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Consider using an evangelist to ‘draw the net’ in your church

September 9, 2020

By Clark Stewart COVINGTON, La. – I have had the privilege over the past two years to be the pastor advisor for the Louisiana Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. It has been a real blessing for me to get to know these men and women personally. Their love for the Lord and their passion for the unsaved has touched my life. I have used many of these quality evangelists in my church and every time, God has tremendously blessed. In May, we had the president of LACOSBE, Brother Gary Bowlin, preach a Harvest Day Sunday for us. With COVID-19 restrictions still being observed, we had a “drive-in” service where people listen on their vehicle radios. Brother Gary preached with passion in an outside service and extended God’s invitation to come to Christ. At 10:30 that morning, he preached inside our auditorium and had five public professions of faith. Evangelists are a God given gift to His churches (Ephesians 4:11). I would encourage every pastor to use these gifted evangelists in their churches. God desires and delights in the lost being saved. Using these evangelists who are gifted in “drawing the net” will help fulfill God’s desire that “none perish but that all come to repentance.” Clark Stewart is pastor of New … [Read more...]

After Jerry Falwell’s exit, here’s what Liberty University has to do now

September 8, 2020

By Cal Thomas, FoxNews.com The ouster of Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. over allegations of sexual misconduct and other behavior that falls short of the university's code of conduct - not to mention Scripture - is another in a long list of object lessons each generation of Christians seems to have to learn anew. To read the rest of the editorial, click here. … [Read more...]

Are you praising God through the storm?

August 31, 2020

By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. - On Aug. 26, 1992, Hurricane Andrew slammed into Louisiana after ripping through Southern Florida a couple of days before. I was a junior in high school more interested about getting a few days out of school than anything else. I had no idea how transformational that week would become for me. My home church agreed to become a hurricane shelter, and people flooded in, primarily from Franklin, LA, many from the same African American church. People found places to sleep everywhere throughout the church from the pews to Sunday School classrooms. One family was even in the pastor’s office because we were without a pastor at the time. Many of our church members worked tirelessly feeding and caring for the evacuees. The transformational moment for me happened the night Andrew made landfall. The evacuees and our church gathered for a time of worship. The Franklin church’s choir filled our choir loft, and their organist sat down at our organ. As the praise and worship began, I experienced a joy and hope like I had seldom seen. In the midst of uncertainty and with a hurricane blasting through their town, those people worshiped. They had faith in God in the midst of the storm. For 28 years now, … [Read more...]

EDITORIAL: Use science to drive COVID-19 policies

August 21, 2020

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – COVID-19 continues to kill people in our state and across our nation even though government officials know what is causing the complications leading to hospitalizations, ventilations and deaths and why COVID-19 affects a very specific vulnerable population in such dramatic ways. As of this writing, there have been about 4,500 deaths from the coronavirus in our state, with 41 percent of these lost lives being suffered by nursing home residents, according to Louisiana Department of Health data. Indeed, more than 3,000 deaths (67 percent) have stricken those 70 years old or more. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published information showing that half of the 176,000 COVID-19 deaths, so far, have taken the lives of those 78 years old or more. But what these victims share in common is not age. Instead, they have a condition also shared with younger victims of hospitalizations, ventilations and deaths – an increased volume of angiotensin converting enzyme 2, a protein that regulates blood pressure. It is a factor in hypertension, diabetes, cardiac disease, chronic kidney disease and obesity, all of which are comorbid … [Read more...]

The giants just keep coming

August 17, 2020

By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. - In my distress I called to the Lord;     I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice;     my cry came to his ears. -2 Samuel 22:7 My Facebook memory notifications are reminding me that this week marks four years since the historic floods in South Louisiana. Our church at the time had 50 families with water in their homes. In some ways, four years seems like a lifetime ago. So it is with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005. So it is with 9-11, now nearly 19 years ago. One day, we will talk about COVID-19 the way we talk about these other life catastrophes. All of those were, and are headline-dominant, history-making, life-altering events – giants, if you will.  And in this COVID-weary season, there often appears to be no shortage of these giants. They simply keep coming. Their shadows cover our attempts to recapture some degree of normalcy in our ministries, our families and our culture. We know about David’s battle with Goliath, but the rapid succession of giants coming against David, as recorded in 2 Samuel 21:15-22, is not as familiar. In the span of eight verses, we learn of four giants coming against Israel. All four were descendants of that great giant, Goliath. All were … [Read more...]

What would Jesus do in a pandemic?

