ON THE MOVE Mike, wife Dawn, Holloway is the new pastor at Ouachita Baptist Church, West Monroe. Terry, wife Rhonda, Horowitz is the new pastor at Carson Baptist Church, Zwolle. He recently resigned as pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, Ball. Matt Simmons is the new minister to students at Watson Baptist Church. HOMECOMING Emmanuel Baptist Church, Shreveport: 75th Anniversary Celebration, April 17, 10:45 a.m. Former members and staff are invited to the service at 10:45 and the luncheon to follow. Please RSVP by calling (318) 686-7548 by April 10. Pastor: Chad Hardbarger. First Baptist Church, Benton: Homecoming Celebration, April 17. A continental breakfast will be served beginning at 9 a.m., worship, 10:30 a.m. followed by lunch. Former members can contact the church at 318.965.2351 for more information. Pastor: Robert Beadle. REVIVAL Colfax Baptist Church, Colfax: Revival, April 7-10. Evangelist: Lyndon Longoria. Pastor: Gary Howard. Ft. Jesup Baptist Church, Many: Revival, April 10-13; Sunday, 11 a.m. Monday-Wednesday, 6 p.m. Evangelist: Michael Courtney. Pastor: George Treutlein. Richey Baptist Church, Deville: Revival, April 10 – 13; two services Sunday 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday 7 p.m. … [Read more...]

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - There is a worldwide revival underway with an estimated million people each week becoming Christians, Jim Denison told more than 1,400 people gathered at the River Center for the 52nd Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. But in America the number of atheists and agnostics has quadrupled in recent years, he contrasted. “Our fastest-growing religious demographic is those who have no religion,” Denison said while showing a series of slides where Christianity is booming, like Nigeria, where 90 percent of the people attend church on Sunday. Denison is a longtime Baptist pastor who, since 2009, has been operating the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture. He writes a daily commentary on current events read by 113,000 subscribers worldwide, and, he refers to himself as a cultural apologist. “Why are we not seeing the spiritual awakening that is sweeping the nations?” he asked. “All across Scripture, our God is a King. Jesus taught us to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God’ (Matthew 6:33). He called us to ‘repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 4:17). When he returns, his name will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). “Tragically, in our culture God is … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS – The friendship between the atheist Chinese student and the Georgian-turned-Cajun Tulane University Baptist Collegiate Ministry intern was almost instantaneous. After meeting at a BCM dinner in the fall, Lucy (last name withheld for security reasons) had many questions about Christ and Laura Hamilton had the answers. Two to three times a week, the two met and Lucy seemed to grasp the concept of God. However, she was not convinced, wanting to fully investigate Christianity before making a final decision to follow Jesus. Lucy and Hamilton continued attending Bible studies together and went to Metairie Church regularly. But it was when she was alone with just her Bible at her residence a few hours after one of their Bible studies that Lucy asked Jesus to be her personal Lord and Savior and fully committed her life to Christ. “Throughout the whole study, God was amazing in how He gave her answers to deep questions, giving her understanding that amazed me each time,” Hamilton said. “God very clearly said to me through this, ‘I am the One who gives understanding. You just do your little part and I am the powerful One at work here.’ “I remember lesson four in … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, LBF communications Statistics. Webster says statistics is “a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of masses of numerical data.” In other words, statistics uses raw data to tell a story.  Sometimes the revelation from the data can be surprising, confusing, or even overwhelming, but there are times when we should give the numbers a little more attention. Take for instance the study released last fall by the Natural Marketing Institute which revealed a numerical picture of the heart and attitudes of regular givers. Their study called the 2015 Healthy Aging Database studied the giving patterns of adults over 40 in a wide range of situations.   The one element that stood out from the rest was this: Of those surveyed who were regular in their tithes and gifts to faith based organizations, 37% would likely include a gift to their church or other ministry as part of their estate plans.  Over one third of regular givers would likely leave a gift.    Of those surveyed, 19% were VERY likely to leave a gift in their will or in a trust.  That’s a pretty strong response. The sad news is that only 3% had already taken action to implement a plan to give to … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MORGAN CITY – For 20 years, Bobby Powell invited his neighbor to attend worship services at Bayou Vista Baptist Church, only for that neighbor to turn down his invitation year after year. Still, Powell never gave up hope and continued his prayers and invitations. Recently, those 20 years of faithful outreach produced a harvest when Powell’s neighbor walked into a revival service at Bayou Vista Baptist Church and after the message asked Jesus for forgiveness and committed his life to following Him. Two nights later, the neighbor’s son walked into the church, repented and gave his life to Christ as well. “I have experienced answered prayers many times in my life, but never one that spanned over 20 years. We just have to wait on the Lord for His timing,” he said. “That story is just one of many happening at Bayou Vista Baptist Church these days.” Pastor Steven Kelly believes this south Louisiana congregation he pastors is on the edge of something great about to happen. “I have seen a positive change in where we are headed as a church,” said Kelly, who also serves as director of missions for the Gulf Coast Baptist Association. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had the … [Read more...]

