If you discipline your child by spanking, the so-called progressives in our world say you are guilty of child abuse. If, however, you take your child to a doctor for medical treatment in order to delay puberty in preparation for sex reassignment surgery, many of these same liberals will applaud you as a brave and caring parent. If you discipline your child by spanking, the so-called progressives in our world say you are guilty of child abuse. If, however, you take your child to a doctor for medical treatment in order to delay puberty in preparation for sex reassignment surgery, many of these same liberals will applaud you as a brave and caring parent. Dr. Norman Spack, a pediatric specialist at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, has opened a clinic for transgender kids (boys who believe they were born in a girl’s body and vice-versa) and he is planning on treating children as young as seven, according to a story in The Boston Globe. Spack will offer his younger patients counseling and drugs that will delay the onset of puberty, thus allowing them more time to decide if they eventually want to undergo sex reassignment surgery. For teenagers who believe they are transgender, Spack (which, by the way, rhymes with quack) will … [Read more...]

Summer has begun at the Children’s Home and we are having all sorts of fun. Summer has begun at the Children’s Home and we are having all sorts of fun. Our recreation staff has planned every type of activity you can imagine. But recreation is only one way we have fun in the summer. Our education staff has just as much fun with our children through a number of unique summer learning projects. Studies show that all children experience learning loss when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. The average student loses 2.6 months of grade level in math. Reading skills are also affected. In many schools, teachers spend between two and six weeks at the beginning of each school year reviewing material that students have forgotten over the summer. What can parents do to prevent this summer brain drain? Develop a summer reading program. This year at the Children’s Home we’re using an Adventure Quest theme where the children find clues in the books they read. Two more ideas: Incorporate the use of discussions in which children share what they have read. Create a rewards system for reaching goals and have an end-of-summer reading celebration. Remember, keep it fun and exciting. Develop a Scripture … [Read more...]

After reading the May 22nd Baptist Message article about the Cooperative Program giving being on track to see a 6 percent increase this year I am excited and perplexed all at the same time. After reading the May 22nd Baptist Message article about the Cooperative Program giving being on track to see a 6 percent increase this year I am excited and perplexed all at the same time.  I am excited because I have seen first-hand the Cooperative Program in action. I know an increase in CP giving means more missions and ministries can be developed and the Kingdom will be increased.  On the other hand, the news about the 6 percent increase comes on the heels of the announcement that the Louisiana Baptist Convention will no longer make the $17.50 matching contribution to the Guidestone retirement accounts of pastors and other church staff.  As a young pastor, this matching fund contribution could have meant more than $30,000 towards my retirement.  Louisiana will now be one of only four Baptist state conventions that make no matching fund contribution.  What kind of message does this send to pastors, music ministers, youth pastors, church secretaries and custodial staff?  The Louisiana Baptist Convention will continue to … [Read more...]

Three seminaries in the Southern Baptist Convention graduated students this spring with Louisiana ties. Three seminaries in the Southern Baptist Convention graduated students this spring with Louisiana ties. SWBTS -Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, graduated 239 students, including: Bertha J. Vaughns, Alexandria, La., Master of Arts Christian Education. SEBTS -Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, N.C., graduated 230 students, including: Patrick G. Willis, Jena, La., Master of Divinity, pastoral ministry. NOBTS -New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, La. graduated 184 students, including: Margaret Elaine Cherry Fredericks, Slidell, Associate in Christian Ministry Amie Marie Cooper, Ponchatoula, Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry Katelyn Lea O’Connor, Luling, Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry Clay Spinks Jr., Greensburg, Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry Adrian Scriber, Lisbon, Master of Music in Church Music, Lisbon Leah Catherine Brown, Lafayette, Master of Arts in Missiology, Lafayette Paul Gregory Bland, Rayville, Master of Arts in Christian Education Dave Deal, Baton Rouge, Master of Arts in Christian Education Laura Kay Hyman, Baton … [Read more...]

Almost 100 Baptist high school students from every corner of the state will converge June 18 at Louisiana College to begin three days of rehearsal before setting out on a mission choir trip across the Southland. ALEXANDRIA – Almost 100 Baptist high school students from every corner of the state will converge June 18 at Louisiana College to begin three days of  rehearsal before setting out on a mission choir trip across the Southland. The Louisiana Baptist All State Youth Choir includes Louisiana high school students from Louisiana Baptist churches. They were selected by audition from churches as far south as Covington and as far north as Haynesville. The three days of rehearsal is to be led by Stephen Holcomb, director of Choral Music at Dallas (Texas) Baptist University. After the rehearsal days, the All State Choir is to head directly for Nashville, Tenn., their first stop on a Southland concert tour. They are scheduled to sing at several venues such as First Baptist Church Nashville, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Opryland Hotel.  “They are currently scheduled to sing at least 11 concerts in seven days in both Nashville and Memphis,” said Randy Turner, LBC church music strategist. “Over the  past 26 years God … [Read more...]

Frank Page is coming to dinner. INDIANAPOLIS (BP) – Frank Page is coming to dinner. The Southern Baptist Convention’s president will be the guest speaker at a Woman’s Missionary Union dinner kicking off its June 8-9 Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting preceding the SBC’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. Page, pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., will share insights from his new book, “The Nehemiah Factor: 16 Characteristics of a Missional Leader,” to be released by New Hope Publishers, a WMU subsidiary, in June. New Hope publisher Andrea Mullins said Page’s latest book highlights the characteristics of a missional leader as authenticated in the Book of Nehemiah and challenges today’s leaders to refine their leadership skills to match those found in the Scriptures. Page voiced a prayer that his address at the Sunday evening dinner “will be not only an encouragement, but an inspiration to encourage God’s people in doing the work which He commanded to us. To be a partner in such an endeavor is an honor.” The theme for Monday’s WMU sessions, “For God So Loved ...,” is drawn from John 3:16. The keynote speaker Monday evening will be Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research and coauthor with Philip … [Read more...]

Prayer is news at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis. INDIANAPOLIS (BP) – Prayer is news at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis. A chaplains’ luncheon and a Missional Network discussion also may yield a few lines of ink. This year’s prayer emphasis at the Southern Baptist Convention has been boosted by the efforts of Indianapolis-area pastors who have caught a vision of what can happen when people spend more time praying. At last year’s meeting of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, a first-of-its-kind prayer room featured videos, maps and other visual aids along with Bible verses, specific requests and journals to facilitate prayer. The room was filled throughout the annual meeting, and the results were overwhelming, Dale Eakes, this year’s SBC prayer team coordinator, told Baptist Press. “Churches are discovering more creative and innovative ways to incorporate prayer into their congregations,” said Eakes, pastor of Warren Baptist Church in Indianapolis. “A local pastor shared with me that his church knew what worship was and that they were good at it, but prayer was not something practiced very much together. “He has changed his … [Read more...]