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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Seven Types of Christian Suffering

By Lane Corley Throughout the New Testament, persecution and suffering are presented as foundational elements of the Christian faith. Jesus said in Matthew 5:11 – You are Blessed when you are insulted, persecuted, falsely accused. He says that we should, “Be glad and rejoice” Matthew 5:12, and “leap for joy” (Luke 6:23) when this happens. Really? A few other verses: 2 Timothy 3:12 – “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” Acts 14:22 – “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” Philippians 1:29 – “it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him” What are we to make of these and other words of Jesus and the Apostles on the issue of suffering? Defining Christian Suffering First of all, it’s worth noting that we’re talking about suffering and being persecuted because of your relationship with Christ and his work in and through your life. We can make ourselves martyrs in a prideful way, pointing out how hard we work compared to others and in attempts to get the recognition of others. This usually is not about the righteousness of God but the self-righteousness of man. Jesus gets little glory from … [Read more...]

Are Southern Baptists ready for a world that despises Christians?

By  Ron F. Hale   Originally published July 9, 2022, on The Stream, stream.org. Reprinted with permission of author.   JACKSON, Tenn. (LBM)--Aaron Renn’s penetrating analysis of American evangelicalism in his First Things article triggered much thought. As a respected writer and thinker, Renn uses the framework of three worlds (positive, neutral, negative) with evangelicals swimming against a relentless secular rip current. Evangelicals are not only losing standing in the public arena while struggling against an increasingly hostile culture. Renn says, “Today there is a culture war within evangelicalism itself.” I’d like to apply Renn’s diagnosis to the Southern Baptist Convention. Renn points to three “worlds,” or moments in time, that formed Christians’ views and attitudes. LIVING IN THE POSITIVE WORLD (Pre-1994) Society at large retains a mostly positive view of Christianity. To be known as a good, churchgoing man remains part of being an upstanding citizen. Publicly being a Christian is a status-enhancer. Christian moral norms are the basic moral norms of society and violating them can bring negative consequences. Renn states that evangelicals created two main strategies in relating to the secular … [Read more...]

Horn ‘gives thanks’ for Supreme Court decision, still more work to do

By Steve Horn, Louisiana Baptists executive director Jesus reminds us that we should always pray and never give up (Luke 18:1). Today’s ruling from the Supreme Court serves as a good reminder of that truth. For almost 50 years, American Christians from various denominational backgrounds have been praying and working towards the day when Roe v Wade would be overturned. That day has arrived. While we celebrate and give thanks for today’s decision, we must remember that the decision of a court does not automatically change the heart of man. Children will continue to be conceived apart from a marriage relationship. We must continue to pray for hearts to change so behaviors will change – and only Jesus can change a heart. Abortion will not go away. It will still be legal in many states. No doubt underground abortion clinics will form. Therefore, we must continue our efforts to lovingly offer alternatives, Godly counsel and assistance. It’s not our judgement that will identify us as God’s children. It’s our love. So today, we give thanks to God and to all who have tirelessly worked to bring us to this point. But we also pray God will change hearts so eventually abortion will become unthinkable. Until such time, we continue … [Read more...]

Richard Land on Southern Baptists’ history of abortion advocacy and the future of the pro-life movement

By Jill Waggoner, ERLC WASHINGTON, D.C. (ERLC) - Richard Land served as the president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission from 1988–2013. Prior to his time at the ERLC, he worked in a variety of church and political roles, many of which were involved closely with the modern pro-life movement in its earliest days. Below, he shares his experiences and brings perspective to the current cultural moment, the story of Southern Baptist involvement in the fight against abortion, and what comes next. Jill Waggoner: Historians have noted that before Roe v. Wade, evangelicals in general were fairly inactive on the issue of abortion. Is that true for Southern Baptists? If so, how did that change afterRoe? What did it take to change Southern Baptists’ mind on this issue?  Richard Land: I was pro-life from the time I was a junior in high school because of an experience I had with a high school biology project. One of my classmate’s fathers was an OB-GYN, and she, as part of a project, brought to class what I now know to be about a 12- to 14-week-old male embryo. It was clearly a human being. That sensitized me to the issue. Abortion wasn’t much of an issue for Southern Baptists until Roe v. Wade. Prior to 1970, the … [Read more...]

Teachers who shaped my life

By Chuck Kelley In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Day, I remember some of the teachers who shaped my life: Thank you, Mrs. Hill, for helping an energetic boy fall in love with reading. I read every day of my life without exception. Thank you, Mrs. Newton, for helping me fall in love with history. I read some history book every week to this day. Thank you, Mr. Reeves, for teaching me how to research a topic and how to write a paper. Numerous papers, articles, essays, and books later, I am still at it, and will be researching and writing all afternoon today. Thank you, Mrs. Holloway, for giving me my first failing grade ever in the first six weeks of typing class. After finding out no one in my family had ever received a failing grade in anything, you made teaching me to type your personal project for the rest of the year, earning me the award for Most Improved Student in a class on awards day that year. Since the purchase of my first computer in 1983, I have done some form of touch typing nearly every day of my life since. Thank you, Mr. Reid, for making your lectures on Western Civilization at Baylor so mesmerizing, I never missed a class. I took few notes. But I remembered everything. I studied for finals by … [Read more...]