By John Kyle, Louisiana Baptists communication director ALEXANDRIA --To say, “Checkerz Williams did not grow up in the church,” is at best an understatement. According to Williams, his father left when he was born and he was raised by his teenage mother. Growing up in Las Vegas he became addicted to alcohol and had a propensity to get in fights, which eventually led to him being evicted from his home at the age of 19. “I didn’t know what else to do so I reached out to my biological father, whom I’d only seen a few times in my life,” Williams shared. “By this time he had remarried, had two other children and was getting ready to move back to North Carolina. So I moved there and began to work in construction. “While working, my boss, who resembled the TV character Grizzly Adams, would share the Gospel with me,” he continued. “I rejected it at first, thinking ‘Where was God when I was going through all this pain in my life?’ But eventually the Lord softened my heart and I surrendered to my life to Him in November of 1992.” Prior to becoming a Christian, Williams enjoyed rap music. He first thought he might have to give up rap, but his boss encouraged him just to change the message of his music and, as examples, … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BASTROP (LBM) – A total of 767 salvation deci-sions have been reported by Louisiana Baptist camps as the 2019 summer season closed. All the data has not been received, yet, but the Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center saw salvation decisions jump from 168 in 2018 to 206 this year (a 22.6 percent increase), coinciding with a 22.1 percent increase in attendance, from 2,428 to 2,965 campers. CHANGED CAMPERS Luke Hallman’s repentance for salvation in early July at “Clear Camp” on the campus of the Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center was a long- awaited answer to prayer for members of the Bonita Road Baptist Church in Bastrop -- who have been fervent for several years in asking the Holy Spirit to draw Hallman into a relationship with Jesus. Those prayers proved to be the spiritual soil for a harvest in Hallman’s life that was sown during a conversation at a worship session with Julie Woodrum, ministry assistant to the Louisiana Baptist youth ministry strategist, Brandon Lewis. “She broke down the questions I had asked very well, such as ‘How will I know I’m saved?’ and ‘How to mean the prayer I prayed?’” Hallman told the Baptist Message. “It’s great to know that when I … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA (LBC) – “Did God really say …?” Genesis 3:1. “Truth has been under assault since the beginning of creation,” according to Steve Horn, newly elected executive director for Louisiana Baptists. “When Satan first uttered these words to Eve in the garden, he opened an attack on truth that has only intensified with time. “In fact, some researchers have labeled this period in history as ‘Post Truth,’” Horn continued. “A Barna survey in 2018 indicated just over one-third of Americans, 35 percent, believe in absolute truth.” It is against this backdrop that Louisiana Baptists have launched their 2019 Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering emphasis, “Im-part. Truth. Today,” taken from Psalms 78:4, 6, “… we will tell the next generation … even the chil-dren not yet born …” (NLT). “As we read, listen and scroll through the news, we’re reminded daily that our world is in need of a Savior,” said Cameron Mullins, a member of First Lafayette and cur-rent president of the state WMU Council. “Having served on the State Missions Offering committee for several years, I have personally seen the impact the offering has made on our state.” Reaching out to the audiences identified by the 2013 President’s 2020 Commission (“every … [Read more...]

