By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – The teasing by his fellow classmates cut deeply into the spirit of the 8-year-old diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. The more they hurled insults at Kenneth Moore for how he walked and talked, the more his resentment toward God grew. “If Jesus healed the blind, deaf and lame, why would a compassionate God not do the same with him?” he would ask himself. Life seemed unfair, Moore recounted to the Baptist Message. But, during a message he heard while attending a Sunday worship service at Melville Baptist Church in Ponchatoula, he said, God softened his heart of stone and removed the hatred he had been harboring, and, gave him peace. “Although the teasing and laughing by some classmates continued, I embraced the fact that God loved me enough to send Jesus to die for me,” said Moore, now pastor of Carmel Baptist Church in Pineville, in a blog. “I still did not understand many things about God, but I began to learn that trusting Him is the pathway to peace; peace between Him and you, as well as within yourself.” Moore’s encounter with the Holy Spirit on April 23, 1982, marked the beginning of a spiritual journey that continues to enrich his relationship with Jesus … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – The first-born is always a special blessing to parents and, for Louis and June Charrier, Nicole is no exception. Born Feb. 21, 1980, Nicole was a healthy baby girl, bubbling with excitement, and charming her parents, family and friends, alike, the Charriers said. A month later, tragedy struck and her life dramatically changed. Some said Nicole “took a turn for the worse,” but not Louis and June. June was a half-mile from their home, she told the Baptist Message, when she and Nicole were involved in a serious automobile accident. Momma escaped with minor injuries, but her daughter sustained a severe head trauma, causing her to go blind and leaving her with Cerebral Palsy-like symptoms: She was unable to speak, walk or eat without assistance. Now at age 36, Nicole still is unable to do anything for herself. Yet, she has impacted a number of others for Christ. Louis explained that Nicole requires in-home care, giving him and June the opportunity to share Christ with Nicole’s medical team. Health professionals come to the house to tend to Nicole’s physical needs, he said, and they leave having received a Gospel presentation and attention to their spiritual … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor ALEXANDRIA – Take a good look at Jacob Barker Hall. Whether in person or by photo it’s hard not to see his bright eyes and engaging smile and not know the joy and the zest that define this 19-year-old’s life. His speech and his physical awkwardness give glimpses of his Down syndrome, but any signs of motor or mental difficulty are overshadowed by the special person he is as a child of God. Jacob is a great name for my youngest son. Roughly translated into “supplanter,” a more practical definition for his personality would be “steals the show,” but not in a bad way. He showers others with love and encouragement, likely to say “good job” loudly to the choir or the pastor (along with a visible “thumbs up”) – without concern for when he says it during the service (I finally figured out it’s his way of saying “amen”). He runs to give hugs to old and young alike, but he especially delights in carefully approaching a baby, gently cupping his hands along the child’s jawline and slowly, tenderly stroking forward until the heels of his palms meet at the baby’s chin. His affection is authentic and so are his prayers, and he’s likely to pray anytime, anywhere. One of the most memorable times was … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor WASHINGTON — Louisiana Baptists in the nation's capital say the atmosphere is “absolutely electric” as they await the official ceremony marking the transfer of power between Barack H. Obama and Donald J. Trump. Patti Hankins, wife of Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins, said the crowds at purposely Christian activities were enormous, including a line more than two blocks long to attend a special prayer service Thursday at Greater New Hope Baptist Church – an event sponsored by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, a Louisiana Baptist who is interim pastor of Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, Greenwell Springs. But even just visiting congressional offices in the Capitol and taking part in festivities around the city, she said, “The Christian presence here is so strong, you can feel it!” … [Read more...]

By Message Staff DEVILLE – Grace works. That’s the simple yet life-changing message evangelist Ken Freeman shared with a roomful of students and adults Wednesday night, Jan. 18, at Philadelphia Baptist Church. Citing 1 Corinthians 15:10, Freeman said grace works for us, in us and through us. “Grace is a gift,” Freeman said. “Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” A product of God’s saving grace, Freeman shared with the students how he accepted Christ during a lonely time in his life. The son of an absentee father and alcoholic mother, Freeman felt as if his life was out of control. He even accepted a friend’s invitation to church 50 years ago, only as a means to meet girls. He found Jesus. And his life has never been the same. For more than 30 years, Freeman has shared the Gospel at more than 3,000 churches and seen more than 200,000 individuals make a decision for Jesus, including 134 who responded to the Holy Spirit during a revival he conducted last October at Tioga High School. Wednesday at Philadelphia Baptist’s Deville campus, another 16 responded to Freeman’s message about Christ. “I say salvation is the greatest of all miracles,” Robertson said. … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- A raucous presidential election year turned personal for Lloyd Harsch, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary history professor, when his seminary inbox filled with more than 90,000 emails. Harsch is a member of the Electoral College, and most of the electronic messages, primarily from people outside Louisiana, asked him to flip his commitment from Donald J. Trump, who carried the state with nearly 60 percent of the vote. As Harsch, with wife Jill, prepared for travel to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony and related festivities in Washington, D.C., emails and letters continued to come in, causing Harsch to pause and reflect. “I had to evaluate [voters’] concerns about the purpose of the Electoral College,” Harsch said. “I had to ask, ‘What was it designed to do?’ and ‘What is my actual responsibility?’” Most of the writers expressed genuine concern, Harsch said, and the few veiled in innuendo or threat were passed on to authorities. Louisiana is one of 21 states whose electors are “unbound,” meaning they are not constrained legally to vote for their party’s nominee, the winner of the state’s popular vote. Phone calls, a fax, and about two … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- Abdu Murray was a devout Muslim who rarely encountered Christians who could defend their faith. His nine-year journey from Islam to faith in Christ began after meeting the few “annoying” Christians who could. Murray, North American director for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, told of his journey at Defend 2017, an annual apologetics conference presented by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Institute for Christian Apologetics (ICA) Jan. 2-6.The conference that hosted 250 participants brought together noted apologists to address issues and worldviews prevalent in today’s culture. “Truth always has a cost,” Murray said. “A lot of Muslims know there are issues with Islam and they know there is a beauty to the Gospel, but they don’t want it because of the price.” Other plenary speakers included Sean McDowell, author of 18 books on apologetics including several co-written with his father Josh McDowell; Braxton Hunter, former president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists; Craig Hazen, author and renowned apologist at Biola University; Robert Bowman, Jr., Institute for Religious Research; Greg Koukl, Stand to Reason Ministries, and … [Read more...]