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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Hankins: the SBC presidential election

In fewer than three weeks at our annual convention in Dallas, June 12-13, Southern Baptists will elect a new president. The two announced candidates are Dr. J.D. Greear and Dr. Kenneth Hemphill. J.D. Greear ran two years ago and lost to the current SBC president Steve Gaines in a close and controversial decision. After his loss, some suggested that J.D. should be elected without opposition this year because he was such a good sport last time. He was a good sport. Almost every losing candidate across the decades of Southern Baptist life has been gracious in defeat. However, it was never the practice, or even the suggestion that they automatically would be the president the next rotation. We do not elect two presidents at a time. Things change a lot in two years, as they have this last two. Any group of Baptists or even one Baptist may nominate whom they will for president. But no one can confer the office on someone. It is not our practice and should not be. Only the messengers in session can elect a president. So, again this year, the average Baptist messenger will exercise the right to decide who will lead the convention. I am supporting Ken Hemphill for the office. It is not because of personalities. I like both of … [Read more...]

Abraham applauds proposed Title X rule change

By Office of Congressman Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON - Congressman Ralph Abraham is applauding the Trump Administration for proposing a rule change that will help prevent any federal tax dollars from supporting abortions. President Trump’s administration announced last week that the Department of Health and Human Services will seek to change a rule regarding Title X family planning funding. The new rule would bar a clinic from receiving these funds if family planning services and abortions are offered under the same roof. Title X funds account for about $260 million. The largest single recipient is Planned Parenthood, which receives between $50-$60 million per year. No funding would be cut if the rule change is implemented, and savings from non-compliant facilities would be reinvested in other clinics, such as rural and community health centers. Abraham is staunchly pro-life and joined 153 members of the US House of Representatives in writing to HHS Sec. Alex Azar in April requesting the rule change. “Places like Planned Parenthood have no business receiving any taxpayer money to help them perform abortions. This rule change will ensure that family planning funding is actually going toward family planning services, not … [Read more...]

Be all in for Jesus

By Stewart Holloway Have you ever choked on anything? I’ve never choked, but I’ve had difficulty swallowing and that was bad enough. Choking or even coming close to choking is no fun. Yet, every day, people choke on Jesus. They cannot swallow His teaching. They cannot swallow His demands. They cannot swallow the commitment He requires. In John 6:60-71, we see three responses to Jesus: desertion, devotion, and deterioration. We want to be devoted, but a lot of people desert and deteriorate. In other words, they choke on Jesus. How do you know if you might choke on Jesus? Well, one way you choke on food is when it is too much or not what you expect, and that’s usually what happens when people desert Jesus or deteriorate in their faith – He’s too much for them or not what they expect. Typically, it’s not the big issues of the faith that people choke on, it’s the basics. No one wants to be a deserter! So what do we do? How do we avoid choking on Jesus? We become devoted. How do you do that? You resolve to do so. I know of no other way to say it. You commit. You’re all in when others are all out. You decide to follow Jesus, moment by moment day by day no matter what comes along the way. I pray that … [Read more...]

Encouraging words on a bad Friday

By Steve Horn By now you all know that another school shooting has happened — this time in Santa Fe, Texas. Closer to where I live, in the town of St. Martinville, Louisiana, my wife’s hometown, several students died the same day in a car accident. Fun events for seniors, who were anticipating their last day, were canceled. As I sat down to put some thoughts down, I got a news alert that a plane has crashed in Cuba. Meanwhile, high school graduations in my area were happening all weekend. Keenly aware that these graduating seniors aren’t reading my blog today or any day, if I could address every graduating senior, my words would go something like this. Be thankful. Life is fragile. Life is short. Life is far from perfect. The only way to live life to the fullest is to be thankful. Be thankful because you know you didn’t get to where you are by yourself. Be thankful for parents, teachers, coaches, ministry leaders, the military, police, first responders, doctors, dentists, nurses, and many others. Most of all, give thanks to God. I went to a high school sports awards program the other night put on by our local paper. I was thankful and impressed that most every student gave thanks to God. Alex Haley, author of … [Read more...]

Abraham urges passage of Farm Bill

By Office of Congressman Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Ralph Abraham (R-Alto) issued the following statement in response a vote May 18 on the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, commonly known as the farm bill, failed on a 213-198 vote. "Today a small group of Republicans joined Democrats to block the best chance we had to institute work requirements for food stamps so that people can lift themselves out of poverty and enter the workforce,” said Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church. “I know that Democrats have vowed to block bills like this that President Trump supports, but Republicans should be working together instead of holding each other hostage over unrelated issues. This was a good Farm Bill that implemented work requirements for SNAP and provided the policies our farmers rely on for planning so that they can keep feeding this country. Those who voted "no" turned their backs on President Trump and the American farmer. They need to get on board so we can pass this bill that is critical to the success of American agriculture.” … [Read more...]

