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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

David Hankins: Remembering Katrina

ALEXANDRIA – It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since hurricane Katrina left her mark across southeast Louisiana. Who can forget how we felt when we saw the broken levees, the flooded homes and churches, the devastation at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the Superdome refugees and the broken lives. Just a month later, approximately 200 miles to the west, Lake Charles and southwest Louisiana were coming to grips with the devastation left in the wake of hurricane Rita. As Louisiana Baptists from New Orleans returned home to the devastation, Southern Baptists were there with hot meals, prayer, counsel and their own sweat to start the processes of rebuilding. While we helped those in need, opportunity after opportunity occurred and Southern Baptists shared the transforming gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Dennis Watson, pastor of Celebration Church in New Orleans, saw first-hand the combined strength of Southern Baptists. "Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, the Celebration Church Relief Center served over 117,000 families. This was for a period of 9 months and with the help of over 20,000 volunteers,” (most were Southern Baptists). Through all of the disaster relief, recovery and rebuilding, thousands of … [Read more...]

Katrina, a decade later

By Will Hall, Message Editor NEW ORLEANS – A decade ago, it was difficult to see anything more than the devastation that accompanied Katrina as she swept across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. But looking back now, it’s possible to see the triumph that emerged from the tragedy. After passing over the Florida panhandle as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, then weakening to a tropical storm, Katrina grew in ferocity fueled by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, growing in intensity to a 200-mile wide Category 5 tempest. But before it made a predicted direct hit on New Orleans, dry air from the Midwest absorbed some of its energy, dropping it to a strong Category 3 system and causing it to shift direction, making landfall about 25 miles east of the city according to the Houston Chronicle. Moreover, the winds over New Orleans (where the weakest part of the storm passed) reached only Category 1 levels and the storm surge failed to top the levees as predicted. But, where a natural disaster of the predicted magnitude failed to materialize in New Orleans a manmade one burst forth. Levees along the Mississippi River held, but some holding back Lake Ponchartrain, Lake Borgne and the waterlogged swamps and … [Read more...]

After Katrina: What God brought out of chaos

By David Crosby, pastor, First Baptist Church New Orleans NEW ORLEANS – Genesis 1:2 recounts: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Here in New Orleans nearly 10 years ago, shapes were buried in the water; large colorful forms distorted by shimmering waves lined the neutral ground of West End Boulevard for miles. Ahead was the ribbon of Interstate 610 with the facilities of First Baptist New Orleans just beyond. We would soon set down the helicopter on a section of the parking lot that had emerged from the flood. Eleven days after the storm the church facility was an island in the sea. To the right was the 17th Street Canal that failed in the storm. Lake Pontchartrain lay behind us to the north. To the left, looking east, the city of New Orleans glistened in the floodwaters as far as the eye could see. A parade of military helicopters thumped the air along the perimeter of the south shore of the lake. Enormous bags of sand swung beneath them, part of a futile effort to plug the hole in the levee and stop the sea’s invasion of the city. “Cars,” I said to myself and then to the pilot over the headphones. “Those are cars … [Read more...]

Katrina: Personal reflections from Pastor Dennis Watson

By Dennis Watson, Senior Pastor, Celebration Church NEW ORLEANS – On the weekend before Hurricane Katrina we had 2,051 people in worship. God was blessing our ministry and we were growing significantly. Then Hurricane Katrina came. Both of our campuses were inundated by the waters of Hurricane Katrina. Our largest campus on Airline Drive was hit with a seven foot wave of water. It was under water for two and a half weeks. We lost everything at that campus. Our smaller campus on Transcontinental Drive that we had just procured was also flooded. Fortunately it was flooded by the rainwater of Katrina— the fresh water not the salt in the sewage canal that flooded our Airline campus. We were able to get in quickly and gut out the facility with the aid of volunteers from around the nation and resume services one month after Katrina. The day that Katrina hit, I was in Lafayette. I had said I would never evacuate for a hurricane, but my daughter and my son-in-law came to me with my two little grandsons and said ‘we’re not leaving if you don’t leave.’ I couldn’t imagine those two little boys having to swim out. One was just a tiny baby, and I couldn’t risk them. So we all evacuated. I saw the satellite images of the … [Read more...]

Luter on Katrina: The church scattered became the church gathered

By Fred Luter, pastor Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans NEW ORLEANS – Ten years ago our lives were drastically changed by Hurricane Katrina. Not only did it impact our city physically, but it impacted us spiritually and emotionally. It was a time we will never forget. It was a test of our faith. It was a test of our belief. It also was a test of our willingness to come back and rebuild. I don’t know anyone who wasn’t determined to come back and rebuild. It took us 2 ½ years to get here back in the church. In the meantime we worshiped at several campuses – First Baptist Church in New Orleans, Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge and First Baptist Church in Houston. Before Katrina we were the church gathered. After Katrina we were the church scattered. Now we are back. However, there are still a whole lot of folks who are still displaced and would love to come back home, but have not had the opportunity. I have great hope that things will continue to grow and our city will continue to be impacted and grow. We will never be the city we had before. But I think God has great plans for us in the city of New Orleans. Always committed to returning Once we … [Read more...]