August 13, 2020

By Waylon Bailey Recently, I saw a tweet on Twitter that asked the question, “What would Jesus do in the midst of a worldwide pandemic?” No answer to the question was given, but the author obviously had an agenda and a suggested answer. The good news is that it led me to really ask, “What would Jesus do?” A man I’ve known about for a long time tried to answer that question biblically and seriously. Wallace Henley said that Jesus would do now what He did then. At that point Henley began to describe what Jesus did then and what the church today should do. In my words, the church needs to come out of this pandemic stronger than when we entered this difficult time. We need to make sure we live biblically and express the hope that we have in Christ. What did Jesus do? 1. He worshiped. Jesus worshiped, and He taught people to worship. He told us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul. He told us to worship God in spirit and in truth. Luke reminded us that Jesus made it His custom to worship the Father. 2. Jesus interceded. One of the great things we can do is intercede for our neighbors. In times like these, people want to pray, and they want us to pray for them. One of my favorite old … [Read more...]

Skills of a church planter – exercising faith

August 11, 2020

By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptist missions and ministry team leader ALEXANDRIA, La. - “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) This verse describes the exercise of faith as accurately as any in the Bible. Abraham exercised faith by obeying and going. He didn’t even know where he was going, yet he acted. Exercising faith is an essential skill for all church leaders. In the past year, I have tried to present the skills of successful church planters and church leaders. Hopefully these articles have been of benefit to our readers. The idea behind my writing has been manifold. -- I wanted to present a complete list of necessary skills. --I wanted to clearly define each skill. --I wanted to describe them in such a way that individuals could assess their skill development on a practical rather than academic level. --I wanted to challenge all leaders to continue in the pursuit of skill development. The skill of exercising faith is harder to describe than to illustrate. In Hebrews 11, however, the writer seems to do both well. The New International Version (NIV) Bible … [Read more...]

Do you embrace transitions?

August 10, 2020

By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. - Transitions are some of the most beautiful things that occur in life. In music, we can feel our spirits lift as a modulation occurs. In sports, transitions cause us to rise from our seats and cheer on our team as the football is run into the end zone or the basketball is passed to a player who shoots and scores. In creation, the daily sunrise and sunset and the seasonal changes can take our breath away. As we live our lives, we see a lot of persona...l transitions: the first day of school, graduation day, wedding day, first job, new job, new home, first child, first grandchild, etc. Most transitions come at beautiful times in life. We celebrate them as they happen, and remember them with fondness as we look back through pictures and videos. Have you ever stopped to realize, though, that every transition, no matter how beautiful, has a bit of fear attached to it? Will the musicians make that key change effectively? Will the catch be made? What does the night hold? What does the new day hold? What will this year of school be like? What will being on my own be like? Is this really the person for me to marry? What kind of parents will we be? Will we be able to handle the empty … [Read more...]

Looking forward by looking back

August 6, 2020

By Chuck Kelley On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, creating the greatest natural disaster in the history of the Unites States. The levees protecting the city were breached, and 70% of the city, including the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, went underwater for weeks. The unprecedented devastation included thousands killed, tens of thousands displaced among all fifty states, countless businesses shuttered, no cell service for weeks, no power and no mail delivery for months. In the blink of an eye, life changed completely for the people of New Orleans and the nearby Gulf Coast. Today a far greater catastrophe has come. The Covid 19 virus has changed life completely for our nation and the entire planet. As of this writing, hundreds of thousands have been infected on every continent. Tens of thousands have died. There is not yet a cure or a vaccine. To limit its spread, public gatherings, sporting events, and activities as basic as children going to school and their parents going to work have been cancelled. A devastating economic impact is rapidly unfolding. This crisis affects us all, everyone in the whole world. As I look back on leading NOBTS through the Katrina … [Read more...]

The Father’s heart of the lost

August 3, 2020

By Lane Corley MADISONVILLE, La. - In Luke 15, Jesus gives us a glimpse of the Father’s heart for the lost. 1. Those far from God liked Jesus and he liked them (verse 1). Is that true of me? When was the last time someone far from God approached me? Am I available to them? Building relationships with them? 2. Jesus welcomed and ate with disreputable characters (verse 2). When was the last meal I had with someone far from God? Do I welcome or repel those far from God? 3. Jesus advocated leaving the crowd to “go after the lost one,” celebrating when the one is found (verse 4). Who’s the one that I’m going after right now? Do I celebrate one sinner’s repentance or only the crowd’s faithful participation? 4. Jesus advocated for “carefully” searching for the lost until found (verse 8). Can I say that my search for the lost is careful, deliberate, and diligent? 5. The lost, dishonorable son was met by a heart “filled with compassion” (verse 20). Do I have compassion or contempt for those far from God? Jesus’ words in Luke 15, remind us that following the Father’s heart may mean… --Being misunderstood --Focusing on fewer people, rather than large crowds --Careful, diligent, time consuming … [Read more...]

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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

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