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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Barry devastated parts of state, others spared

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- The devastation from Hurricane Barry was far less than anticipated based on forecasts leading into the weekend, but for those who sustained damage this news does not lessen the impact on them. Several Louisiana Baptist churches reported that facilities suffered from floodwaters and winds as the result of Barry trekking through the state as a tropical storm and now a tropical depression. In places the storm dumped more than 20 inches of rain and produced sustained winds of 75 mph, with even higher gusts. With regard to Louisiana Baptist churches, Gibbie McMillan told the Baptist Message that he had received reports from three congregations, so far: -- Mechanicville Emmanuel Baptist Church in Houma lost portions of its roof, windows were broken, cemetery fencing was lost and a gazebo damaged. -- Immanuel Baptist Church in Morgan City experienced roof and siding damage, and multiple fallen trees. -- First Baptist Church in Franklin lost siding and had begun removing tree limbs downed by winds. Pastor Chris Jeffus reported to the Baptist Message that high winds damaged the roof and steeple of his congregation, the Trinity Baptist Church in New … [Read more...]

AWANA a revival for Verda

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MONTGOMERY, La. (LBM) -- Verda Baptist Church had struggled to reach the next generation before Braden Martin arrived as pastor in November 2017. He led them to pray first, and in 2018 the congregation of 80 felt led to start an AWANA club (evangelism and discipleship for children) that has drawn nearly 50 kids every Wednesday evening, since inception, and also sparked a revival within the body of members. “When I got here, Verda had virtually no youth or kids program outside of Vacation Bible School, which was shocking since we are within steps of the school and have numerous school board employees, including the previous and new Grant Parish superintendent,” Martin told the Baptist Message. “What once was Wednesday night prayer meetings consisting of me, my wife, our baby girl and a handful of others has turned into an average of 47 kids and 18-20 members who help out every Wednesday night while a few of us gather in the sanctuary for prayer. “Having this many members each week come in and get to work is just amazing to see,” he continued. “We are all so busy, we all work hard during the week, sometimes we are just burned out and still they come. That’s the rise or fall of any … [Read more...]

LC to host PreTeen Invasion

PINEVILLE (LBM) – Louisiana College will welcome more than 800 fourth through sixth graders, Aug. 24, for a day of games, worship and Gospel opportunities at PreTeen Invasion. The annual evangelism conference for this age group will feature messages by Keith Badgett, children’s pastor at the First Baptist Church in Jenks, Oklahoma, and music by The Crowe Brothers from Franklinton. This year’s theme is “GO,” based on Matthew 28:19. David Anderson, children’s ministry strategist for Louisiana Baptists, told the Baptist Message that PreTeen Invasion has become the “go-to event” to celebrate the start of another school year. “This is the 9th year for PreTeen Invasion and it is always a great day,” Anderson said. “We see young people from across our state make decisions for Christ and others go away challenged to take the Gospel to their neighborhoods. This year we will be very intentional about what it means to go. This has become a great way to kick off an amazing year in preteen ministry in our local churches.” Registration is underway: The $35 per person fee includes a t-shirt if postmarked by July 19, but not after this date. Check-in will begin at 8 a.m., with the event starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m. More … [Read more...]

Despite canceled services LBC pastors reach members

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- Louisiana Baptist pastors employed social media July 14 to reach out to the congregations they urged to stay home out of safety concerns in the face of Tropical Storm Barry – with dining room tables, home offices and vacant worship centers serving as pulpits via Facebook Live. Stewart Holloway, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Pineville, said this was the first time in 25 years of serving as a minister that he has cancelled a Sunday morning worship service. Still, Holloway, broadcasting from his dining room table alongside his wife, Rebecca, quipped that he was thankful technology allowed for his home to serve as a "multi-site campus of our church." Holloway told his congregation that storms such as Barry remind Christ’s followers what is most important in life and also of God's power. "As you sit at home today, eating your hurricane snacks and thinking about all the clean-up you will have to do later this week, for now, be glad that you are able to focus on what's most important and on the power of God," Holloway said. "Here's what we encourage you to do now. Whether you are gathered with family or friends or by yourself, when the webcast … [Read more...]

Churches cancel services

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- Some Louisiana Baptist congregations have made decisions to cancel Sunday activities as a matter of safety as Tropical Storm Barry continues to trek through the state: -- Twin Bridges Baptist Church, Alexandria -- Glenmora Baptist Church, Glenmora -- Westside Baptist Church, Natchitoches (cancelled just 8:30 a.m. worship service) -- Providence No. 1 Baptist Church, Ethel -- Riverside Baptist Church, Vidalia -- HIS Church, Pineville -- Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, Central -- Taylor Creek Baptist Church, Kentwood -- Pine Grove Baptist Church, Ruby -- Holloway Baptist Church, Deville -- First Baptist Church, Napoleonville -- Pine Grove Baptist Church, Pineville -- Kingsville Baptist Church, Pineville -- First Baptist Church, Boyce -- Fairfield Baptist Church, Dry Prong -- Hebron Baptist Church, Dry Prong -- Gardner Baptist Church, Gardner -- Big Island Baptist Church, Deville -- Birds Creek Baptist Church, Harrisonburg -- Atlanta Baptist Church, Atlanta -- Cypress Creek Baptist Church, Dodson -- Bethlehem Baptist Church, Winnfield -- Calvary Baptist Church, Winnfield -- Sardis Baptist … [Read more...]

