By Message Staff A powerful storm ripped through south Louisiana Tuesday (Feb. 23), spawning at least seven tornadoes, damaging many Louisiana businesses and homes, leaving thousands without power and causing two confirmed deaths. As many spent today assessing the damage, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief Teams are prepping their gear as they prepare to respond as early as Thursday. Southeast regional coordinator Tom Long said individuals are still assessing areas where teams will minister, including Livingston and Assumption Parishes, two areas that sustained significant damage from tornadoes. Currently, teams are on standby. “We haven’t had a major storm recently in the state, but it takes just one event to remind people of a need to reach out and pick up a tarp, work on a chainsaw unit or serve a meal,” Long said. “It’s so important we get our people and churches involved in disaster relief. This is one of the largest ministry arms we have in our convention.” According to the National Weather Service, seven tornadoes touched down in Louisiana Tuesday. The outbreak was caused by a strong low pressure system that moved in from Texas early  that morning but was completely out of the state by 9 p.m. The powerful … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS communications NEW ORLEANS - A noted evangelical-turned-agnostic and a well-known agnostic-turned-evangelical were the featured speakers Feb. 12-13 at the 12th annual Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Bart D. Ehrman, author of numerous best-selling books including How Jesus Became God: the Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee; Jesus Interrupted; and Misquoting Jesus, dialoged with Michael F. Bird, a lecturer in theology at Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia and the editor of How God Became Jesus and author of the award-winning The Gospel of the Lord. The Greer-Heard forum is a venue in which respected scholars of differing opinions dialogue on critical issues in religion, science, philosophy, or culture. It designed to help students and ministers learn to think critically and to be prepared to engage secular society. The forum’s theme, “When Did Jesus Become God?,” posed the question of when and how the early church came to believe that Jesus was the divine Son of God. The title was a play on words of Ehrman’s book How Jesus Became God and the book Bird edited, How God Became Jesus that were released on the same day two years ago by … [Read more...]

By Message Staff BATON ROUGE – Theft has struck another Louisiana Baptist ministry, this time at the Louisiana State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry. According to LSU BCM Director Steve Masters, a man walked into one of their buildings on Feb. 19 at 2:30 pm and stole two skill saws and a jig saw. Masters was in his office in the lodge/worship center side when the suspect walked into its chapel, which is a separate building. The tools were used to build a set for the BCM’s summer missions dinner theater. One of the saws and the jigsaw are owned by the BCM while the other saw is owned by a local pastor. The stolen equipment is worth $300. Masters is asking anyone who recognizes the suspect, who was caught on surveillance video, to contact LSU police at 225.578.3231. Campus police are searching for the suspect. “It is discouraging that he was brazen enough to do this while our BCM staff and students were in the building area next door to the Chapel,” Masters said. The incident comes a few weeks after someone stole $20,000 worth of disaster relief equipment from the chainsaw unit for Woodland Park Baptist Church in Hammond and the feeding unit for the Northshore Baptist Association between Jan. 24 and Feb. 5. … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, LC communications PINEVILLE - Louisiana College’s inaugural Christ, Church, and Culture seminar drew 58 students. Dr. William Osborne -- associate professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at College of the Ozarks -- keynoted the Feb. 4 Webcast, discussing how Christians can engage a post-modern culture. “Dr. Osborne gave some great insight on the many ways Christians engage culture today and explained how we ought to witness in this post-Christian culture,” said LC student Chet Broussard. “I really enjoyed hearing from him.” Dr. Russ Meek -- LC’s assistant professor of Christian Studies -- established the Christ, Church, and Culture seminar to help students integrate faith and culture by thinking Christianly about various issues Christians face in an increasingly post-Christian society. “The purpose of this first meeting was to introduce the concept of engaging culture as a Christian,” Meek said. “Future events will focus on specific topics and areas of culture that Christians can and should be engaging.” LC student Allison Glass said she enjoyed hearing about the church’s role in reaching culture. The March 10 seminar features Matthew Soerens, the US Church Training Specialist for World … [Read more...]

