By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Marc Taylor, a member of the Cook Baptist Church in Ruston, will be nominated for second vice president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention during the 2019 annual meeting. Mike Holloway, pastor of Ouachita Baptist Church in West Monroe, notified the Baptist Message, Oct. 18, of his intention to make the nomination because of Taylor’s deep commitment to Jesus Christ and the LBC.  He is a man of integrity and well respected by all of his peers, Holloway noted. The LBC annual meeting is scheduled to be held in the Alexandria Riverfront Center, Nov. 11-12. STATEMENT OF SUPPORT Holloway said he has known Taylor since 2005, when he became pastor of Cook Baptist. Even after Holloway resigned in 2015 to become pastor of Ouachita Baptist, he continued his friendship with Taylor. “Each year in the LBC we seek qualified and committed laypeople to serve our convention,” Holloway said. “I felt God placed Marc’s name on my heart because he is a committed Louisiana Baptist and a private business owner who has the time to serve our Convention, as he has in the past, as a trustee of Louisiana College. He will do Louisiana Baptists a great job while serving as our second vice … [Read more...]

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) — Leroy Fountain, church health strategist with the New Orleans Baptist Association, will be re-nominated for a second consecutive term as first vice president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention during the 2019 annual meeting. Jack Hunter, associational missions strategist for NOBA, notified the Baptist Message, Oct. 18, of his intention to make the nomination. The LBC annual meeting is scheduled to be held in the Alexandria Riverfront Center, Nov. 11-12. STATEMENT OF SUPPORT “Our association has never had a more experienced strategist, a keener exegete of culture or a more humble pastor,” Hunter said. “Leroy is a consummate gentleman and an unflinching follower of Christ.” CANDIDATE’S RESPONSE “I’m honored that Mr. Jack Hunter has agreed to stand on the stage before Louisiana Baptists and express his trust in me,” Fountain said. “I’m excited about the possibility, if I should be so fortunate to be elected, of serving with Dr. Steve Horn, our newly elected state executive director, as he sets a course and leads Louisiana Baptists through the last half of the first quarter of the 21st century. I’m excited to have served with the outgoing president, Dr. Eddie Wren, and the … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews)--Thanks to the generosity of alumnus Don Hill and Terry, his wife, Louisiana College in Pineville unveiled a newly equipped and remodeled Computer Science classroom, Oct. 18. “I am deeply grateful that Don and Terry recognize the importance of Louisiana College’s mission and vision and have demonstrated such loyalty to Don’s alma mater,” said Dr. Rick Brewer, president of Louisiana College, told about 50 members of Louisiana College’s Board of Visitors gathered for its annual fall meeting. Hill, a 1964 graduate from LC, is an entrepreneur and restaurateur from Dallas who co-founded Saltgrass Steak House and the more recent Texas-based Lupe Tortilla. He is a member of LC’s Board of Visitors, whose combined annual gifts of more than $200,000 solely and wholly support qualified student’s scholarships. “This gift provides a huge lift to our emerging Computer Science major and our commitment regarding STEM becoming STEAM,” said Dr. Rick Brewer, president of Louisiana College. “I want to say thank you to Louisiana College because the four years I spent here were the four most important years in my entire life,” Hill said. “LC was the spring board for me to go on and have … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM) -- Baptist Friendship House celebrated 75 years of changing lives with a special celebration at the New Orleans Center, Sept. 28. Festivities included longtime friends, past memories, and a look to a future full of hope. “Baptist Friendship House is committed to continuing its legacy of meeting needs through love, action, and in truth,” said Kay Bennett, executive director. “Sharing Jesus with people in need will always be the top priority of our ministry for generations to come.” Baptist Friendship House supports women and children in transition by providing housing, job training, and education in computer skills and reading. More than 100 women are enrolled in the center’s weekly Bible study. Bennett praised all who had come before her and noted that while much has changed since the center’s earliest days, the mission remains the same. “We still let anybody walk through our doors,” Bennett said. “It does not matter where they’ve been, what they’ve done, or what’s going on in their lives, we love them.” Bennett introduced the event’s speakers as “three special ladies” who had impacted her life—Pat Shaffer, daughter of the center’s founders Henry and … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA, La. (LBM)—Shoneray O’Haver has been serving a 75-year term at the Louisiana State Penitentiary since 2014. But on Sept. 19, at the prison known simply as Angola, formerly the bloodiest prison in America, the 36-year-old convicted armed robber gained a permanent reprieve from a spiritual death sentence by being set free in Christ. “Asking Him to be my Savior and Lord is the best decision I have made,” an emotional O’Haver told the Baptist Message. O’Haver responded to a Gospel invitation offered by Jamie Dew inside Tudy Chapel on the main prison campus. Dew, the newly inaugurated president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, led O’Haver in a prayer of repentance after sharing a message of hope based on 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. SPIRIT-LED VISION Dew’s sermon at Angola was part of a one-day, multiple chapel, revival service organized by Keith Manuel, Louisiana Baptists’ director of evangelism, in part as a tribute to NOBTS as a follow-up event to the centennial anniversary the seminary celebrated last year. The school and the prison enjoy a strong bond from a four-year NOBTS degree program – established in 1995 at the request