with a little red Gideon New Testament. At the age of seventeen, young Ravi had downed a concoction of poison mixed with water and chemicals. Growing up in a culture of honor and shame, Ravi’s undisciplined life led him to a very dark place. His mother asked the man to leave the room. Holding up the New Testament, the man said, “Your son needs this more than anything else.” She allowed him to turn to the 14th chapter of John. Through the smog of his skepticism, shame, and pain, Ravi tried to listen as the Scriptures were read aloud. Then something happened. “It was like a bolt of lightning in a moment of pitch blackness,” Ravi Zacharias would later say of the moment the Holy Spirit pierced his heart and mind with the pregnant promise of the inspired Word of God. “‘Because I live, you also shall live,’ were the seven words that cracked open my encrusted heart.” He realized that what “live” refers to in John 14:19 was not what his life was about. In an instant, he wanted this new life more than anything in the world. Ravi humbly and honestly prayed, “Jesus, if you are who you claim to be here, I want that life … [Read more...]

Louisiana College issues statement on Floyd death, racism

By Louisiana College Office of Communications PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews) — We stand with our fellow Christ followers in grieving the senseless death of George Floyd. Racism is sin! I have and will continue to teach and stand against it with all my heart! We are all made "in the image of God!" (Genesis 1:27) Fellow Christians and Americans, we need to see others as Christ does, as we are all created in His image and for His service. Louisiana College is a Christ-centered institution, and we not only pray for those directly affected by his death, but for citizens who have been wrongfully persecuted, judged, or harmed----because of their race. The Bible calls upon the righteous to speak. Christians can no longer be silent in the face of racial injustice. Christians have been given "the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18) Therefore, we can no longer simply give lip service to or simply offer piecemeal solutions to the racial issues that continue to plague our nation. Americans must stand together across racial, political, and cultural lines and recognize our common humanity. Reconciliation will happen when the true church of Jesus unites and loves one another and the world the way Jesus showed us. -Rick … [Read more...]

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Origins)

By Dr. Chuck Kelley The Southern Baptist story to date can be summarized in three words: growth, plateau, and decline. In 1845 in Augusta, GA, individual Baptist churches from across the South came together to form a Convention of churches that would hold two conflicting realities in permanent tension: true congregational autonomy for every church and deep missional cooperation to prepare ministers and fulfill the Great Commission. After the ravages of the Civil War, Southern Baptists grew steadily until World War II. After World War II, the growth became explosive, driven by aggressive evangelism and even more aggressive discipleship, making Southern Baptists the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. The growth began slowing in the sixties, although baptism numbers did not peak until the Jesus Movement in the early seventies. In spite of the Jesus Movement spike, the period of plateau had begun for Southern Baptists, and from that point the statistics began to flatten out. The numbers moved up and down, but the peaks were lower and the valleys more frequent. The days of steady, continual growth were over. I suggest the turning point from plateau to decline can be traced to the year 2000, when records indicate a … [Read more...]