By Rebecca Holloway PINEVILLE, La. – For years, I have read and heard the statement, “We need to hold life/our family/our possessions with an open hand.” The idea is that we are not in control of our lives or anything else on this planet. God is in complete control of all things and has the power and right to change things on a moment’s notice. As believers, we are to keep our hands open in surrender, knowing that He knows what is best for us at any given time. Frankly, I have always hated that statement. Probably because I have control issues. But this whole principle has come back to bite me here lately. In recent days, I have realized how tightly I was holding on to all of these things – especially when it comes to my stuff. First, we moved into our dream house in August of last year. The night we moved in, I fell on my face in worship before God and praised Him for giving us our house. We had seen His hand in every single moment of the purchase of the new house and the sale of our old house. We knew this was His will for our family. We have tried to be very “open handed” with our home and have already used it several times for ministry. But in the space of the 10 months we’ve been in this house, I have heard of two … [Read more...]
Let’s obey the Great Commission challenge
By Lane Corley MADISONVILLE, La. (LBM) - In Matthew 28:20, Jesus finishes the Great Commission with this challenge –“teaching them everything I have commanded you.” Did you catch it? Do you see what’s missing? Left out of this quote is that we are to teach them “to obey” or “to observe” everything. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” If you did catch it, does your church and your ministry obey this command? Are we teaching them “to obey everything” or are we teaching them everything we know in 30-45 minutes blocks and hope they learn or eventually know enough to become disciples who make disciples? Didn’t work for the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Doesn’t seem to be working today. Knowledge doesn’t always lead to maturity or multiplicative disciple making. How do you teach to obey? Jesus modeled this for us by teaching, plus answering questions and responding to concerns, plus modeling, plus sending, plus debriefing. There cannot be teaching to obey without – Q and A for understanding opportunities to practice what’s been taught ongoing coaching and … [Read more...]
They were listening to them
By Bill Britt HAUGHTON, La. – Of all people, the Apostle Paul could have legitimately complained about the circumstances that he endured throughout his life. When we look back to the beginning of Paul’s journey as a believer, we see that he received a message from the Lord that illuminated the path he was about to embark on. Luke wrote the account of Paul's conversion in the book of Acts. Paul had been known as Saul until the time of his encounter with Jesus. We know that Saul had been persecuting the church, and he truly believed that he was doing God a favor. You can read about the amazing life change that brought Saul to become Paul in Acts 9. It is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that can change the heart of any man or woman. Saul was given a message from God through a man named Ananias. This is that message. Saul would become a great man of God and would preach the Gospel to the Gentiles as well as to the children of Israel. He would preach to both royalty and the common man. However, he would suffer many things for the sake of Jesus (The Lord has never watered down the cost of following him.) Paul heard the command of the Lord and knew it would not be easy. In light of this revelation from the Lord, … [Read more...]
It’s too pristine
By Chuck Kelley Rarely does Hollywood contact a Southern Baptist seminary, but rarely is not never. One day location scouts for a major motion picture to be filmed in New Orleans called NOBTS and asked to tour the campus. They were looking for a place that with a bit of movie magic could be made to look like the United States Coast Guard Academy. As they looked around, the location scouts absolutely loved what they saw. The star of the movie, who was a major Hollywood player, also had to sign off on the location before they could make a formal request to film some scenes within our gates. After looking things over, he overruled the scouts and rejected the recommendation to use NOBTS, saying it was “too pristine,” meaning too unspoiled and fresh. When news of the Hollywood conversation reached the president’s Office, I found it amusing, Upon reflection, I realized how instructive it was for the future facing Baptists. Having lived and worked on the campus for more than four decades, I was accustomed to hearing people speak of how beautiful the campus was and how different it felt when entering our campus from the city of New Orleans. The classic academic quadrangle was designed by A. Hays Town, a legendary Louisiana architect, … [Read more...]
ANALYSIS: The truth about gambling
By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Late last year, The Advocate reported John Alario, the immediate past president of the state Senate, as saying that it “would take a crowbar” to get rid of gambling in the state now. Unfortunately, he is right. Too many budgets in the state have been tied to gambling taxes as a key source of revenue –revenues that have been flagging for at least a decade (aside from the nearly billion-dollar pandemic losses in 2020), causing regular budget crises for the state, local governments, schools, and law enforcement. Furthermore, there is a whitewashing about gambling when budget notes are developed in the legislature. Potential tax revenue payouts are touted in testimony to legislators, but there is a near blackout of information about the actual costs to taxpayers on the expense side of the ledger. Importantly, public discussions and policy decisions about gambling in this state ignore the crippling human costs of gambling as well. CASINOS In general, casinos are not created for casual entertainment. Instead, they are designed to exploit the weakest among us. Most are windowless facilities that offer no clocks -- to avoid triggering a patron’s … [Read more...]
