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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

By Norm Miller, special assignments editor DERIDDER, La. (LBM) - New Life Baptist Church in DeRidder suffered no damage from Hurricanes Laura or Delta but had to meet without electricity for several weeks. But, acting as a hub for responding to others’ needs, the church opened its doors to host four church groups that came to serve the community with food and other supplies. Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Jonesville, sent about 20 members who spent just one day to gut out the home of New Life’s worship leader, Jennifer Stark. The roof was destroyed, and the interior was completely soaked. Still wrestling with their insurance company, the Starks’s home is not yet completely repaired. Pastor Keith Manuel expressed deep gratitude for all the churches that sent help. “We are thankful for those who came into this devastated area to give their time and resources to help people who were suffering through the most desperate days of the disaster. They helped our community, and they shared the Gospel.” Manuel said the church saw four professions of faith from among five unexpected visitors to the church in January. A mother and her son committed their lives to Christ. Three teens who work at a local pizza restaurant owned by a … [Read more...]

By Elizabeth Christian, LCNews PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews) - Louisiana College has learned that two former students have been charged in a federal indictment in connection with alleged fraudulent use of grant money made available to students as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). According to the Justice Department press release, Hayden Philip Breaux, 21, of Houma, and D’Quincy Marquis Jones, 23, of Baton Rouge, have both been charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury with one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and five counts of identity theft. The indictment alleges that in June 2020 Breaux and Jones and other co-conspirators used LC students’ personal information and passwords to gain access to the Louisiana College Online Student Portal to apply for these emergency funds and direct the money into their accounts. “Louisiana College has and will continue to cooperate fully with the federal investigation,” said Elizabeth Clarke, LC college communications director. “Once college officials discovered possible fraudulent activity by grant recipients in June 2020, we immediately notified law enforcement officials and an investigation ensued.” LC received the … [Read more...]

Louisiana College President Rick Brewer signs a memorandum of understanding with Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Daniel Akin during the school's chapel service March 18. Earlier in the month, LC signed a similar agreement with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary that will allow students to apply college credits toward a seminary degree. The memorandums of understanding between the institutions will allow LC graduates to earn their seminary degrees more quickly to pursue God’s calling on their lives, Brewer said. He explained that students who successfully complete certain senior-level courses in LC’s missions and ministries program may receive at least 15 credit hours toward a Master of Divinity at the two seminaries. … [Read more...]