ALEXANDRIA – In addition to great speakers and an opportunity to fellowship with other Louisiana Baptists, the LBC annual meeting provides a time for the staff, as well as LBC and SBC entities, to report on the ministries they lead. Wayne Taylor, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation, reported distributions of more than $3 million were made in 2009, and since the Foundation was established in 1944, more than $99 million has been distributed for the benefit of Baptist causes. Taylor also reported that 446 Louisiana Baptist churches, agencies and institutions had more than  $70 million on deposit with the Foundation’s short term fund as of 2009. The Louisiana College report included music provided by the LC Marching Band, Voices of LC, and the Louisiana College Chorale. J. Michael Johnson, founding dean of LC’s Judge Paul Pressler School of Law, was also introduced. LC’s fall enrollment was up to 1,870 students, reported President Joe Aguillard. Enrollment has increased by 89 percent – from 1,005 in 2005 – over the past five years, Aguillard said. “LC is continuing an outpost in Africa,” Aguillard continued. The college was approached with an opportunity, and next summer will be sending faculty to … [Read more...]

By JAKE ROUDKOVSKI, Director of Supervised Ministry New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Editor’s Note: See parts 1 and 2, and a more complete rendering of part 3, on www.baptistmessage.com. (Search for Dr. Roudkovski’s name.) Although some have pronounced local church revival meetings “dead,” they are much alive in many churches. It is my conviction that the effectiveness of revival meetings will depend on the stewardship of that methodology by the local church. The more churches are willing to prepare, the more they place themselves in the position to reach people for Christ. Let me suggest several practical ways that may help churches benefit from a revival meeting. Purpose When church leadership begins to sense that God is leading them to schedule a revival meeting, they need to ask what the purpose of such an event should be. Will it be primarily for evangelism or revitalization of a local congregation? The purpose will dictate a strategy for preparation. If the primary purpose is evangelism, the strategy may differ from that one if the primary purpose is revitalization. Even though a church selects the primary purpose as evangelism, it may experience a spiritual renewal among the membership. In … [Read more...]

Archie England says: All four Gospels record John the Baptist using Isaiah 40:3 (“Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God”) to evoke a response from his Jewish audience. For John, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ (= Messiah). Is that what Isaiah the prophet expected? Let’s investigate. Isaiah prophesied numerous messianic prophecies concerning the Christ. For example, he anticipated the messiah’s region of birth (9:1-2), his Davidic lineage (11:1f), his miraculous birth (7:14), his anointing by the Spirit (61), his sovereign character (9:6,7), his servant-like mission (42-53), and his powerful ability to save or destroy (59-63). Isaiah clearly anticipated a future Messiah, both as a suffering servant and the ruling sovereign. What’s more, John the Baptist viewed Isaiah’s prophesies as relevant for his mission, as well. Consequently, John used Isaiah 40 because it directly applied to his task, preparing the way for the Christ. So, just how well did John the Baptist’s employment of Isaiah 40 fit Isaiah’s messianic expectation? By the time that Isaiah uttered his comfort speech (Isaiah 40), the association of a highway with the future hope of salvation was already set. Three previous … [Read more...]

Leg•a•cy [leg-uh-see] noun – anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor; inheritance, heritage. What will your descendants remember about you? What will the world at large remember? What will be your legacy? An explosion of genealogy sites on the Internet demonstrates just how widespread is our desire to know about our ancestors. But if we want to know about the lives of those who went before us, we can be certain that those who come after us will want to learn about our lives. Everyone leaves a legacy. The only question is whether that legacy will be good, bad, or indifferent. More importantly for the Christian, will that legacy reflect a life of faithful stewardship that continues to impact future generations for the glory of God? Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren. – Deuteronomy 4:9 (HCSB) … [Read more...]

Leon and Ann Hyatt started attending classes at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall of 1949. They were married during the Christmas holidays that same year. Dr. Hyatt pastored Woodlawn Baptist Church, just outside Lake Charles, during the entire time at NOBTS. Ann completed a Master of Religious Education degree in 1951. Leon graduated with his Th.D. degree in 1955. They moved from their home in New Orleans to their church field in Lake Charles. Over time, Leon and Ann discovered that they couldn’t have children of their own. After a season of prayer, they were convinced that God wanted them to be parents and sensed God’s leading to adopt. [img_assist|nid=6864|title=Leon Hyatt, pastor of Grace Baptist, Pineville, and wife Ann, a trustee at the Childrens Home, adopted four children|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=90] They began the process of adopting their first child from the Baptist Women’s Home in New Orleans. This ministry would be renamed Sellers Baptist Maternity Home and Adoption Center in 1961, in honor of Dr. Thomas B. Sellers, a New Orleans obstetrician who had volunteered his services for 33 years. In January 1991, Sellers became a ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s … [Read more...]