By Gary Myers NEW ORLEANS (BP) - The executive committee of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's board of trustees approved a plan to renovate the former location of the campus LifeWay Store for use as offices for both Leavell College and enrollment as well as a campus welcome area. On Aug. 1, the executive committee unanimously approved a preliminary design for the space and a budget of $100,000 to complete the renovations. Seminary leaders hope to have the space renovated by January 2020. "The plans are ultimately about advancing the Kingdom of God, seeing people redeemed and restored; it's about people finding the same hope that you had when you came to Christ," NOBTS President Jamie Dew said. "In NOBTS and Leavell College, I see an institution that has so much potential to train people in unique ways. We have something to offer, not just Southern Baptists, and ultimately to the world. But to do that, we need to be healthy." To be healthy and able to train up the next generation of ministers, Dew said, the school must increase enrollment and the number of credit hours taken. It is this belief that led to the urgency to relocate these two strategic offices, he noted. Following his election as president … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer RUSTON – Three months after a tornado heavily damaged the Louisiana Tech University Baptist Collegiate Ministry chapel, crews began repairing the facility. Kevin Inman, director of the Louisiana Tech BCM, said workers from Triad Builders in Ruston started work July 22 and that he is hopeful they will complete the job before the start of fall classes in early September. Workers will replace water-logged walls and carpet, rebuild a porch and restore the roof. Insurance money will fund the repairs. “We are very excited and hopeful that a whole lot is going to be done in the next month to get us where we can use the building when the students get back Labor Day weekend -- when we will have up to 1,500 students attending some of our Welcome Week events,” Inman said. “The first week of school is the best time to reach a student, but also the easiest time to lose a student. “Pray that the crews are able to finish this work by Labor Day weekend,” he continued. “And pray that things will be repaired correctly. A number of things can be improved upon to make our building and ministry more effective.” He also asked Louisiana Baptists to pray that staff and student leaders will be … [Read more...]

By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptists Missions & Ministry Team Leader ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – If you have ever searched Google for “things to do in Turkey,” the first result that typically pops up is the Hagia Sophia Museum. Once a Christian cathedral, the Church of the Holy Wisdom, which is now the museum, was built in A.D. 537 and was the center of Christianity in that region for 1,000 years. Its existence is a testimony to the success of the Christian faith in Asia Minor – which is most of modern-day Turkey – and directly related to the ministry of the Apostle Paul, although he did not visualize such a physical structure. But he did believe in the power of the Gospel and he foresaw the tremendous potential for the Gospel to grow in Asia Minor, which is why he invested so much of his personal ministry there. Indeed, conversations about church planting should begin with the Apostle Paul, not because of his special calling, but because of his exceptional skills – especially his remarkable ability to visualize the success of a ministry in a particular place and his exceptional talent in communicating this vision to others in context of the roles they could undertake. We call this skill, vision capacity. Paul could … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – Louisiana Baptist Foundation Executive Director Wayne Taylor informed the entity’s trustees July 30 of his intention to retire. He has been the chief executive of this Louisiana Baptist ministry since July 1995. Taylor told the Baptist Message he had a peace about the next phase of life he felt that God was ready to unfold for him and his wife Joanna. “My experiences of ministering and sharing the Gospel in Belarus have revealed a new passion for me,” he said, indicating he plans to engage even more in missions and ministry, including a young adult discipleship group he currently leads at his home church. He has made multiple mission trips to the former Soviet satellite country that is about 41 percent agnostic and atheistic with only two percent of the population professing Christ as Savior. He leverages his professional expertise to share about Christ with elite groups, using his platform in the financial sector to speak at Belarusian universities and business forums. He also has been active in the distribution there of the Good and Evil Illustrated Bible, a graphic-novel-style presentation, which has a 43 percent return on investment in that more than 4 … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, Louisiana Baptist Foundation ALEXANDRIA (LBF) – Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation received positive investment reports and upbeat updates about operations during a regular quarterly business meeting held July 30 in the Louisiana Baptist Building. They also received news of the pending retirement of Executive Director Wayne Taylor. He told the board that he has not set a specific date to retire, but “it would be no later than next summer. “I have spoken with board officers prior to the meeting and will be working with them to determine a strategy for hiring a new executive director,” said Taylor, who has led the Foundation since 1995. POSITIVE SECOND QUARTER Every portfolio component had earned a positive return for the second quarter, with almost all sectors exceeding their benchmarks. Lee Morris of Graystone Consulting reported fixed income portfolios continued to perform in line with expectations, adding his observation that this sector is heavily dependent on what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates for the rest of the year. Presently rates are expected to be flat or trend slightly down. The alternative investment allocation of the LBF portfolio (preferred stocks, … [Read more...]