Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Questionable (Cartoon: Preacher’s Kids) Group hug fears (Cartoon: Fletch) Prayer thoughts (Cartoon: Joe McKeever)
  • John 3:16
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Archive
  • Cartoons
    • Joe McKeever
    • Beyond the Ark
    • Church of the Covered Dish
    • Fletch
    • Preacher’s Kids
  • Contact
  • Louisiana
  • U.S. & Intl
  • Facts & Finds
  • Culture & Society
  • Editorial

Reflections at the loss of a missionary son

December 3, 2020

By Tim Patrick DERIDDER, La. – Many of you know we lost our oldest son in October. David was an IMB (Southern Baptist) missionary. His death gives me an inside view that many of you do not possess. This year, that view carries greater weight than ever. I share this view with you so that (hopefully) you will consider your responsibility in supporting SBC mission causes. According to records, only about 50 percent of SBC churches give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. That is tragic! If we worked together, think how much we could accomplish in reaching our world for Christ. This year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal is $175 million. According to records there are 14,525,579 members in Southern Baptist churches. If only 25 percent of our members would give $100, our income for the offering would be $400 million. When David died in October, I saw the caliber of missionaries we support. There were between 30 and 40 missionary units (families) who drove and flew from around the country to pay their respects and support David’s family. These missionaries share a strong camaraderie in their passion to see the Gospel touch every corner of our globe. Seeing the caliber of our missionaries reminds me, Lottie Moon is a … [Read more...]

Do you need the church?

November 19, 2020

By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. - Recently, a former church member messaged me for prayer. The situation is devastating, and Rebecca and I are covering it in prayer. To be asked to join this individual in prayer as a former pastor and friend was a humbling blessing. Other than a social media comment here or there, we haven’t had much interaction in many years, but, when crisis came, the relationship that began in church many years ago was as strong as ever. Even more, though, I was encouraged to learn that this person is established in a church in their new city, and those people are helping this family through their challenging season. While most of life is wonderful, it can get a little “wonky” at times. Life can be difficult, disappointing, and even devastating. As a pastor, I’ve watched men and women walk away from their families, children disappoint their parents, diseases threaten life, death take loved ones, addictions demand prominence, marriages grow cold, finances dwindle, and more. But also as a pastor, I have seen the church minister in those situations - praying with the individual or family, providing for various needs, offering encouragement, practicing the ministry of presence, and much more. To the … [Read more...]

Is God’s answer to our prayers the best?

November 5, 2020

By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. - If you have kids, you know that God often teaches you through them. Recently our oldest son Zach was holding his little brother Evan and said, “I prayed for a brother, and God gave me the best.” Any older brother may say that about his little brother, but this statement stood out to me because Evan is so unlike everyone else’s little brothers. Zach’s friends have brothers of the same age as Evan with whom they can talk and play. They can run around in the yard together, play video games together, and do all the other things elementary age siblings enjoy doing together. But, because of his disabilities, at seven years old, Evan is stalled out at around a year old. He can’t do anything like what the other brothers do, but that hasn’t stopped Zach from loving his brother, finding ways to play with his brother, and even talking to his brother. To hear Zach talk sometimes, you might think his brother was like everyone else’s. But it was Zach’s statement about God’s provision and answered prayer that caught my attention: “I prayed for a brother, and God gave me the best.” It was an honest, clear statement. Zach didn’t add something like “even though Evan has special needs;” no, he made the … [Read more...]

The 2021 Annual Church Profile is coming

November 2, 2020

By Clark Palmer TIOGA, La. - Information matters. Numbers matter. I want my doctor to get and record the right numbers on my blood pressure, temperature, cholesterol and more. I want my banker to get and record accurate numbers on my deposits and withdrawals. I want the right number in my checkbook or money management app. I want the scoreboard to be accurate so that I can know how my team is doing. You get the idea. Numbers aren’t everything but they do matter.  Leaders on the associational and state level are helped by those numbers. Do we need to plant a new church in our community? Accurate numbers will help us see the real picture. Are there struggling churches who need to make some decisions about their future? Real numbers can help us move toward a wise path forward. Can we afford to start new programs and hire new leaders? And in what areas are they most needed?  What about fair representation? The number of messengers to national and state conventions are based on reported numbers.   As the new moderator for our association looking for a sense of where we are, I discovered that I’m not sure where we are because a lot of the information seems to be missing. I’ve since discovered that one-third of our churches … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptists are gathering

October 23, 2020

By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBC) - This year has brought about more challenges and cancellations than any of us care to recount. For those meetings and events that were scheduled, more times than not, they happened virtually rather than in person. This has been true for us as Louisiana Baptists. Therefore, I am excited to meet in person for the annual meeting of Louisiana Baptists. We have made significant changes to the format to streamline our business while complying with COVID considerations, but our plans are to gather in person for this important, once-a-year event. So please join us on Tuesday, November 10, in Guinn Auditorium on the campus of Louisiana College in Pineville. Registration will open at 11 a.m. and the meeting will begin at 12:45 with worship led by Ricky Draper, worship pastor at First Baptist in New Orleans. We will conduct business, hear reports and celebrate God’s faithfulness amidst the great challenges of 2020. The meeting will conclude about 5 p.m. following a message from Steve McAlister, pastor of Westside Baptist, in Natchitoches. Resilient will be our theme – certainly appropriate for this year. We realize it may require resiliency to make it to this year’s annual meeting, but we do … [Read more...]

