METAIRIE – Two years ago the Celebration Congregation partnered with other Christians and churches from the New Orleans region to prayerwalk through the Central City area of New Orleans. “At that time, Central City was the most crime-filled, violence-prone area of our region,” wrote Pastor Dennis Watson of Celebration Church in his Aug. 10 newsletter. “During one of our monthly city-wide pastors prayer gatherings, the Lord had spoken to us and communicated to us that He wanted us to prayer-walk through Central City. So, on Saturday, June 30, 2008, almost 1,000 people from our various churches showed up to begin what would become a several-week long prayer-walking effort. Nine months later, then-Chief of Police Warren Riley was meeting with our Pastor’s Coalition. He shared with us that in 2008 New Orleans was again the murder capital of the U.S., but that surprisingly the murder and violence rate had declined significantly in the last half of 2008, especially in the Central City area. “One of our pastors said, ‘I know why the crime and violence rate went down so significantly in Central City in the last half of 2008. It’s because we prayerwalked through that area for a number of weeks.’ And Chief Riley responded, ‘Can I … [Read more...]

By Quinn Lavespere, Message Summer Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY – Jerome Stockert learned a long time ago that coffee could be used for other purposes than just quenching the thirst of others. Called by God to start a new coffee and tea shop, Stockert has used Ethnos Coffee and Tea in The Villaggio, a new, upscale, 64-acre community reminiscent of an Italian town square, to provide customers who enter its doors with relaxation and pleasure while teaching them about Jesus by accommodating customers in a godly manner. [img_assist|nid=6622|title=Jerome Stockert uses Ethnos, his new coffee and tea shop in the Villaggio, to provide relaxation while teaching them about Jesus|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]“We want people to come here and be able to relax and enjoy themselves,” Stockert said. “At the same time, we want that to serve as an example of godly behavior so these people can see Jesus at work.” Stockert said the vision for Ethnos Coffee Shop first originated in the spring of 2005 when he was metro director for Baptist Collegiate Ministries in Pittsburgh, Pa. “It was the end of a spring semester in 2005 and I was spending a week reflecting and praying about what we were doing and what was effective and … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, Ph.D., NOBTS Professor of New Testament and Greek Question: What are the differences between “pastors,” “overseers,” and “elders” in the New Testament, and are these different types of church leaders or just one? Bill Warren responds: For Baptists, the traditional terms for church leaders have been “pastors” and “deacons,” with the ministerial staff being placed under the larger category of “pastors” (increasingly with titles such as “Associate Pastor of” attached to staff positions). On the other hand, some groups such as Presbyterians have traditionally included “elders” among the church leaders, often with three groups resulting (pastors or “teaching elders,” elders or “ruling elders,” and deacons) rather than just two. Some Baptist churches have also gone to having a group called “elders” as part of the church leadership structure, with some confusion resulting as to how the “elders” fit into the traditional Baptist understanding. As for the New Testament, some books like Hebrews and 1 John don’t address these offices, while others only mention them in passing. The Gospels and Acts, however, speak quite often about elders as Jewish leaders, so that term is not restricted to the church in … [Read more...]

By Quinn Lavespere, Message Staff Writer COLFAX – Many fishing tournaments are held mainly for competition. A fishing tournament recently held in Colfax had much more noble aims. The inaugural K & M Take-a-Kid fishing tournament was held July 31 at the Colfax Recreation Area located on Lock and Dam No. 3. [img_assist|nid=6626|title=Young boy shows off a bream he caught and trophy he received for participating in the K and M Take a Kid fishing tournament.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]“It was great that we could do something so fun and also so noble for these people,” said tournament director Keith Delaney, a member at First Baptist Church of Pollock. “We’re glad we were able to do it.” Delaney explained the main purposes behind the Take-a-Kid fishing tournament, which was for children 16 and under. “The main thing is to get the parents and the children out together so they can spend time with each other,” Delaney said. “No matter how many children we have here, if we can get them out and either fishing or in church, that’s the whole purpose. If we can touch one child’s life, that’s the reason for doing it. “We are also holding this tournament so we can raise money for the Louisiana chapter of … [Read more...]

By Diana Chandler, Special to the Message NEW ORLEANS – Cherry Blackwell has learned the worth of prayer to soldiers in her many years of ministry to them. “Every soldier I have written to over the years,” she said, “prayer has always been their support system.” Now she’s leading a movement to send individual 3-by-5-inch quilt squares to U.S. soldiers around the world, beginning with the approximately 3,000 Louisiana National Guard personnel serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. What will set these squares apart are the prayers Christians will offer with each knot tied, sending a memento that will fit over the soldier’s heart, in their inside shirt pockets. Wearing them throughout their deployment, soldiers will be reminded that someone has prayed for them. “Each knot on the square represents a prayer that was said just for you. Remember, even if the knot comes out, the prayer lasts forever,” is the message attached to each cloth. She’ll also send squares to the families directly affected by the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and eventually to U.S. soldiers serving in various locations. Says Blackwell, “When they hold it and they touch it, they’re reminded that the person who gave it to them … [Read more...]