Barry’s fury begins

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer   ALEXANDRIA, La, (LBM) -- Hurricane Barry made landfall Saturday afternoon at Intracoastal City, Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center, and weakened to a tropical storm as it moved inland.   Meanwhile, a number of Louisiana Baptist churches have announced they would be serving as  community shelters.   STORM PATH   As of 1 p.m. the eye of the storm was about 5 miles inland and moving northwest at a speed nearing 6 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 70 mph and extended outward up to 175 miles from the center.   Meteorologists expect the system to turn north-northwest tonight, followed by a turn toward the north on Sunday.    Along its path through south-central and southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi, rain accumulations 10 to 20 inches are forecast with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches.    SHELTERS, DAMAGE, RESPONSE    South Walker Baptist Church in Walker, Christ’s Community Church in Dedham Springs and Satsuma Baptist Church in Livingston have opened to serve as shelters in their respective communities.   Mechanicville Emmanuel Baptist Church in Houma reported that high winds had damaged the worship center roof.    Floodwaters caused a … [Read more...]

Freedom of religion wins in Bladensburg cross case

By U.S. Sen. John Kennedy All across our country, we have memorials and monuments to remind us of great people who did courageous things. Some of these memorials and monuments are under attack simply because they happen to reflect what I believe and what all of you believe: God exists. On Sept. 18, 1919, the mother of a fallen WWI soldier led the groundbreaking ceremony for one of these monuments—the Bladensburg “Peace Cross.” The cross serves as a symbolic grave for 49 local men who died in World War I. That monument has stood for 100 years, but a recent lawsuit nearly brought it down simply because it is shaped like the cross on which Jesus died. A liberal group, the American Humanist Association, filed a complaint in 2012 claiming the Bladensburg cross violated the First Amendment because it was a religious symbol - more specifically, a Christian symbol - on public land. The case eventually wound up before the United States Supreme Court. The left’s argument was both absurd and offensive. That is why I joined a group of 109 members of Congress last August in submitting a letter — called an amicus brief — to the Supreme Court saying that the cross should stand. The First Amendment prevents Congress from establishing a … [Read more...]

Apollo 11: Aldrin celebrated Lord’s Supper on the moon

By Will Hall, Executive Editor ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – The world is set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of man’s greatest achievements: the landing on the moon by an American astronaut crew. But few know that God was exalted in the lunar module before the historic “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” took place on July 20, 1969. Mission commander Neil Armstrong made this grand declaration, broadcast to the world, as he became the first human to walk on the lunar surface. But minutes earlier, lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin asked the television audience watching on earth “to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.” He turned off communications and pulled out a package containing the elements of the Lord’s Supper. Then Aldrin read the words of Christ: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Aldrin later explained in a number of publications that the blackout was the result of NASA’s heightened political sensitivity due to a lawsuit by atheist Madelyn Murray O’Hare. She had filed an objection to the televised reading of Genesis 1, months … [Read more...]

Beth Moore charges SBC conservatives with ‘sin’, recants 2009 statement on ‘homosexual sin’

By Will Hall, Executive Editor HOUSTON (LBM) -- LifeWay’s best-selling author, Beth Moore, created more controversy in June and July, accusing Southern Baptists in the Conservative Resurgence of “sin” while recanting a 2009 statement she made about “homosexual sin.” Moore stirred controversy when it was discovered that she had revised her decade-old book, “Praying God’s Word,” to delete a paragraph she said, July 6, “exceeded Scripture and singled out same-sex sin as particularly satanic.” In 2009 she wrote in the book that “He’s showing me” some things about “sexual strongholds” and then cited promiscuity, pornography and homosexuality as undermining the “sanctifying work of Christ.” Now she has deleted a passage from the electronic version of her book that called homosexuality “another deadly assault of the evil one in our society.” Moore said she made the change because she “heard from some heartbroken mothers about their kids who were having a hard enough time feeling ostracized as it was.” Among the changes she made, she deleted the statement that “God indeed can deliver you” and removed another part that said “complete transformation is possible … because God’s Word says so … [and] because I have witnessed it … [Read more...]

Haitian orphans call ‘Village’ home

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer CROIX-DES-BOUQUETS, Haiti (LBM) – The Children’s Transition Village in Haiti has welcomed its first group of economic orphans, after more than five years of prayer and hard work by Louisiana Baptists and the Haiti Baptist Convention. According to Darrin Badon, president of Louisiana Reach Haiti (a partnership between the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Haiti Baptist Convention, Louisiana Baptist churches and the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home) seven boys entered the facility in Croix-Des-Bouquets July 1. The buildings are designed to be home for up to 20 boys and 20 girls. But the hope is to eventually reunite the children with their families. “Every day in Haiti the battle for the family is being fought,” said Badon, also director of operations at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. “Often it seems like a war that can’t be won -- as poverty and high unemployment destroy one generation after another. Many children end up in orphanages, but care can range from good to deplorable. “We will offer our children the best of care. But not to keep them,” he said. “We can’t be, and will not be, a place that divides the family that God designed and created. “As we receive these … [Read more...]