The Louisiana Baptist Foundation exists to encourage and assist individuals with gifts that support the work and ministry of churches, institutions and organizations affiliated with the Louisiana and Southern Baptist Conventions. “Give A Gift” was developed, with the cooperation of the Baptist Message, to illustrate how the LBF assists Baptists with gifts to Baptist ministries. A submission form for Give A Gift is available in each issue of the Message.  A link to an on-line form is also available below.  Each month the Foundation will draw a name, at random, from the submissions received through the on-line form and submissions received by mail.  The person whose name is selected will have the opportunity to direct a $1000.00 gift from the Foundation to the Louisiana Baptist church, ministry or organization they choose. The name of the ministry receiving the gift will be published in the following issue of the Message. The rules: Completely fill out the form found in the Message (or CLICK lbfinfo.org/give_a_gift/ to fill out the online form.) Mail to: GIVE A GIFT, c/o Louisiana Baptist Foundation, P.O. Box 311, Alexandria, La 71309 A name will be drawn at random from the month’s submissions on the last … [Read more...]

By Jamie Stephens, Regional Reporter BASTROP – Pastor Andy Myrick said his church was excited to be disrupted by a determined cancer patient’s third attempt to be baptized after two previous failed efforts due to his illness last month. “This was the best disruption in our church we have ever had,” Myrick tearfully said, “I was on cloud nine!  When Lee Barnett walked out of our church after his baptism, there was not one dry eye. Satan tried to stop him from accomplishing what he wanted to do the previous two times, which was getting baptized at Oak Hill Baptist Church.” Oak Hill’s pastor shared his beliefs about how prayer, determination, and faith in Christ can defeat Satan’s attempts to destroy the accomplishments of God’s children. Lee accomplished his goal for baptism Jan. 24, then joined the Lord through the gates of Heaven Jan. 27 following a coma from his lengthy battle with cancer. Lee’s funeral was on Feb.1, but he left an important message and testimony for those he loved.  “I want my wife and grandkids to know the Lord,” he told Myrick before he went home. Myrick described Lee to be distant from everyone and that he never attended church since he was a kid.  He said Lee’s wife, Mary, did not attend … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer COVINGTON – The Covington Police Department has joined a growing movement among law enforcement by placing the decal “In God We Trust” on its police cars. Police Chief Tim Lentz, a member at First Baptist Church in Covington, announced Feb. 17 via the department’s Facebook page he would begin placing them on the vehicles at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 18. Business owners, elected officials and others in the community joined in the effort to help place the stickers on the cars. The idea came to Lentz while praying in a worship service at First Covington last week. He recalled how other law enforcement departments around the country, including some in Louisiana, were placing on their vehicles the decal proclaiming the national motto. After talking with numerous Christian leaders and officers, Lentz received confirmation about going through with his idea. “If other cities were doing this, I thought why not here,” Lentz said. “We are a faithful community and a faithful law enforcement agency. We’re not shy about our Christianity. “It’s time we get back to our values and traditions,” he continued. “This hopefully will be the start of a movement here in Covington to do just that.” No public … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Larry Cordaro has achieved at LSU-Alexandria in two seasons what takes some basketball coaches an entire career to accomplish. Since he came on board, he has led the program to its first-ever national tournament appearance, garnered the national coach of the year award and led the Generals to a No. 1 ranking in the polls of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. But even with the success he has experienced on the court, Cordaro knows his mission in life is much more than just winning a national championship. The ultimate prize, Cordaro emphasizes, is influencing the players Christ has entrusted to him – well beyond their basketball careers at LSUA. “It’s more than about winning games,” said Cordaro, a member at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria. “It’s about winning lives and making better men.” From successful coach to Christ follower A native of Ruston, Cordaro’s coaching career has included stops at LSU in Baton Rouge as director of basketball operations, University of Texas at Arlington as assistant coach and recruiting and player development as assistant coach and later associate head coach at Southeastern Louisiana University in … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – The leadership of Baptist Temple Church had tried multiple attempts at growth. They resurfaced the parking lot, placed a new roof on its building and made many changes to their facility, along with making staff, and ministry changes to try to propel growth. But despite nearly a decade of efforts to revitalize their church, growth did not happen. “We didn’t have the staff with a vision and we couldn’t replace or hire a staff with the ability to discern how to reach our community that was now a different type of demographic than when we first began as a church,” said Deacon Bob Mellon. “It was obvious to keep this site as one that was reaching others for Christ, we needed the right staff with the right vision in here. “We had been praying for years about this,” he continued. “You could see the slide. Like a lot of churches we had become internally focused. We knew we had to change the way we reach our community but didn’t know how.” At that point in February 2015, the congregation reached out to Bradd Webb, pastor of Family of Grace, another other LBC congregation in the community, at the prompting by Director of Missions Robert Daniel – with the idea of a … [Read more...]