Frank James Triplett knew something about hard times. His family moved to a variety of towns in Texas and Oklahoma. Shortly after the birth of their sister, Frank and his twin brother were abandoned by their father. Their mother had to be hospitalized for about a year in Houston, Texas. The children were cared for by relatives in Lake Charles. After a year, the Triplett children were reunited with their mother, Dora. Due to the difficult times of the Great Depression, the boys were unable to finish high school. They worked at a local grocery store. Dora was determined to help her children make something of their lives, so she encouraged them to go into the grocery business. Frank and his brother got started by selling candy out of a horse-drawn buggy. They would soon open the Triplett’s Grocery Store in Lake Charles. The brothers put in long hours at the store, with their mother working alongside them as the butcher. The store became well-known in Lake Charles for many years. Children especially loved the store because of its large candy selection. Frank was drafted in WW II, while his brother stayed behind to take care of the store and their mother. Frank worked for two years building the Alaskan Highway and then … [Read more...]

By BRIAN BLACKWELL, Special to the Message PINEVILLE – Holding up three phone books, MegaForce member Tim Stigner prepared to fulfill a promise to more than 200 youth, parents and others at Louisiana College’s Wildcat Field. Thirty seconds later Stigner used his two hands to tear in half the phone books, much to the approval of the crowd. “It doesn’t matter if your name is in a phone book,” MegaForce leader Steve Carrier said moments earlier. “It matters if you’re in the Lamb’s book of life.” [img_assist|nid=6867|title=MegaForce team leader Steve Carrier tears a par of phone books in half in a disply of brute strength.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=66] Carrier, Stigner and two other members of the evangelistic power team MegaForce, based in the Dallas, Texas, area, shared the gospel message while displaying a combination of strength exhibitions such as using their hands to slice through concrete bricks on fire, breaking wooden baseball bats over a knee and bending a 1.5 inch-thick rod into a fish shape, which often is associated with Christianity. The event on Nov. 12 was part of CrossOver, a week of local evangelistic events that preceded the annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The … [Read more...]

By BRIAN BLACKWELL, Special to the Message BALL – Time after time others have asked Jack Graham why God has reasons for such setbacks as a job loss or death of a child. While Graham may be unable to explain why those tragedies happen, he understands that God will use those trials to teach believers perseverance and endurance. “If you’re going through a dark time now, just know that God is changing you, and God is creating in you something better yet for the future,” said Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. “That’s why we don’t quit, because God will never quit on us.” [img_assist|nid=6894|title=Jack Graham|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=69|height=100]Graham, who based his sermon on Romans 8, was one of eight speakers at the 2010 Louisiana Baptist Pastors Conference at Kingsville Baptist Church. The two-day conference that preceded the annual Louisiana Baptist Convention also featured music by worship teams from Bellaire Baptist Church in Bossier City and First Baptist Church of Houma. The event also included election of the 2011 Pastors Conference officers: Mike Walker, pastor of East Bayou Baptist Church in Lafayette, president; Collin Wimberly, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Baton … [Read more...]

By David Holder, pastor of First Baptist Church, Sulphur I’ve been going to Baptist state convention annual meetings since I was pastor of a congregation located almost off the edge of Arkansas. I have a pastor friend, “Brother Rick,” who seemed to like nothing better than “conventioning,” and always encouraged me to go with him to the annual meeting. I guess old habits are hard to break. It is nice to get away and get immersed in the news, networking, and preaching that goes on at a Baptist convention. I see old friends, find out “Where ya at now?” and catch up on preacher talk. I am also inspired as well as challenged by the reports and messages as that occur during the convention. Over the years, Southern Baptists have had plenty to fight over. Convention fights make for large conventions. I’ve attended the Louisiana Baptist Convention for each of the eight years I’ve served in the state. But this is one convention where “I seen so many things I ain’t never seen before” (Apologies to Hoyt Axton). First, the attendance: The announced registered messengers at this year’s Louisiana Baptist Convention was 775, which is less than half of the number registered just a few years ago. No controversy, (sigh) no … [Read more...]

By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY, Managing Editor ALEXANDRIA – The Cooperative Program percentage given to national causes by Louisiana Southern Baptists remained at 36.49 percent for 2011, voted messengers without discussion at the 163rd annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, which met Nov. 15-16 at the Riverfront Center in Alexandria. It was a budget trimmed to $21,284,217, down $1,258,940 from the $22,543,157 budget of 2010. Messengers also approved, again without discussion, 10 resolutions: appreciation for those involved in annual meeting preparations; continuing confidence in and appreciation for the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation; standing with Christians who deal with persecution; commitment to the centrality of the gospel; encouragement for those involved with non-smoking policy efforts; lament for the deaths of the 11 Deepwater Horizon workers and all who have died or suffered injury while working offshore; encouragement for family worship; support for marriage; opposition to changing current law regarding homosexuals in the military; and opposition to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. [img_assist|nid=6874|title=Louisiana Baptist Convention President Rod Masteller listens intently to Al Mohler, … [Read more...]