of then-warden, Burl Cain, a … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer OBERLIN, La. (LBM)—Native American pastors began a multi-week tent camp meeting with nightly evangelistic messages on the grounds of Oberlin Baptist Church, and organizers are optimistic that God may use the event to bring about revival across America. The All Nations Camp Meeting kicked off Oct. 2 and is scheduled to continue through at least early November. Native Americans from 15 states already have committed to supply guest evangelists, and, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Henry Blackaby Ministries also are assisting. “Small numbers are coming right now but we are not discouraged,” Tony Robinson, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Oakdale and a member of the camp meeting planning committee, told the Baptist Message. “We feel like it will gain momentum as the word gets out and we feel like God’s in it. I don’t know when the last time was someone planned a meeting that went six weeks or indefinitely. We are just going to keep doing it until we feel like it has run its course or God says shut it down.” The camp meetings have brought hope to a community that saw more than 50 homes flooded after Hurricane Barry dumped nearly 20 inches of rain in Oberlin in … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM)—Sawyer was an answer to prayer for his parents Yalonda and Louis Terry. He was the brother they had hoped for their then 18-month-old son Callan and 11-year-old sister Kacie. Her nephew Daniel (11) also lives with them. But on August 18 tragedy struck the Terry home when Yalonda discovered four-month-old Sawyer was not breathing. “I did CPR for 11 minutes before the ambulance arrived,” she told the Baptist Message. “I knew it was bad at that moment, because they did not even try it [CPR] in my house, but instead picked him up and ran straight to the ambulance.” Sawyer was rushed to Byrd Regional Hospital in Leesville and shortly after he was ventilated they flew him and Yalonda to Rapides Women and Children’s Hospital in Alexandria. “I was in the waiting room for six hours,” Yalonda recalled. “I received some updates and at times reports about him seizing. By that night they said they had him stabilized.” For days it seemed all the news was bad news, and Yalonda finally put down her foot to tell the medical staff not to discuss anything negative in front of Sawyer, insisting they talk positively when around him or not at all. She said the most … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Church planters and state missions staff gathered in the Louisiana Baptist Building Oct. 9 to commemorate the 250th church planted since 2010. The achievement moves Louisiana Baptists closer to the goal of planting 300 churches by 2020 as part of one of the 10 action steps identified in the President’s 2020 Commission Final Report, which was affirmed by messengers during the 2013 LBC Annual Meeting. Planting healthy, biblically sound, multiplying churches is a key component to the seven-year-strategy which seeks to engage two audiences – the next generation and every people group – in reaching Louisiana with the Gospel. James Jenkins, director of church planting for Louisiana Baptists, told the Baptist Message the reception to mark the occasion was a celebration of partnership among church planters, sponsoring churches and directors of missions. “This celebration, and the ones we have had along the way to the 300th church plant, is a way of thanking God for his grace and Louisiana Baptists for their giving,” Jenkins said. PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL Hope Church in Baton Rouge was recognized as the 250th new church plant, and Pastor Jeff Vincent … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, LBF director of planned giving Isaiah 40:8 tells us: “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever” (CSB). There also are times the grass grows up in the cracks, and the flowers and shrubs overtake structures that we would call permanent. A pastor friend who now lives in Virginia relayed a story in a recent blog post about a walk in the woods with his wife. As they strolled around a local lake they came upon the remains of a cabin that had become an overgrown pile of rubble. My friend wrote: “This rubble is hidden... you might walk right by it without even being aware of its presence. Someone once lived here. They worked hard to gather heavy rocks to line the foundation and walls. They farmed, they hunted, and they walked around the same lake we were now walking around. They had dreams, plans, and a vision to build something and make a living. They may have even died here. “Who were they? What were their dreams? Did they leave any relatives to carry on the legacy?” The more important question for me is “What kind of legacy did they leave?” I recall a particular song from years past titled “Only One Life” by Lanny Wolfe. With a little digging (thanks, Wikipedia) … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM)—LSU football Coach Ed Orgeron is lifting spirits on the field and off it. The Bayou Bengals have won their first six games, defeating the then Associated Press number six Florida Gators 42-28, vaulting LSU from fifth place to second in the latest sports writers’ poll. Fans and analysts are exuberant about game plan changes Orgeron has made, creating a highly effective air strike offense that has lifted the hopes of the Tiger Nation for an undefeated season. But Ken Ellis, team Chaplain, and Andy Stroup, greater Baton Rouge area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, also praised “Coach O” for what he has done off the field, too. Ellis, a former NFL Pro Bowl defensive back who serves as an associate pastor with Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, lauded Orgeron for placing a high priority on the spiritual character of the players. “It starts with Coach O,” he said regarding the spiritual attitude in the locker room. “He attends all the chapel services. He doesn’t miss any. He’s there and shows how much he appreciates it. He also reaches out to me to pray after each game. “He leads by example,” Ellis told the Baptist Message.  … [Read more...]