By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – Much like Nehemiah did with careful planning to build the wall in Jerusalem, Louisiana Baptists must continue plotting a course to shore up its various ministries at the half-way point of a seven-year initiative to reach the state with the Gospel by 2020. Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins gave an update during the Sept. 26 Executive Board meeting on the progress toward the goals of the President’s 2020 Commission Report, sharing good news about what had been achieved so far and offering observations about what is still needed to complete the work. Hankins said he is confident Louisiana Baptists can have great victory in the end, as long as they do not violate their convictions, compromise the truth or strive to please man over God. “We recognize that our tasks are spiritual, and we will not be successful unless God blesses us with His power,” Hankins said during the meeting. “We are not attempting to outwit the world. Strategies and studies are useful tools but they are no substitute for God’s Spirit bringing grace, mercy and revival. We must continue to give ourselves to prayer for spiritual renewal in our state.” Adopted by messengers … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – With rising enrollment that includes a record number of freshmen on campus, Louisiana College President Rick Brewer had much to be thankful for during the recent Executive Board meeting. “We are preparing graduates and transforming lives at Louisiana College,” Brewer said. “We love our job. We love our students, faculty and staff. We love and thank you for your support through the Cooperative Program. You are there when students’ lives are changed and when things happen for the kingdom, investing in the future.” He reminded Executive Board members that the goal of the school’s Vision 2020 plan is to have an enrollment of 1,500 students by that time. Currently, they stand at 1,210 for the fall semester, the second consecutive year of an increase. Brewer also celebrated that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has awarded the school four initiatives, which include a Master’s in Nursing, Master’s in Social Work, Bachelor’s in Computer Science and the ability to offer any course online. “We praise the Lord for what’s happening, what He’s doing and what’s to come,” he said. “It’s all part of the plan and what God’s leading us to do … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – Eddie Wren opened the fall Executive Board meeting with a challenge to pastors to set the example of the humbleness of David for their congregations. He faced the temptation to slay his enemy, King Saul, Wren said. But David resisted his own emotions and instead sought to honor God. “I want to be a pastor who, when people attack me, remains humble before the Lord and hears His spirit and is convicted in my heart,” said Wren, president of the Executive Board and pastor of First Baptist Church in Rayville. “In the end, I want them to see the righteousness of God in me because I humbled myself before the Lord. I hope we as pastors and leaders of this convention can have the same humility that David displayed that day.” Much like David, Wren said pastors are placed into spiritual battles in which they have opportunities to fight those attacking them. When those times come, Wren encouraged pastors to remember that if they will walk humbly before the Lord, He will convict their consciences, quiet their anger, and, shame their enemy. “Even when others want to choose the wrong path, if I walk humbly before the Lord I can help others to follow the right path,” Wren … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Weeks after a pair of hurricanes hit the U.S. mainland, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams still are responding with aid to churches and individuals in affected areas of Florida and Texas. As of late September, Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association’s chainsaw team was in Jacksonville, Fla. (where Hurricane Irma swept through Sept. 11). Meanwhile, the Rolling Hills Ministry’s feeding and shower units from Ruston were working in Houston, Texas, not far from where Hurricane Harvey made landfall (Aug. 26 and continued to drop record rains through Aug. 28), Louisiana Baptists State Disaster Relief Coordinator Gibbie McMillan told the Baptist Message. No Louisiana teams had been activated yet, as of Oct.4, to serve in Puerto Rico which was devastated by Hurricane Maria, Sept. 20. However, McMillan said plans are being implemented for trained disaster relief volunteers to go to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico beginning Oct. 10. The response plan calls for volunteers to deploy for a two-week period. The work will include assisting congregations in feeding operations and water purification, McMillan said, with the goal of helping individuals restore order so they can return to … [Read more...]

Bt Staff, Baptist Message EUNICE (LBM) – Acadian Baptist Center is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary, with activities that include a reunion of former students who attended Acadia Baptist Academy, the school that existed before the campus became the ABC in 1975. The reunion begins at 6 p.m., Oct. 13, and the anniversary celebration will take place the next day from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. One of the most notable ABC alumni is Jimmy Warren, the father of Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren. The elder Warren attended the camp in the 1930s. “They sent him down here where he surrendered to the ministry and got on fire for God,” said James Newsom, director of Acadian Baptist Center. “He started preaching in an area of mission sites and churches. “He stuttered,” Newsom elaborated. “And one of the old preachers told him, ‘Maybe you should look into another line of work,’ because of his speech.” “So he quit preaching for a while but he couldn’t stand it,” he continued. “He started preaching again and was faithful for many, many years as a pastor and as a director of missions and he raised Rick and a daughter and he touched a lot of lives.” Since becoming a camp in 1975, ABC has experienced significant changes, … [Read more...]