The SBC truly ‘exists’ only two days per year
By Don F. Mabry ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)--Each year in June, the Southern Baptist Convention holds an annual meeting -- in recent years beginning on the second Tuesday in June and closing the next day. This schedule highlights the reality of the nature of the SBC: It only exists two days every year. During the other 363 days, the SBC Constitution assigns specific duties to the officers, boards, institutions, and commissions of the Convention to conduct the business and execute the budgets approved by the messengers. But, legally, there is no SBC. Indeed, the SBC truly is not a denomination but in effect is merely a meeting, a gathering akin to the conventions held every four years by the two major political parties – a mix of rally and business. While millions of people refer to themselves as Southern Baptists, the truth is that churches are not members of the SBC and most members of these churches are not members of the SBC. According to Article III of the SBC Constitution, “The Convention shall consist of messengers who are members of Baptist churches in cooperation with the Convention.” This founding document specifies what constitutes a cooperating church and explains how many messengers each cooperating church … [Read more...]
How many churches will it take to ‘church’ America?
By Don F. Mabry ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)-- The number of churches in our country constantly is changing and it is very difficult to acquire information from the various denominations, but estimates indicate that there are 330,000 Christian churches and congregations in the United States today. But the question that arises about that number is how many more churches are needed to “church” our country? One of the most interesting facts about the number of U.S. churches is that it has not changed much in the past 20 years or so because the number of new churches being planted and the number of established churches that are closing are nearly the same. Likewise, the number of denominations is constantly changing as new denominations come into existence. Plus, in recent years, one of the most prolific denominational changes has been the growth in non-denominational churches. Many of these fellowship and exchange information with other non-denominational congregations but their relationship with each other is informal. Regardless, with the estimated U.S. population of 328 million people, we can calculate that there is a congregation for nearly every 994 or so people in our country. But this average is misleading because … [Read more...]
What’s so great about the Great Commission?
By Lane Corley ALEXANDRIA, La. - Hudson Taylor, missionary to China in the 1800’s, may have been the one to popularize the term Great Commission for Jesus’ last command to his followers on earth. Matthew 28:18-20 CSB – “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” What’s so great about the Great Commission? For starters: Jesus said it. This is a directive straight from the Master himself. And it’s the last words he left with his followers. This statement makes it clear what Jesus wanted and expected the cause of our lives to be as his people until his return. It’s repeated in all four gospels. The four Gospels vary on some details about the life of Jesus. Some version of this Great Commission is repeated in all of them, as well as in the beginning of Acts. This tells us that this statement left an indelible mark on his followers and served as a highlight of Jesus’ teaching in their hearts and minds. If we obey it, people are changed for eternity. … [Read more...]
On that first Easter the tombs were opened
By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)—The days leading up to and including Resurrection Sunday were unlike any others in history and any since, with the Gospel accounts detailing the various events that took place on each. Yet, one of the most remarkable facts often overlooked about that first Easter is that others were resurrected with Christ – namely, followers of the Way. Matthew 27 is the only Gospel account to record this detail, documenting in verse 52 that “the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.” Moreover, the next verse informs us that these revived believers “went into the holy city and appeared unto many.” In other words, these grandmothers, grandfathers, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, and children – who had received salvation because of their faith in Jesus as the Christ – had their decomposed bodies restored and they returned to their homes, still wearing death shrouds with the smell of the grave embedded in the cloth. The significance of this aspect of Easter is enormous in at least two aspects. POWER AT PENTECOST First, the resurrection of the many saints helps give context to the great awakening that took place on Pentecost, … [Read more...]
Your brown bag miracle
By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBC) - Over the last year we’ve been asked to cut back on most everything – time with family, trips to restaurants, retail establishments and public gatherings. During the recent winter storm we’ve been asked to cut back on our power usage, water usage and more due to the demand on the system. While our infrastructures may be limited in their ability to meet currents demands, I’m reminded that God’s resources are not. Take the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6. From nothing, Jesus fed the multitudes! He does that which otherwise seems impossible. Like the other miracles, this miracle confirms who Jesus is, confirms what others say about Him, and what He said about Himself. This miracle appears in all four Gospels so I believe God is trying to communicate something of importance if we’ll take a moment to reflect on this truth. If other miracles communicate “nothing is too big for God” (and this miracle stands in agreement with that) this miracle reveals “nothing is too small for God.” We need to be reminded of that sometimes – maybe even today. Roofs are leaking, pipes are bursting, no electricity, no water—all small problems on the global scale, but still very real, especially … [Read more...]
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