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - Just as dawn was breaking in the middle of Holy Week, more than 1,400 Louisianans filled a large River Center ballroom for the 52nd annual Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. For more than an hour, public officials, community leaders and clergy prayed for newly-elected Gov. John Bel Edwards, the state, Louisiana families suffering from the recent flooding, the legislature, the military, emergency responders -- all concluding “In the name of Jesus, amen.” In his closing remarks, Edwards quoted I Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” “That is not the only reason they were praying, it is why we are praying as well,” Edwards said. “And while we face challenges in Louisiana, we don’t face anything that our God can’t handle if we will just ask him to help us.” We certainly have to do our part, he added, asking the audience to “continue to pray” for the people of Louisiana, for one another, for our military, those who risk their lives to protect us, and, “may we pray for guidance and for wisdom for all of our leaders in the nation, our state and certainly myself included.” Noting the prayer breakfast was held a … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE – Burl Cain, a long-time warden known for turning around what was once considered the most violent maximum security prison in America, has been cleared of any wrongdoing following investigations by three state agencies. The inquiries were prompted by accusations of ethics breaches by a local newspaper in the fall that grew while newly elected Governor John Bel Edwards was preparing to take office. Cain resigned in the midst of the turmoil, effective Jan. 1, and Edwards subsequently called for the reviews, giving the appearance of guilt on Cain’s part. Now Cain, with exonerations in hand, is telling why he resigned and what was behind the investigations. POLITICAL BACKDROP During an exclusive interview with the Baptist Message, Cain said he did not blame Edwards for requesting the inquiries. Rather, Cain placed the blame on the Baton Rouge Advocate, which he said was politically motivated against him, and a legislator who is a political foe. Cain said he understood the difficulty Edwards faced, just having taken office as governor shortly after charges were leveled. “The Advocate and the investigative reporter got so adamant in chasing me that I had done … [Read more...]

The opportunity to set up a prison program with New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, “just fell in my lap,” said Burl Cain, former warden at Angola. The four-year program, started in 1995, has produced 278 inmate graduates. Some have even transferred to other prisons as missionaries. Now, Cain says, instead of inmates committing crimes, they are witnessing to other inmates, studying for a seminary test or holding a Bible study. He shared his story about the important role Louisiana Baptists played in the changed lives at Angola. Look for a story later at 2 pm today at baptistmessage.com on this and also more about being cleared of any wrongdoings following an investigation by three state agencies. https://youtu.be/DmUMplnZeCM … [Read more...]

Burl Cain, a long-time warden known for turning around what was once considered the most violent maximum security prison in America, has been cleared of any wrongdoing following investigations by three state agencies. The inquiries were prompted by accusations of ethics breeches by a local newspaper in the fall that grew while newly elected Governor John Bel Edwards was preparing to take office. Cain resigned in the midst of the turmoil, effective Jan. 1, and Edwards subsequently called for the reviews, giving the appearance of guilt on Cain’s part. Now Cain, with exonerations in hand, is telling why he resigned and what was behind the investigations. Cain explained more during an exclusive interview with the Baptist Message. Look for a full story at 2 pm today at baptistmessage.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61uaOJdfo_s&feature=youtu.be … [Read more...]