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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Students with Louisiana ties graduate from seminaries, colleges

Students from Louisiana College, as well as those from Southern Baptist seminaries recently graduated. Below is a list of the graduates.   Louisiana College: Name                                                                   Degree                                                        Hometown Quincy R. Gill, Associate of Arts in Pastoral Ministry                                                            Sugartown Michael David Hotard                                     Associate of Arts in Pastoral Ministry                                                                                       Cutoff Joe Everett Alexander                                     Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies                                                                                         Bernice Ronald Gray Anders                                         Bachelor of Arts in Health & Physical Education                                                                   Zachary Phillip Sean Baker                                             Bachelor of Arts in Health & Physical Education                                                                   Zachary Robert Emery Beaman                                   Bachelor … [Read more...]

Excavation efforts continue by NOBTS team, others in Israel

By Gary D. Myers, NOBTS director of public relations June 4, 2018 Juggling three sites has been difficult, but the results have been remarkable. It is very difficult to gather updates and photographs. However, we have begged and borrowed enough photos to update the NOBTS Moskau Institute Flickr page with photos from all three sites – Visit the Page. Tel Gezer The excavation and cleaning work in the water system itself is complete. The tunnel is ready for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to begin working on a plan which will allow visitors to walk part of the way into the system. Over in Area C, the team is in a race with the clock. As this is the last season at Tel Gezer it is imperative that the team gather as much information as possible to help locate the connection between the water system (Areas A and B), Area C (the wall rooms), and the gate (Area D). As usual, Area C remains very active and continues to provide interesting finds – much of which we cannot discuss until well after the season in complete. Tel Hadid At Tel Hadid the team is working to excavate four squares in the morning and moving to the survey work after our mid-morning breakfast. Both efforts are going well. Click Here to … [Read more...]

BRNow ‘Fact Check’ – A Response

By David E. Hankins I did not intend to write anything else regarding the upcoming SBC presidential election. The election is only days away, and I have made my support for Ken Hemphill, and the reasons for that support, abundantly clear. However, the North Carolina Baptist online paper, BRNow, posted the article “Fact Check” in which candidate J.D. Greear said I erroneously attributed to him negative comments regarding state conventions. Subsequently, a number of people, both supporters and critics, have suggested I reply. In the interest of accuracy, I offer the following points: J.D. contextualized his comments by writing, “When I read David Hankins’ claim, I immediately called him…” (see 3/21/18 blog post) This just is not so. The truth is, I initiated through an intermediary a request for a conversation with Dr. Greear, and my talk with J.D. did not take place until days later. He did not immediately or otherwise initiate a call with me. I am attaching the email exchange between J.D.’s right-hand man and myself arranging the call. Is this a big deal? Maybe not. But the BR article was intended to give J.D. the opportunity to correct factual errors. Why would he misstate the material facts concerning a telephone call … [Read more...]

The Value of Every Voice in the SBC

By Bobby Gilstrap As a young pastor, only a few years out of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I was excited to accept the call to serve a small church in Durant, Oklahoma. The church had been a strong, mission engaged church that was giving 25% of all undesignated offerings through the Cooperative Program. This church was an area leader supporting the cooperative mission causes of the Southern Baptist Convention, giving sacrificially for many decades. In 1995, as the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention approached, I discussed attending the SBC Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia with our church leadership. The premise of my argument was that this church needed to have a voice since it had given tens of thousands of dollars over decades of cooperation. With such a high cooperative investment, we should have representation during the annual meeting when decisions were made by messengers of our convention. After a brief discussion, it was determined the cost of such a trip was just too high and it was not feasible. I felt it was critical that our church have first-hand representation and a voice at the annual meeting rather than reading short meeting reports in the media. Therefore, my wife and I … [Read more...]

Update from digs in Tel Gezer/Tel Hadid/Sepphoris

By Gary D. Myers, NOBTS public relations As you see from the title of this post, members of our group will be at three different sites this summer. Logistics will greatly complicate our updates and blog posts over the next three weeks. Not only must we juggle the difficulties of different schedules, we each are working in different historic periods and unique settings. Today, May 29, marked the third official day of the excavation season and it is time for a much-needed update. The blog has been hampered by my jet-lag and concerns over lost luggage – not to mention the logistic concerns denoted above. Here is an all-too-brief overview. Tel Gezer On Sunday, the entire team from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Liberty University traveled to Tel Gezer for a site tour and several hours of set up. Set up was much easier this summer due to the scope of the excavation work at Gezer. The team will excavate in Area C (the intermural complex – wall rooms near the opening of the water system) and in Area B (the water basin or pool of the water system). The team will not excavate in Area D (MB II gate) or utilize a crane to pull material out of the water system. Volunteers will only probe in the material that remains … [Read more...]

Report: Foundation sees increase in assets, donations

By Jerry Love, LBF director of planned giving ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – Some positive economic news, a significant increase in assets and deposits, highlighted the quarterly meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation Board of Trustees meeting May 8. INVESTMENT UPDATES Pat Lacour, trustee from Pineville, chaired the morning meeting of the investment committee and had Lee Morris, Investment Consultant with Graystone, give an update on the performance of the LBF portfolio. Morris said the first quarter saw “lots of noise, with not much happening,” explaining that there was a lot of volatility in the equity markets without much progress in investment growth for the beginning of the year. The outlook for fixed income positions is still very modest, he added, saying the general expectation is that the Federal Reserve will bump rates higher at least a couple more times this year. However, the LBF’s bond portfolio managers are continuing to maintain shorter durations, hedging against the rise in rates. Other smaller investment allocations in the LBF portfolio, such as preferred stock, and, oil and gas MLP’s, continue to add value to the mix of assets so far this year, he said. Morris told trustees analysts expect … [Read more...]

Louisiana Notables

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have a Revival, Homecoming, a new pastor, a community outreach or a concert? The Baptist Message would love to share your church news with the rest of the state. It is very easy to do, just send in your information (who, what, where and when) to philip@baptistmessage.com or call 318.449.4345. To get your event in the paper, please submit your information three weeks prior to the event. ON THE MOVE Charles Malone is the new pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Calhoun. Morgan McCallister is the new pastor at Trinity Baptist Church, West Monroe. Jason Purdy was ordained April 22 at First Baptist Church, Livingston. Frank Valenzano resigned as pastor of One Life Church, Denham Springs and is now the new pastor at First Baptist Church, West Fairbanks. Mallory Sanchez is the new worship leader at Bayou Oaks Baptist Church, Monroe. HOMECOMING Pine Hill Baptist Church, Leesville: 124th annual homecoming, June 3, 10 a.m. Dinner on the grounds will follow the service. Speaker: Chase Burns. Pastor: Tri Evans. Mt. Gilead Baptist Church, Vivian: 158th Homecoming, June 3, 10 a.m. Dinner on the grounds will follow the service. The church invites everyone to come and fellowship on this special … [Read more...]