By Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner ACEH SINGKIL, Indonesia (Christian Examiner) – After Muslim hard-liners burned churches in Aceh Singkil on the island of Sumatra, over 8,000 people fled religious violence that has been building in Aceh province since a 2006 law discriminated against religious minorities. The religious harmony law requires signatures of the religious majority, which is Islam in Indonesia, before a church may be built. Conflicts about church permits, which few possess, have escalated into discrimination involving mobs burning and looting in violence that has killed at least one person, according to World Watch Monitor. Erde Burutu, a pastor of Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church, which was burned in October, said temporarily displaced Christians who are returning to Aceh are afraid. "There is no guarantee of safety from the state," he told WWM. "For us, safety goes beyond the physical; it means that we can have our church back and exercise our freedom to worship." After burning the Indonesian Christian Church on Oct. 13, the mob circulated a message that read: "We will not stop hunting Christians and burning churches. Christians are Allah's enemies!" Since the 2006 law was passed, thousands … [Read more...]
Obama is importing Muslims, deporting Christians
By Todd Starnes, Christian Examiner The nation was forced to endure yet more pious prattling from President Obama this week who spent time berating Americans who are worried about Islamic jihadists hell-bent on blowing us all to kingdom come. “When individuals say that we should have a religious test and that only Christians – proven Christians should be admitted – that’s offensive and contrary to American values, the president said – just one day after he called such behavior un-American. What’s offensive and contrary to American values is refusing to properly investigate those wanting to come to our nation – especially those coming from regions that are hotbeds of Islamic extremism. “Those of us who fear that Islamic radicals might be lurking among the refugees have been called every name in the book: bigots, Islamophobes and un-American. But the cold hard reality is that Protestants, Catholics and Jews aren't the ones beheading people,” said Obama. But the president says such prudence only further enflames the Islamic jihadists. “ISIL seeks to exploit the idea that there is a war between Islam and the West,” he said. “When you starting seeing individuals in positions of responsibility suggesting that … [Read more...]
T-shirt sales at NOBTS raise funds for IMB
By Marc Ira Hooks NEW ORLEANS (BP) - "When I first heard the news I felt bad, but my heart did not break," Keith Taylor, a Ph.D. student in preaching, said of the 600-800 International Mission Board missionaries preparing to leave their place of service due to budget shortfalls. "I was not broken for these folks who had given their lives for the work of spreading the Gospel around the world. And now their part of that work was coming to an end." Taylor's attitude changed, however, after a chapel message by NOBTS professor Blake Newsom several weeks ago. "It was not even a missions’ message," Taylor said. "It was about stewardship." Taylor and others challenged by Newsom's message created a T-shirt emblazoned with "Not On Our Watch -– Support The International Mission Board" to be sold on campus. After only four days of sales, more than $1,200 was raised for the IMB's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. The T-shirts reflect a rhetorical answer to the question: "Are we okay with the fact that Jesus told us we are to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest field, and on our watch we are bringing workers in from the fields?" IMB President Platt expressed his appreciation for the Not On Our Watch theme during his … [Read more...]
‘Blank check’ is ‘elementary’ commitment to God, Platt says
By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS (BP) - Giving one's life as a "blank check" to God may seem like extraordinary devotion, IMB President David Platt said, but a commitment to go wherever God leads is the "elementary essence of what it means to follow Christ." Platt spoke in the opening chapel service of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's annual Global Missions Week Nov. 2-5, which coincided with an IMB trustee meeting in New Orleans and a missionary commissioning service. Before Platt spoke, NOBTS students, faculty and staff gave more than $10,000 in special offerings collected in light of recent IMB financial/personnel cutbacks. During the seminary's missions’ emphasis, IMB personnel spoke in chapel, classes and breakout sessions and met with students over coffee or lunch. Underscoring his meaning of a "blank check," Platt cited flooding in Yemen, fighting in Iraq and persecution of Christians in Pakistan from the day's headlines. "To be clear," he said, "when you say 'wherever' to God, you're saying I'll go and take my family to Yemen, Iraq, and Pakistan. I'll go into the heart of ISIS. I'll go into Boko Haram territory of West Africa. I'll go wherever You want me to go.'" Platt said … [Read more...]
Trustees: Stock markets decline in August, September affects assests
By Jerry Love, LBF Communications ALEXANDRIA – At their final quarterly meeting of 2015, trustees learned the stock market’s decline in late August and September affected the assets under management by the Louisiana Baptist Foundation. Investments During the investment committee meeting Oct. 27, data that was shared about assets under management showed a $9 million decrease in the third quarter, primarily due to market decline in late August and September. Still, assets held by the LBF totaled $164,566,429.39 on Sept. 30, about $3.79 million more than the same date a year ago. Likewise, it was noted that the stock market recovery in the month of October helped to erase most of the losses, with LBC-held assets gaining back about $6 million. Investment Committee Chairman Jim Prince (Aimwell Baptist Church, Aimwell) presented the performance report for the different portfolios managed by the Foundation, and he announced the returns earned by the major components of the LBF portfolio as of the end of this year’s third quarter: Short Term Fund: 0.51 percent Annualized Yield Fixed Income Fund: 1.46 percent Total Return; Equity Fund: -6.46 percent Total Return The group investment fund which comprises … [Read more...]