Louisiana’s Johnson applauds passage of Louisiana prayer bill

By Office of Congressman Mike Johnson WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mike Johnson (LA-04) applauded the Louisiana Legislature on its amended “school prayer bill” (La. Senate Bill 512), which was passed late Friday evening, May 18, in the final moments of the legislature’s 2018 regular session. Earlier this month, Johnson, who previously served as senior legal counsel for America’s largest religious liberty defense organization, joined with many of the nation’s other leading religious liberty attorneys and constitutional law experts to offer suggestions on how to amend the controversial legislation. “We applaud the hard work of the legislature, and especially those principled leaders in the Louisiana House, who stepped forward to correct and pass the revised version of SB 512," Johnson said in a statement. "What began as a very flawed piece of legislation that would have jeopardized the rights to religious expression in public schools was properly amended in the House. The new law will now provide much-needed clarity for students, teachers and coaches throughout Louisiana. “In the complex and widely misunderstood area of the law pertaining to school prayer, legislation is sometimes proposed on a state and local level that … [Read more...]

Evangelist Jerry Drace to be nominated SBC 2nd VP in Dallas

By Staff DALLAS – Tennessee Evangelist and Pastor Jerry Drace will be nominated for second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, Texas, during the denomination’s June 12-13 annual meeting, Ernest Easley announced May 16. "I believe it’s important to elect a vocational evangelist to serve as one of the officers of the SBC to help keep a focus on evangelism,” Easley, professor of evangelism at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, told the Baptist Message. “It will only strengthen Southern Baptists, having an evangelist in the room and at the table when discussing subjects that impact our Convention.” Drace has served as a vocational evangelist for more than 40 years, having preached in approximately 1,000 Southern Baptist churches and conducted 300 of his signature Hope of the Home conferences in the U.S. and Great Britain, according to his official bio. For the past eight years, he has served as bi-vocational pastor at Friendship Baptist Church, the west Tennessee congregation his father once pastored and where he came to faith in Christ, Drace told the Baptist Message. Drace is a former president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. He shared how a discussion with Ken … [Read more...]

LARTL applauds State Legislature for bipartisan passage of Pro-Life Laws

BATON ROUGE –The successful passage of a diverse package of life-protective laws this legislative session is being heralded as ‘major accomplishments’ by the Louisiana Right to Life. Those bills include: HB 449, the first in the nation "Adoption Option Act," will require abortion clinics to give women concrete information to make an adoption plan so that the mother is empowered to avoid the trauma of abortion and choose life for her child with a loving family; HB 891 enhances existing state policy preventing taxpayer funds from being used directly or indirectly by abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood; SB 181 provides an additional provision to Louisiana’s current trigger law by prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks gestation in the event the same Mississippi law is upheld in the U.S. Fifth Circuit. This provision is in addition to a 2006 trigger that will ban all abortion once the Supreme Court returns the issue to the states. HB 273 authorizes the Department of Heath to promulgate regulations that the bodies of aborted unborn children are given dignified burial in accord with the treatment of unclaimed human corpses. HB 297 addresses the creation of materials giving resources for children prenatally … [Read more...]

Jesus and only Jesus: why is that so difficult?

By Joe McKeever Only Jesus. No one has been to Heaven except the One who came from there. (John 3:13) How clear is that? He is the One who knows. No one can come to God the Father except through Jesus. (John 14:6) How clear is that? He is our mediator. No one can know God unless Jesus reveals Him to them. (Matthew 11:27) How clear is that? He is the revealer. There is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Only Jesus. (Acts 4:12) How clear is that? He is our Savior. Jesus said He was given authority over all mankind. (John 3:35; 13:3; 17:2 and Matthew 28:18) How clear is that?  He is Lord. Here’s an outline that sums it up for me.  It got me out of bed in the middle of the night recently. Use it if you can and if the Lord leads. There is only One who has come from Heaven – and He alone is our AUTHORITY on matters of Heaven and eternity. (John 3:13) That’s why even the Father told people, “Listen to Him!” (Luke 9:35) There is only One who has gone to the cross and made atonement for our sins–and He alone is our SAVIOR.  (John 3:16) That’s why the Holy Spirit draws people to Him. He is the door. (John 10) There is only One who has risen from the dead and … [Read more...]