The privilege of prayer

October 15, 2020

By Waylon Bailey COVINGTON, La. – “What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!” I learned to sing the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” as a child and teenager in church. I have never forgotten the words, especially these words, “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” It is a privilege to pray–both to take our personal needs to God and to pray for others. As I write this, I have just had the privilege to join with one of the men of our church in praying for his wife. Prayer for others is a great privilege. It is also a Christian obligation. While we certainly pray for ourselves and for those close to us, we also have a responsibility to pray for the church and its mission around the world. Paul told the church to pray for all the saints, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). Paul asked the church at Colossae to pray for him and his work. “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that … [Read more...]

Lord, we are weary!

October 8, 2020

By Steve Horn Lord, we are weary! Especially your people in Louisiana. First, it was COVID-19. We spent weeks leading the nation in cases per capita. We went home. The economic impact of that is still being felt. When people went home, gas prices plummeted. So many of our people who make their living in the oil and gas industry suffered. Some were retired before they planned to retire. Others were not so fortunate. They are just unemployed. We are weary. Then hurricane season arrived. Six times we have been in the “cone of uncertainty.” The “cone of uncertainty” became the “certainty of catastrophe” with Hurricane Laura. We. Are. Weary. We are weary of blue tarps, if there is even something left to tarp. We are weary of FEMA. We are weary of the hum of the generator. And yes, we are tired of our new guest Jim Cantore. We are weary from all that has been lost. We are weary of the debris that is piled up at the road waiting to be removed. Like Elijah of old, some days we want to find a tree to sit under to pray, “Lord, I’ve had enough.” But Lord, and I’m laughing to keep from crying, the tree was blown down by Hurricane Laura. And now, comes Delta. Dear Lord, we’ve run out of names this year and have turned to the … [Read more...]

Things God enjoys most

October 5, 2020

By Joe McKeever "The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." -John 8:29 “Well, I know there’s a lot of big preachers that know a lot more than I do, but it could be that the good Lord likes a little pickin’ too.” –Tom T. Hall, “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died” Yogi Berra watched as the batter approached the plate. The Yankee catcher had seen it all, and this guy was like so many: eager to get a hit, but needing all the help he could find. The batter stood at the plate and made the sign of the cross, then pointed toward the skies, both symbols of prayer as he summoned the Almighty to his aid. “Hey buddy,” said Yogi from behind his mask, “Why don’t we just let the Lord enjoy the game?” I’m with Yogi. That begs the question of course. We wonder if the Lord enjoys a baseball game occasionally. Does God smile at the antics of a small child? Revel at the cuteness of puppies? Does He ever sit back and enjoy the music of an orchestra or choir? Did God like that rainbow I saw yesterday? Does the Lord ever summon an angel in and say, “Look at that waterfall! And take a gander at those butterflies. Didn’t we do good?” I wouldn’t be surprised. He has been … [Read more...]

First Person: What’s going on at the North American Mission Board?

September 21, 2020

… [Read more...]

EDITORIAL: Biden pulls a Hillary, ignores Louisiana’s storm victims

September 16, 2020

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – It’s a presidential election year, Louisiana has suffered another devastating natural disaster, and as Yogi Berra has said, “It's déjà vu all over again." In 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump came to Louisiana just days after the August floods (at that time, the worst natural disaster in the nation since Hurricane Sandy hit the United States four years earlier), and he even made a personal donation to the relief effort. However, his opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continued with her fundraising soirees in the tony Hamptons of New York, sending a social media note, instead, that she was “closely monitoring” the situation. Her campaign promised she would visit the victims “at a time when the presence of a political campaign will not disrupt the response.” But Louisianans are still waiting. Now President Trump, running for reelection, has again prioritized getting help to the state, visiting just two days after Hurricane Laura’s landfall. Meanwhile, his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, has issued a statement saying, “we will come back and we will be there to help you build back better.” Biden had campaigned in … [Read more...]

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • …
  • 71
  • Next Page »

Editorial

FIRST PERSON: As goes the family, so goes the culture

By Gene Mills, Louisiana Family Forum president BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Public policy matters, especially regarding the health and growth of families, the basic building block of any flourishing society. As we have seen throughout history, as goes the family, so goes the culture. Unfortunately, for too long … Read More

Search

  • Trending
  • Recent
  • Must Read

Recent

PEW study: Thirty percent of Americans consult astrology, tarot cards or fortune tellers

Kay Arthur, Christian author and Bible teacher, dies at 91

PAKISTAN: Bill to curb child marriages passes parliament

Must Read

Foundation Executive Director
Jeffrey Steed to retire

Speaker Johnson to Calvary students:

Live to make an ‘impact’

FIRST PERSON: Silent Saturday

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro Theme 2.1 On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in