By Will Hall, Message Editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Steve Horn is a leader among leaders in the Louisiana Baptist Convention and someone who loves Louisiana Baptists, Waylon Bailey shared with the Baptist Message in announcing Horn as the candidate the search committee will present May 7 to the LBC Executive Board for a vote. If elected, Horn will replace David Hankins who is retiring June 30 as LBC executive director. “He lived in the northern part of the state early in his life and has served in the southern part of the state, so he understands the great uniqueness among Louisianans and has a deep appreciation for the great variety among the congregations that make up the fellowship we call a ‘Convention,’” said Bailey, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington and chairman of the search committee. “Likewise, he has been an exceptional friend and leader to other pastors on a personal level and in how his congregation has participated in the cooperative missions and ministries of the LBC during his entire tenure.” Horn has served as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Lafayette since 2005. The database of the Annual Church Profile shows his congregation has baptized 775 new believers since then and … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana Baptist pastors and leaders have offered their resounding support for Steve Horn as a candidate for the state’s next executive director. The search committee announced Sunday, April 7, that Horn, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Lafayette since 2005, was their recommendation to lead Louisiana Baptists. The LBC Executive Board will vote on Horn’s nomination during its spring meeting May 7 at Tall Timbers Conference Center in Woodworth. LBC President Eddie Wren told the Baptist Message he is excited about the possibility of working alongside Horn to help Louisiana Baptists reach their state for Christ. “I am thankful Dr. Horn has been recommended and has agreed to serve as executive director for Louisiana Baptists,” said Wren, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Rayville. “I can’t think of anyone I would rather serve as executive director or anyone that is better prepared for the task. Steve is a man who loves the Lord, loves his family, the church and the state of Louisiana. I look forward to all God will do through his leadership.” Gevan Spinney, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, Haughton, followed Horn as LBC president. He believes the … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, LCNews PINEVILLE, (LCNews) -- A persistent but false contention about the Holocaust is that the Jews did not resist; rather, they relented like sheep to the slaughter. History records that the Jews fought in partisan bands, ghetto uprisings, and death camp revolts, all of which disprove the argument that the Jews were passive regarding genocide. This faulty reasoning intimates that the Jews were unable to organize a resistance to the Nazis and generally submitted while hoping they would be delivered from evil rather than actively resisting themselves. Louisiana College is pleased to sponsor “A Time to Fight: Jewish Resistance in the Holocaust.,” featuring keynoter and Alexandria attorney Steven Oxenhandler. Set for April 9 at 7 p.m. in Martin Performing Arts Center, the event is free and open to the public. “We are elated for Mr. Oxenhandler, who is an Israeli Jew, to share the historical record of the plight and the fight of the Jews,” said LC President Rick Brewer. “As an academic institution built upon a biblical worldview, Louisiana College wants to emphasize an accurate and appropriate history of the Jewish people. To do otherwise is an affront to the academy and the Jewish nation,” Brewer … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WATERPROOF – Larry Walters ran from God most of his young adult life, until an encounter with God during a revival service at Hill Ridge Baptist Church in Crowville brought the 35-year-old “roughneck” under conviction for repentance, and planted the seed for a call to ministry. “The week of revival at Hill Ridge Baptist Church I had completed a 12-hour shift as a worker in the oil field and came home to find the pastor and the evangelist praying with my daughter, Melanie, moments after she accepted Christ,” said Walters, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Waterproof since 2012. The home visit made a profound impact on him, he shared, explaining that he attended the revival the following night and “fell under conviction to ask Jesus into my heart.” “At the last night of revival the pastor asked if there was anyone who wanted to say anything,” said Walters, who was honored during the 2018 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting as an Exemplary Bi-vocational Pastor of the Year. “I couldn’t not proclaim to everyone what God had done. I knew He changed my life and I surrendered to whatever He wanted.” When Walters returned to the oil field, he boldly proclaimed Christ as … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – Alfonso and Cynthia Campos were on the brink of divorce when they spontaneously chose to attend the River Parishes campus of Celebration Church for Mother’s Day services last year. But instead of ending their marriage they surrendered to Christ, committing to follow Him as a couple and as individuals. About a month later, they followed their spiritual rebirth with being baptized -- Cynthia first and Alfsono three weeks after her. “Our life on the weekend was going out, drinking, you name it,” Alfonso said. “I knew about the Lord but wasn’t committed to Him. We went from nearly getting a divorce to now having the family we always wished we had. “We don’t have ‘big’ problems anymore,” he continued. “We are happy and stronger. For couples who are thinking of divorce, it’s never too late. If you really want to change your life you have to leave it up to God and He will change it.” FAITH, REPENTANCE, BAPTISM The Campos were among a record number 796 new believers baptized by Celebration in 2018. The congregation recorded 2,669 acts of repentance last year, and is still working to complete new believer’s training for this group. Through April 1, the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA – Inmates who are members of the first church within a prison approved for membership in a Baptist association have made a generous Cooperative Program gift. The prison congregation of Grace Baptist, located on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, did not have money to contribute through the Cooperative Program, so they used their construction skills to build a cooker as a gift for the Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief ministry. LBDR Director Gibbie McMillian said he is “humbled by the donation,” valued at $8,000, and said the commercial-grade cooker is a welcome addition to the equipment used for emergency responses in the state and around the country. David Goza, pastor of the Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, first learned of the effort by the inmates when he was at Angola to teach a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary class. He said the men really wanted to show Louisiana Baptists their commitment to be part of the Convention’s cooperative missions and ministries. “Giving this grill to the LBC reflects what is in the heart of these men,” Goza told the Baptist Message. “This is a group of Christian men whose hearts have been … [Read more...]

By John Kyle, Louisiana Baptists Communications ALEXANDRIA -- Steve Horn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lafayette, is being recommended as the next Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention according to a statement released by the search committee’s chairman, Waylon Bailey. “After months of prayer, deliberations and interviews we are excited to present Dr. Horn to lead Louisiana Baptists as we work together to fulfill the Great Commission in Louisiana and beyond,” Bailey said. Horn will be presented to the Executive Board’s Administrative Committee during a special called meeting on Thursday, April 11. If confirmed, the recommendation goes before the entire Executive Board during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 7 at the Tall Timbers Camp and Conference Center in Woodworth. If elected, Horn will succeed outgoing Executive Director David Hankins who will retire at the end of June. “Even though we are close, we are not finished,” Bailey continued. “The search committee requests continued prayer for Dr. Horn, the Administrative Committee and the Board as we prayerfully proceed with this important selection.” Bailey expressed his appreciation for the work of the search committee over … [Read more...]