FIRST-PERSON: New Orleans’ Katrina story still being written

By Joe McKeever NEW ORLEANS – From the divine perspective, 10 years is a blip, one nanosecond in a timeless eternity. For us earthlings, it’s one-eighth of a life expectancy. Even so, it’s a convenient time to pull over and take inventory. Since Aug. 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina changed New Orleans forever, everyone wants to know: “What is God doing in this city? How are things now?” For one day, New Orleanians thought they had “dodged a bullet” as the hurricane’s primary damage lay to the east, along the Mississippi coastline where entire communities were destroyed. Then, the levees protecting this sunken city broke under the strain in several places. Soon this great city was literally drowning. One million residents were evacuated voluntarily or otherwise from the hurricane’s onslaught. Over 1,800 who refused to leave were drowned in their homes. Entire neighborhoods ceased to exist. Several church buildings would never be found. And now? Almost anything you say about New Orleans at this moment would be correct to some extent. The city is better off in places. The old housing projects, breeding grounds for crime and human misery, have been razed and multi-income-level housing erected in their … [Read more...]

Protest, what protest? Planned Parenthood protest fizzles

By Staff, Baptist Message BATON ROUGE – It was supposed to have sent a clear and loud message to Gov. Bobby Jindal and the state of Louisiana about Planned Parenthood’s dissatisfaction to proposed cuts to funding for services provided by the organization. The rally, though, did not come close to living up to expectations or hype. Less than 50 people, most of whom were carrying pink, pre-printed signs that read “Don’t Take Away Our Care” and “Stand With Planned Parenthood,” attended the rally, which was staged in a field across the street from the Governor’s Mansion. The group was protesting Jindal’s decision to stop almost $300,000 in reimbursement to Planned Parenthood for health care services. In a statement from the Governor’s office, Jindal said, “Planned Parenthood supporters are welcome to protest.” But in a counter-protest, Jindal’s office set up a movie screen and speakers under a tent and played on a loop the Center for Medical Progress investigative videos of Planned Parenthood employees talking about the harvesting of unborn babies to sell on the open market. “I want to ensure anyone who shows up will have to witness first-hand the offensive actions of the organization they are supporting,” said … [Read more...]

Travel ban lifted for two South Sudanese pastors

By Baptist Press Staff/Morning Star News JUBA, South Sudan (BP) - Two Christian pastors have arrived safely home in Juba, South Sudan, after an eight-month ordeal of imprisonment on fabricated charges of capital crimes in Khartoum, Sudan, and a ban on leaving the country, Morning Star News reported Aug. 19. Peter Yein Reith, 36, and Yat Michael, 49, were acquitted of the crimes calling for the death penalty on Aug. 5 but were prevented from boarding a plane out of the country the next day. Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) had issued the travel ban when they arrested the pastors, Michael on Dec. 14, 2014, and Reith on Jan. 11. Although it was not immediately clear why the travel ban was lifted Aug. 19, Michael and Reith were transported from Juba International Airport to a Juba church for a service of thanksgiving. "Thank God for their arrival home," Michael's wife told Morning Star News after the service. South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SSPEC) leaders welcomed the pastors, who expressed their gratitude to Morning Star News amid the cheering congregation. An international outcry erupted over their weeks-long incarceration without charges after Morning Star News on Dec. 28, 2014, … [Read more...]

As for me and my house…

By Diane DuBois   Recent figures from a nationwide study show an alarming increase in a group of people now being referred to as the "nones". They describe themselves as atheists,agnostics or simply of no particular faith. This group has, between the years of 2007 and 2015, grown from 16 percent of the population to a near 23 percent. During this same time frame, the Christian numbers have dropped from 78 percent to just under 71 percent of the population. The Protestant faith which once made this country predominately Protestant now figures in at only 46.5 percent. The "nones" ,however, have grown at an alarming rate totaling 56 million. That makes them the second largest group trailing behind evangelicals who total in at 62 million. What does all that mean to us, as Christians? We, as the church, already know that religion is losing it's influence in public life.  A recent Pew study confirmed that 72 percent of Americans believe that to be true as well. We see the demise reflected in the politics of our country. According to a Gallop poll, there is a striking difference between how the religious and non non-religious vote and the platforms they side with. The first group tends to be more conservative … [Read more...]

Atheists hoping to sack football chaplains

By Gregory Tomlin Christian Examiner NEW YORK (Christian Examiner) – The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation has fired off a handful of threatening letters to universities demanding each one sack its "football chaplain." The letters to Auburn University, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia and University of South Carolina come after the atheist group – which has a long history of litigation –issued a 25-pagereport titled "Pray to Play" on the alleged abuses of Christian football chaplains at NCAA schools. According to FFRF, it conducted a year-long investigation into the activities of the chaplains and determined that all of the chaplains investigated "are promoting Christianity, usually with an evangelical bent." "These chaplains preach religious doctrine, including apparently creationism, to the athletes. Some universities, like Missouri, paid for chaplains and their wives and children to attend bowl games. Other universities paid chaplains for their services, including the University of South Carolina, which has a policy prohibiting such payments. Other universities, such as Auburn, give chaplains offices in the stadium. Chaplains were also involved in recruiting prospective athletes, raising the … [Read more...]