By Joanne Brechtel, Administrative Editor RUSTON – Temple Baptist has set 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, for an India Mission Training event for anyone interested in participating in future mission trips to the Heart of India. The training is to be provided by two missionaries and a meal will be served. The first trip is set for November 2010. Back-to-school supplies are being collected for needy students. Financial donations are also being accepted for the project. Children at Vacation Bible School collected $1,062 for the church’s Nicaragua Medical Mission Trip, which is four times the amount given in the previous year. The offering will go toward the purchase of 1,000 toothbrush/toothpaste kits and medicine. The trip is set for Aug. 21-27. Rick Byargeon, pastor. HAUGHTON – Eleven youth and four chaperones of First Baptist attended Mission Fuge Camp in Birmingham, Ala. in July, where some attendees worked in Vacation Bible Schools, Backyard Bible Clubs and Day Camps. Others did social ministry in soup kitchens, handicap centers, food banks, clothing closets, prison ministries and Salvation Army sites. Other ministries included painting, construction and yard work; creative, games and recreation ministry. George Rogers is … [Read more...]

Editor’s note: Every church, every person in Greater New Orleans has stories to tell of the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Following are the beginnings of several of them. Subscribers to the Baptist Message can read the articles in their entirety online at www.baptistmessage.com. CHALMETTE CHALMETTE – St. Bernard Baptist Church has a mostly new body of believers since Hurricane Katrina, many of them former Catholics displaced from their parishes after the storm. Paul Gregoire, who has led St. Bernard Baptist for nearly 28 years, had baptized 12 former Catholics into the congregation as of August. That’s sizable, considering the church draws about 35 people on Sundays. [img_assist|nid=6637|title=Franklin Avenue Pastor Fred Luter as he surveys massive damage and destruction by Hurricane Katrina.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=80]“Almost everybody is new,” Gregoire said. The church’s aging congregation of about 75 believers was permanently displaced by Katrina. Outside of his family of four, only five others were Baptist when they joined the congregation, which has also drawn Lutherans and Presbyterians. Gregoire is uniquely suited to minister to the group, having converted from Catholicism at age 30. He … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – Before Hurricane Katrina, churches in the comfortable, middle-class neighborhood of Gentilly in New Orleans struggled to find ways to stir the hearts of their neighbors. The new presence Gentilly Baptist Church and Edgewater Baptist Church enjoy results from walking alongside neighbors on the long road to recovery, even as they walked hand in hand with special groups of Baptists who supported them through the journey. THE RIGHT PLACE TO BE In real estate, location is everything. For Edgewater Baptist Church, its location four blocks from the western wall of the London Avenue Canal didn’t seem so “good” after the levee broke in Hurricane Katrina. Now, members see themselves as being in the right place, at the right time. The storm opened doors for the Gospel and gave the congregation the connection to the community they had long prayed for. With the closure of two nearby public schools and a large church down the street, Edgewater became the neighborhood’s gathering place. “We would have never thought that ten feet of water in our community would result in our church building becoming the community hub where neighborhood meetings and recovery efforts would … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever, Retired DOM BAGNO NEW ORLEANS (BP) – New Orleans artist Sherry Francalancia has been making the rounds asking local artists for their handprints on a work she is producing. The painting symbolizes this city, Sherry says. So many people have left permanent imprints on our lives for the better. Think of that painting as a metaphor for New Orleans in its post-Katrina existence. Over the five years since that hurricane made landfall causing the poorly constructed levees to flood the city, untold thousands of God’s people have come from the ends of the earth to bless New Orleans. [img_assist|nid=6106|title=Joe McKeever Pastor, cartoonist and retired DOM BAGNO|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]A recent ad for a law firm seeking clients in a class action suit against BP began: “When Hurricane Katrina devastated our part of the world, Louisianans stood alone.” Nothing could be further from the truth. We were inundated with friends from every direction. Even before most of us returned from evacuation, volunteer crews arrived from churches across America to clear streets and prepare meals for first responders. Later, a second wave of church teams arrived to mud-out houses and churches and begin the … [Read more...]

By Mark Foley, President University of Mobile The president was right. “Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation,” then-candidate Barack Obama said during a June 2007 speech. “At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.” That statement stirred a great deal of dust in Christian communities across the land. But regardless of a politician’s intent in a campaign speech or how strongly the notion may have been rejected among persons of faith, the simple truth is, his words were correct. According to data developed by the Barna research group through 2009, only 50 percent of American adults think that Christianity is still the “automatic faith of choice” in the U.S. A majority of self-identified Christians surveyed indicated comfort with the idea that the Bible and sacred books from non-Christian religions all teach the same truths and principles. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they will develop their own religious beliefs rather than accept the set of beliefs promoted by a church or denomination. And, only one third believe in absolute truth. So, if the term is biblically defined, then no, America … [Read more...]