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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Louisiana Athletic Club celebrates its 20th anniversary April 20

PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Athletic Club has a series of special events planned this month to coincide with its 20th anniversary. The venue, which was established in 2001 and was jointly owned by CHRISTUS and LC for 19 years, is now solely owned by Louisiana College following the transfer of ownership last year. LAC will celebrate its anniversary on April 20 at 3 p.m. with refreshments, treats and door prizes along with performances by the Louisiana College band and LAC tap ladies. School President Rick Brewer, club manager Ronnie Schwartz and a representative from CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria will deliver remarks and the public is encouraged to attend. “LC continues the outstanding tradition that LAC had with Cabrini for many years,” Brewer said. “And we will continue to work to improve upon the outstanding service that people have grown accustomed to receiving over the last two decades.” Louisiana Athletic Club also will reveal new logos to coincide with the anniversary celebration, which will more clearly identify its affiliation with the college. The club will be re-launching its pro shop with new apparel featuring the rebranded logos. Leading up to the celebration, LAC will host a … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptist DR teams respond following weekend storms

By Baptist Message staff Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief crews spent the weekend assessing damage and clearing debris from properties that were impacted by a strong line of storms that came through the state. Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptists state disaster relief coordinator, told the Baptist Message that crews from Wilda Baptist Church, Boyce, and Big Cane Baptist Church, Morrow, removed a tree that fell on a home in Bayou Jack. DR members Reggie Saxton and Tom Rabalais also assessed homes in Palmetto, which was heavily damaged by an EF-3 tornado packing 140 mph winds. The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down on Bolden Road in St. Landry Parish at 2:06 am Saturday. The tornado destroyed several homes, including a single wide mobile home that rolled for more than 320 yards and caused the death of a man inside the residence. St. Landry Parish Police Jury President Jessie Bellard confirmed the fatality as Jose Antonio Higareda, 27. The National Weather Service also reported that seven other people in the area were injured, 15 homes were damaged, numerous trees and power lines were snapped and some barns and outbuildings were destroyed. Further north, Jerry Smith, 48, died after a tree … [Read more...]

Calling and career focus of LC C3 event April 13

By Staff, Baptist Message PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Dry Creek native and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Professor R. Keith Loftin will headline Louisiana College’s second “Christ Church Culture” lecture of the year on April 13. Loftin, the author of several books including “Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel,” will share with students, faculty and members of the community a presentation on “calling and career.” "As human beings, we are created in God's image,” Loftin said. “We are created with purpose. We are created to work. Indeed, we are created to flourish. These truths harmonize in the Christian notion of vocation, and that notion can revolutionize how we think about education." The event comes months before LC launches its new Quality Enhancement Plan, which will focus on service-learning. Brewer said he wants to make sure students understand the importance of their academic education is preparation for real-world service. “No matter what call God has placed on your life, our role is to serve others and represent His kingdom,” Brewer said. “Our QEP, which launches in the fall, is LC Serves. Live Connected. This seminar will focus on better understanding on how college education … [Read more...]

LC to recognize Dean’s List, Honors students April 15

By Staff, LCNews PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews) – Louisiana College will recognize academically outstanding students April 15. Students will be recognized at an honors convocation at 11 a.m. and at a pair of dean’s list ceremonies at 5:30 and 7 p.m. All three in-person award ceremonies will take place at Guinn Auditorium. Social distancing will be practiced and attendees should wear masks. The honors convocation will recognize students for their outstanding academic efforts and will include scholarship awards. The Dean’s List ceremony includes students who have earned all A’s and B’s in their courses in the fall semester. Freshmen and sophomores will be recognized at 5:30 p.m. while juniors and seniors will be honored at 7 p.m. Students from the fall semester will also be recognized during this time. … [Read more...]

Church attendance rises for resurrection celebrations

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM) – Easter Sunday felt like a long-awaited family reunion, Pastor Fred Luter told the Baptist Message. In 2020, Luter preached to an online only crowd from inside a nearly vacant worship center on Easter. But for Resurrection Day 2021 Luter shared his Easter message to 800 people (limited by New Orleans’ social distancing restrictions), the most since COVID-19 attendance restrictions shut down in-person services in late March 2020. Luter’s son, Chip, who recently became associate pastor, preached at the second service to another crowd of 800. “It was like opening presents on Christmas morning,” the senior Luter said. “I looked at the people in the room and told them it was good to see them, especially those who had not been here in more than a year. While we have learned this past year that you can never count on tomorrow, I am anticipating and praying that we will continue moving forward closer to what we knew was normal. We are trusting God to see us through this.” Fortunately, churches outside New Orleans did not face capacity restrictions, and across the state there were reports of similar boosts in attendance on Easter Sunday. Louisiana … [Read more...]

Edwards eases more restrictions, mask mandate remains in place

By Baptist Message staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday, March 30, the easing of additional restrictions as the state continues moving forward in reopening the economy. Citing continued positive trends in low COVID-19 cases counts and hospitalizations, Edwards said during a news conference that while the mask mandate will remain in place and social distancing will be required, restaurants, bars, gyms, salons and beauty shops, malls and retail establishments no longer will have occupancy limits once the current proclamation expires on Wednesday, March 31. Edwards added that capacity for event centers and reception halls will remain at 50 percent, with a maximum size of 500 people. Attendance at sporting events will still be capped at 50 percent. Also, churches will be allowed to continue to operate at full capacity. The new proclamation Edwards will sign on Wednesday will remain in effect through April 28. “Today marks a big step forward,” Edwards said. “But we all are going to have a role today and do have a role to play in making sure that cases don’t spike again.” The LDH reported 499 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 444,414, and an … [Read more...]

Hurricane ravaged SWLA on the road to recovery

By Norm Miller, Baptist Message special assignments reporter LAKE CHARLES, La. (LBM)--Two hurricanes, each as devastating as Katrina, were more than a one-two punch to Calcasieu Parish, according to Carey Association Director of Missions Bruce Baker. Recovery from the cataclysmic storms may take as many as eight years, and FEMA research estimates the overall cost of the damages at $40 million in the area, Baker said. There are 100,000 homes and 85 percent of them have roof damage; eight percent of the structures are uninsured. “Homes in our area are still badly damaged, but we are beginning to claw out from under it all,” Baker said. “Disaster Relief teams and others who came to help us – they were spectacular. They are the heroes,” he said. “We are grateful for the hard work they gave us. It was a gospel effort. It was a kingdom effort.” Local government and community leaders know who the yellow shirts are, Baker added. “We have a fabulous reputation for service and caring. When the mayor needs disaster recovery help, he calls me.” Baker recalled that Jesus tells us to love our neighbors. “A great way to love them is to show up with a chainsaw crew and a skid steer.” FROM RELIEF TO RECOVERY Houston … [Read more...]