Hispanic pastors urged to ‘work together’
By Will Hall, Message Editor BOSSIER CITY – California Southern Baptist Convention Executive Director Fermín Whittaker urged pastors and others gathered Nov. 9 to go all in for the Gospel ministry, saying, “We are ambassadors or not; we cannot be 50 percent.” The venerable Southern Baptist leader spoke at the fourth annual Hispanic pastors’ conference conducted during the Louisiana Baptist Convention annual meeting. Cooperation was the common theme among the three sessions, each conducted by Whittaker. Likewise, he offered key advice on the husband and wife partnership in the ministry. “Remember, she is not assistant pastor, she is your wife,” he said, cautioning pastors from putting too much on the shoulders of wives. “I saw a change in my wife when she began to be a woman and not a pastor’s assistant, a woman and not a conference speaker,” he offered. “She began to be a woman, instead of a Sunday school director.” The call of God In the first session, Whittaker spoke on a personal level to the group, encouraging them not to feel inadequate for the task God has called them to undertake. God does not see a person with problems and deficiencies, he said, but He does look for a humble heart. “I have to … [Read more...]
Edwards snubs Louisiana Baptists, Vitter shares openly on critical issues
By Will Hall, Message Editor BATON ROUGE – Democratic gubernatorial contender John Bel Edwards decided not to join U.S. Senator and Republican gubernatorial contender David Vitter on stage at the historic Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge Nov. 12 for a debate organized to elicit the candidates’ views on a host of faith and family issues as the two men continue to campaign down to the wire in the race for governor. It was the second night in a row Edwards was a no show. The previous evening he snubbed an audience at the historically black Southern University, even though a regional news outlet described the campus as an Edwards-friendly setting. Vitter not only showed up for the Southern University event, but took on some pointed questioning from the host, not backing down when pressed about using the word “thug” in a campaign ad. Vitter stood his ground and said the word was not racist, and, apparently some of the students agreed with him, according to a report in The Baton Rouge Advocate. The New Orleans Times-Picayune, meantime, reported Edwards was attending a meet-and-greet event of about 200 supporters at the home of Barbara Anne Eaton, a prominent Baton Rouge realtor, at the time of the Southern … [Read more...]
Edwards’ supports transgender rights, opposed legal protections for people of faith as ‘Trojan Horse’
By Will Hall, Message Editor NEW ORLEANS – Although State Representative John Bel Edwards skipped out on the family and faith forum Nov. 12 which would have allowed panelists to question him directly about how his claim to be against same-sex marriage would translate into public policy, The Baptist Message has found sources which show Edwards supports transgender rights, and plans to pursue policies granting special rights to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders. Edwards already is on record as fighting against HB707, The Marriage and Conscience Act, proposed this spring by State Representative Mike Johnson (R-Bossier City), who is an active member of First Baptist Church in Bossier City. In a post on LouisianaforLiberty.com, Johnson identified Edwards as the legislator who “led the dramatic charge to stop my religious liberty bill and get it killed” in committee. The proposed measure would have codified protections for Christians and others who hold the conviction that marriage can only be the union of one man and one woman, and prevented the state from forcing any government employee or official to act in contravention to their beliefs about marriage. The bill also would have kept Louisiana agencies from … [Read more...]
Speakers urge pastors to pursue a higher calling in their ministry
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY – Brad Jurkovich believes if they are not careful, pastors can develop a spiritually deadened heart. “When our desire is more of everything else but God, then that is when our heart becomes dull for the Lord rather than on fire,” said Jurkovich, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bossier City. “And pastor, when your heart is dull for God then there will be a lack of passion to live the holy life He is calling you to live.” Preaching from Psalm 51:1-13, Jurkovich spoke to those attending the 2015 Louisiana Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference about how King David’s dulled heart led him to sin. Much like David at one time, pastors who are suffering a lack of passion for God should get to the point that they need the Lord. “When you desire God more and more then you will have a heart that hungers for God then His high call of holiness will be a very real passion of yours,” he continued. “In your heart, do you desire more of God than anything else? Because out of your heart will flow everything else. Out of your heart will flow a desire to live for God and seek to live the Holy Life He has changed you and called you to be. For those pastors with such a dull … [Read more...]
IMB Commissioning service highlights a world in need
By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – In a moving service focused on God’s faithfulness in a world dangerous and desperate without Christ, thirty-five International Mission Board missionary candidates were commissioned by IMB trustees at First Baptist Church, New Orleans, Nov. 8. The event came at the end of the annual IMB board of trustees meeting held this year on the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary campus and coincided with the annual NOBTS Global Missions Week. During the week, IMB personnel spoke in the NOBTS chapel, classes, and in focused breakout sessions. John Edie, IMB board of trustees chairman and member of Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo., introduced to the near-capacity crowd the “next wave” of Southern Baptist missionaries and noted the board’s unanimous approval of their appointments. He then turned to the appointees. “What I never cease to be amazed at is the look in your eye when you tell me you are going to the farthest, most remote, most difficult places in the world. And there’s no fear,” Edie said. “The reason is because of the One we serve, the One who’s still in charge.” Addressing the appointees’ family members in attendance, Edie said, “I assure you that in … [Read more...]
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