By Message Staff POLLOCK – Brian Gunter is not one to shy away from a challenge. So, when it came time to help raise money for First Baptist Church in Pollock’s children’s ministry, he braved Saturday morning’s (Oct. 28) chilly temperatures in a dunking booth for the church’s annual Fall Festival. There were quite a number of church members and others from the community who turned out to insure Gunter got dunked despite the chilly temperatures. It was all in good fun and for a good cause as $140 was raised at the dunking booth alone while another $70 was raised in other areas of the festival. “A pastor never knows how much his church loves him until he climbs into a dunking booth on a cool fall day,” Gunter told the Baptist Message. “A few deacons tried to drown me, but I came out unscathed!  Sometimes you have to get creative to raise money for the children’s ministry.” But Gunter’s love of “freezin’ for a reason” will not stop at the First Baptist Pollock fall festival. In the very near future, Gunter said he would be willing to step inside a dunking booth on the property of the Cenla Pregnancy Center in Alexandria to raise money for the organization. The first pro-life pregnancy center in central Louisiana … [Read more...]

By Ainsley Holyfield, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Benton) has signed on as an original co-sponsor to H.R. 4131, the No Abortion Bonds Act, which amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose federal taxes on bonds used to provide facilities owned by abortion providers. If passed, the bill will close loopholes in the tax code that allow abortion providers to finance facilities with municipal, county and state bonds while being exempt from federal taxes. “The federal government should not be subsidizing abortions. Period,” said Johnson, a member of First Baptist Church in Bossier City. “This legislation will help keep taxpayer dollars out of abortion facilities and protect the rights of all Americans who have deeply held religious and moral objections to funding this abhorrent industry. I am proud to champion this legislation, and the sanctity of all human life, while in Congress.” … [Read more...]

By Message Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. - Members of Louisiana’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives are upbeat after Republicans narrowly adopted a budget resolution they hope cuts American’s taxes by the end of the year. Passed Thursday, Oct. 26, by a vote of 216-212, the vote allows Republicans to start working on tax cuts, a top item on the Republican and President Donald Trump’s agenda. The Senate passed the measure last week. “Today the House took an important step toward reforming our tax code by passing a budget resolution,” U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham posted on his Facebook page. “This means we can overcome the Senate's out dated filibuster rules to reform our tax code with a simple majority instead of 60 votes. “If all Republicans in the Senate keep their word - unlike with Obamacare repeal - then we can finally reform our tax code to put more money in the pockets of middle class families and allow our small businesses to grow and be competitive,” continued Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church. “I believe we can get this done for the working families across the United States.” Fellow Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson, a Republican and member of First Baptist Church in Bossier City, echoed the … [Read more...]

CHARENTON -- Bobby Hodnett passed away on October 16, 2017 at the age of 85. A native of Colfax, Louisiana, and a resident of the Baldwin and Franklin area for the past 50 years, passed away Monday, October 16, 2017. At the time of his passing, he was the pastor of Cypremort Point Baptist Mission and associate pastor at Little Pass Baptist Church. A former semi-pro baseball player, he gave his heart to Christ and pursued ministry with all that was in him for 60 plus years. He came to First Baptist Church in Franklin in November of 1968 and served as music and youth pastor.  He then went to the Myette Point Baptist Mission in Franklin. In 1973, he restarted Little Pass Baptist Mission in Charenton as their pastor.  He led them to tremendous growth as a fully constituted church.  Under his leadership, the church was moved from the levee to a piece of land across from the Charenton post office.  He then lead the church to build a sanctuary, fellowship hall, and a two story education building.  He retired in 2009 as Senior Pastor but never retired from ministry. Hodnett was well known for missions and evangelism. At one time in his career, he pastored Little Pass, the Baldwin Mission and Cypermort Point Baptist … [Read more...]

By Ainsley Holyfield, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, Oct. 25 passed H.R. 469, the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act. Included in this bill is the Judgment Fund Transparency Act which was amended by U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Benton) to further increase transparency for taxpayers and to ensure terrorist organizations are prohibited from receiving taxpayer funds. The Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, with language from Johnson, increases accountability in the regulatory process by providing greater scrutiny of sue-and-settle cases, requires the Department of Justice to release details of payments made through the Judgment Fund and strengthens Congress’ ability to intervene ​i​n litigation regarding the constitutionality of federal ​statutes. Johnson, who is a member of First Baptist Church in Bossier City, spoke on the House floor in favor of this legislation Wednesday evening. “The United States should be combating terrorism, not funding it with our own ​taxpayer dollars,” Johnson said in a statement. “Yet previous administrations have used loopholes in the law to conceal payments to … [Read more...]

JONESVILLE - A three-day revival at Jonesville's Block High School football field is coming to an end, with organizers celebrating decisions already made for Christ. Scheduled Oct. 23-25, the Four Rivers Awakening Revival features guest evangelist Herb Reavis and musical guest Brad Mount. The final revival service is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Baptist Message will have more on this story later. … [Read more...]

By Message Staff GRAMBLING – Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins is asking for prayers after an early morning shooting Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Grambling State University left two men dead, one of whom was a student at the school. “The brokenness of our world sadly continues to be on display, as we learned from the shooting on the Grambling campus,” Hankins told the Baptist Message. “Our hearts are grieved for the families of the victims. I ask all Louisiana Baptists to pray for comfort and for wisdom for our campus BCM director, Roy Brown, and area churches as they minister to the Grambling community in the days ahead.  I also ask you to join me in praying for God’s hand of restraint on the evil that has reared its head again. We’re reminded in God’s word to not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.” According to a news release from the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office media relations office, shortly after midnight the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office was called to assist the Grambling State police in reference to a shooting on campus. Two male victims, Earl Andrews and Monquiarious Caldwell, both of Farmerville, were later pronounced dead at the scene from apparent gunshot wounds. … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) announced October 24 that the largest oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history is scheduled to be livestreamed from New Orleans in March.  Proposed Lease Sale 250 encompasses 76,967,935 acres of waters, including blocks off Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. “This is great news. This is exactly the type of job-creating activity that the oil and gas industry needs,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “This lease sale is an economic bonanza for Louisiana and makes us less dependent on foreign oil.  The last lease sale generated $121 million in high bids.  That translates into countless jobs, especially for Acadiana.  Our oil and gas families want to work.  They just need the jobs.” “In today’s low-price energy environment, providing the offshore industry access to the maximum amount of opportunities possible is part of our strategy to spur local and regional economic dynamism and job creation and a pillar of President Trump’s plan to make the United States energy dominant,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said. “And the economic terms proposed for this sale include a range of incentives to encourage diligent development and ensure a fair return to … [Read more...]

By Cole Avery, Office of U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON - Congressman Ralph Abraham (R-Alto) has joined 18 other members of Congress in calling on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees hold hearings to examine Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team’s potential conflicts of interest and political bias. “This team has sweeping authority and an open-ended mission, yet they are allowed to operate largely in secret, selected by and ultimately accountable to only one person: Mr. Mueller himself,” the members wrote in a letter dated Oct. 13. “With numerous reports emerging almost every day on possible conflicts of interest and allegations of political bias, it would be in the interest of both the public and the Special Counsel team to speak to the American people through their elected representatives in Congress.” “Almost daily another red flag is raised over this team’s ability to remain impartial during this investigation," said Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church. "If they have nothing to hide, let them come forward to a hearing and be accountable to the American people.” Other members of Congress signing the letter include Brian Babin, Jody Hice, Bob Gibbs, Doug LaMalfa, Ralph Norman, Bill Flores, Bill … [Read more...]