If you have an upcoming event – homecoming, revival, concert, conference or a new staff member –please aloe the Baptist Message to share it with others in the state. In order to do so,  let us know at least three weeks prior to the date to make sure it makes our print deadlines. You can e-mail your info to philip@baptistmessage.com or call 318.449.4345.  ON THE MOVE Robert Daniel, Director of Missions for Big Creek, Central Louisiana and North Rapides Baptist Associations is retiring October 31.  A reception will be held at the Baptist Mission Center, which is located at 2201 Melrose St, Pineville LA  71360, October 29, 2-4 p.m. Thomas Walker is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, Boyce. Johnny (wife Kathy) Dammon is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, Lake Charles. HOMECOMING Main Street Baptist Mission, Pineville: 30th Homecoming, October 15, 10:30 a.m. There will be testimonies, singing and a message from God’s Word. We will be celebrating what God has done and what God is going to do at the service followed by a time of fellowship. Anyone who has ever been involved in the Mission or who is interested in getting involved is welcomed to come. Pastor: Sam West. Gilgal Baptist Church, Minden: 175th … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE (LCNews) – For two years running, Louisiana College’s upward trend in enrollment continues, with a 24 percent increase in 2017's freshman class. Last year’s saw a 14 percent increase, reversing a five-year downward spiral that began in 2010 under previous school leadership. Louisiana College began its fall semester welcoming 310 freshmen and a 9 percent overall enrollment increase. Since becoming president in April 2015, LC President Rick Brewer is continually "pressing on," as his team often hears him say. He immediately began revitalizing the school's standing in the community to ensure its future, by creating the Louisiana College 2020 Vision with a primary goal of raising enrollment to 1,500 students. "When our Board of Trustees unanimously elected Brewer as president, we did so in the confidence that his previous 28 years of leadership success in Christian higher education would continue at Louisiana College," said Dr. Randy Harper, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. "We believe it has because the significant increase in enrollment is directly due to Dr. Brewer and his leadership team who has implemented his vision." Professor of English and Coordinator of Academic Advising … [Read more...]

By Message Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. – Five of Louisiana’s six members of the U.S. House of Representatives have voted in favor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act, which prohibits any person from performing or attempting an abortion after the 20-week period. During a vote Oct. 3, H.R. 36 passed by a vote of 237 to 189, largely along party lines. Voting in favor of the bill were Louisiana Republicans Ralph Abraham, Garret Graves, Clay Higgins, Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise. The lone no vote from the state’s delegation to the House of Representatives was Cedric Richmond, a Democrat from New Orleans. The piece of legislation now goes before the Senate for consideration. President Donald Trump has already voiced his support of the bill. Following the vote, several members of Congress from Louisiana released statements including two Louisiana Baptists, Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church and a medical doctor, and  Johnson, a member of First Baptist Church in Bossier City. “As a doctor, I believe in defending life at all stages. I've heard a child's heart beat at six weeks old,” Abraham said in a written statement. “Babies can feel pain at 20 weeks; to abort them is a cruel practice that must end. The … [Read more...]

by Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- Celebrating 20 years of a women's ministry program and its impact around the world, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary honored Rhonda Harrington Kelley, wife of NOBTS President Chuck Kelley, for her integral role in the NOBTS program. The presentation in chapel Sept. 26 was followed by a luncheon in Kelley's honor where the Rhonda Harrington Kelley Scholarship benefiting women in academics was announced, with details forthcoming. Dorothy Kelley Patterson, wife of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson and Kelley's sister-in-law, praised her in remarks at the luncheon. "She is in the Titus 2 tradition a spiritually mature woman, a spiritual mother to many women in this room and to countless others, not only on the campus now but scattered throughout the world," Patterson said. NOBTS offers women's ministry certificates at the undergraduate and graduate levels, an undergraduate minor in women's ministry and concentrations in women's ministry with graduate degrees. A ministry wife certificate is also offered. Women from across the nation and as far away as Kodiak Island in Alaska, Canada and Ghana are enrolled. A … [Read more...]

As Congress considers a fiscal 2018 budget this week, U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Benton) is among the Republican House members in support of his party’s top goal of overhauling the tax code. “Our federal tax code is more than 60 times longer than the Bible, and it contains none of the Good News,” Johnson, a member of First Baptist Church in Bossier City, said in a statement. “It has been over 30 years since we updated the tax system, and it is well past time for reform. The Republican plan will create more jobs, fairer taxes and bigger paychecks for working-class Americans and small businesses. We must unleash the free market and get our economy back on track. Passing meaningful tax reform is a crucial first step in completing that mission.”   … [Read more...]