Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

LBC Executive Director Search Committee seeks candidates

ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- The Louisiana Baptist Convention’s 15-member Executive Director Search Committee held its first meeting Nov. 27, focusing on prayer but also completing the first actions of official business, according to a press release from the committee. Members elected Waylon Bailey, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington, as chair, and began developing a profile of the type of candidate they are seeking to lead Louisiana Baptists. Bailey, who also is president of the LBC Executive Board, told the Baptist Message the committee understands the near “impossibility” of pleasing everyone. But he said, “We want to do our very best for the future of our state. Our state needs Louisiana Baptists in order to be its very best.” The committee will nominate a successor to LBC Executive Director David Hankins, who announced Nov. 2 his plans to retire June 30, 2019. The LBC Executive Board will vote on the nominee, as stated in the state convention’s Articles of Incorporation. Bailey said the process for Southern Baptists to recommend candidates, or, for interested individuals to apply, is a simple one. Names and resumes should be emailed to Bailey at lbcexedirsearch@gmail.com or sent via postal mail to “Dr. … [Read more...]

The two most unlikely people

By Waylon Bailey Were there ever two more unlikely people than Joseph and Mary? Is there any more improbable event  than the birth of Jesus Christ? Joseph and Mary were peasants from an obscure village in an obscure part of the world. Only the events of of the birth of Jesus Christ could have made them known by anyone other than a few hundred people over their entire lifetimes. At the same time, some of the most recognizable people of history lived at the same time. We all know the name Julius Caesar. He lived in the generation prior to the birth of Jesus Christ. His great nephew and adoptive son was Caesar Augustus. Augustus was named Octavian but received the name “Augustus” from the Roman Senate. The word august means grand, lofty or exalted. At the death of Octavian the Romans proclaimed him as a god as they had Julius Caesar. And as they did with Julius Caesar, they named a month of the Julian calendar after Augustus (August). Octavian at first shared power with Mark Antony and one other ruler. At the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, he defeated the navy of Antony and Cleopatra (the ruler of Egypt). All of these were people of high status and unbridled power. God chose not to use the mighty of the world but the … [Read more...]

First Bossier holds first campus service since devastating fire

BOSSIER CITY, La. (LBM)--Pastor Brad Jurkovich reassured members of the First Baptist Church in Bossier City, "There's hope today," Dec. 16 during the first Sunday worship service following a devastating fire only days before that impacted about three-quarters of the facilities on the church campus. His message to a packed crowd in the main worship center was consistent with his statements to the media that "God is in control ... we are going to press forward and trust Him," On Dec. 10 a three-alarm fire began at 5:30 a.m., originating with an uninterruptible power supply backup battery for a computer. The flames began in an office space near Faith Chapel -- the original worship center -- and spread quickly to the attic and other buildings including the childcare center and various youth facilities. About 65 firefighters fought the blaze, finally extinguishing it about 3:30 p.m. that same day. The congregation held a meeting in the Bossier Civic Center on Wednesday, Dec. 12, to pray, worship and organize for recovery, but the Sunday service was the first post-fire gathering on campus. There was an extended time for expressing gratitude to first responders and thanking officials for their support, but Jurkovich … [Read more...]

Bob Anderson, former pastor and founder of Parkview Baptist School, passes away

BATON ROUGE -- Robert E. "Bro. Bob" Anderson, longtime pastor of Parkview Baptist Church and the founder of one of Louisiana’s largest private schools, Parkview Baptist, passed away on Dec. 13. The 84-year-old Anderson, who had battled Parkinson's disease for seven years, died at his home surrounded by family. Born April 29, 1934, his mother Edith died of tuberculosis just eleven months later. Bob and his brothers were taken in by his paternal grandmother. A Shreveport native, Anderson committed his life to Jesus Christ at a crusade meeting led by the Rev. Billy Graham in 1951. He graduated from East Texas Baptist University, received his masters of divinity from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctorate from the International Bible Institute and Seminary. In 1951, 17-year-old Bob went with his Fair Park High football team to hear a young evangelist named Billy Graham speak in Shreveport. "I went forward and gave my heart to Christ," he said later. "Jesus became very real to me." So real, in fact, he answered the call to become a minister. His team won the state championship the next year. This began a life of winning from winning the heart of his high school sweetheart, Rochelle Reeves, whom he … [Read more...]