By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor DeFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fl. – A 30-passenger bus carrying youth and chaperons from Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville headed to a Senior High Camp left the roadway and hit a tree Friday afternoon, June 26. The crash was reported at 3:10 p.m. just west of State Road 331 near DeFuniak Springs, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. According to a statement from Walton County Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, Jr., the accident took place near Exit 35 on I-10 in Walton County, Fla., and 20 were taken to four area hospitals with extensive but non-life threatening injuries. Seven were taken to Healthmark Regional Medical Center in DeFuniak Springs; one was taken to Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville; seven were taken to Sacred Heart on the Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach; and five were taken to North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview. The remaining 40 members of the church party were in a second b us and a passenger van that were traveling with the bus that wrecked. They were taken to DeFuniak Springs Community Center for the night. “We are so very thankful for God’s grace,” texted Philadelphia Pastor Philip Robertson. “All of our students and adults that were involved in the bus … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WASHINGTON – As expected, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Constitution does guarantee same-sex couples the right to marry. The 5-4 ruling was handed down Friday morning and means every state, including Louisiana and 12 other states which did not allow same-sex marriage, must stop enforcing the ban. Louisiana Baptist and Southern Baptist leaders such as Louisiana Baptists President Steve Horn and Louisiana Baptists Moral and Social Concerns Chairman David Goza were quick to voice concerns about the ruling. “5-4! There are so many things that I am thankful for in this country. However, this morning, I find myself struggling with the fact that 1 person can make the difference in something that will so drastically alter our country,” Horn, the pastor at First Lafayette, wrote on his blog. “I just heard President Obama declare this is “a victory for America.” I disagree in the strongest way possible. This is not a victory for America. Proverbs 14:34 declares “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (HCSB) Galatians 6:7 says, “Don’t be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, this he will also reap.” (HCSB) We always reap what we sow, … [Read more...]

By Joe Dupree, Message Staff Writer EUNICE - Three years ago, the leaders at Acadian Baptist Camp set a goal, actually two goals. The first was to raise $1.4 million to complete much needed renovations to the cafeteria and dorms as well as some much needed maintenance around the Baptist encampment in south Louisiana. The second was to raise that goal to over $2 million. Within a few months of its start, through God’s blessing, the money began to flow into the campaign. It not only surpassed its original goal of $1.4 million but quickly went over the new goal of $2,030,000. As of today for the second campaign, ABC has collected $2.2 million in cash and pledges. The 40-year-old camp is supported by six associations, 80 churches, numerous individuals and companies “Before we got started, we hired a company to interview a hundred of our constituents, board members, campers, local pastors, and supporters to determine what kind of response we might get,” said James Newsome, director of Acadian Baptist Center. “The results showed there was a lot of love for ABC and the ministries we have here. A lot of kids have been saved here at the camp over the years. “So, we decided to look to the future and began a capital … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Two Monday night training sessions resulted in 31 more members of Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief mud-out team members. Twenty-two people attended a training session at Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport while nine were present at Alford Heights Baptist Church in Many. They join other disaster relief volunteers who are serving in areas impacted by the recent flooding of the Red River. Ricky Woodard is among those who already have benefited from the ministry of disaster relief volunteers. Woodard, whose Shreveport property is less than 100 yards from the Red River, estimates work done by the mudout team from Zoar Baptist Church saved him nearly a month’s worth of clean-up. “They’re like a bunch of ants coming together and getting things done almost instantly,” Woodard said, with his two grandchildren standing nearby. “I’m so appreciative.” The team worked all day, removing mud and debris inside homes in the neighborhood heavily damaged by the river’s recent floodwaters. Loren Warren, a member of the team from Zoar Baptist Church, said that despite the temperatures that reached the upper 90s, the humidity was a small inconvenience compared to the blessings the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SHREVEPORT - Less than a football field away from the Red River, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams are working on homes heavily damaged by the river's recent floodwaters. Teams arrived earlier in the week to begin work on homes throughout the Shreveport/Bossier area. The teams that are on site are the incident command, chaplains, assessors, feeding, laundry, childcare, medical professionals and the in the trenches mud-out recovery teams. A childcare team will arrive Saturday to give comfort and games to kids of those families seeking help from volunteer agencies of VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) as well as a variety of government agencies. Additionally, a Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief medical team that includes a medical professional on call for physician level will be assisting in the recovery effort as well. The wheeled units on site this week are from Bellaire Baptist, First Baptist Blanchard, Zoar Baptist, Rolling Hills Ministry, and Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association Some of these same units will join up with other units coming in next Monday. Operations will be from Eastwood Baptist Church in Haughton to Summer Grove Baptist Church … [Read more...]

By David Roach, Baptist Press EDITOR'S NOTE: Father's Day is Sunday. NASHVILLE (BP) -- When Fred Luter had a son, he wanted to give him a biblical name. So he decided on "Chip." As in, "chip off the old block" -- a reference to the oft neglected biblical principle that children's lives are shaped by the spiritual, intellectual and emotional leadership of their fathers. "When I started living for God and then I got married and God blessed me with a son, one of my prayers to God was, 'Let me be the spiritual man in my son's life that I didn't have in my home growing up,'" said Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. "And God honored that." Today Fred "Chip" Luter III is campus pastor at Idlewild Baptist Church's Sulpher Springs campus in Tampa, Fla. Fred Luter Jr., a former Southern Baptist Convention president, is among the Baptist leaders seeking to teach men practically what it means to be the leaders of their homes. "Men are supposed to be, according to Scripture, the provider, the protector and the priest of their family," the elder Luter told Baptist Press. As providers, men are responsible to meet their families' needs financially "no matter how much their wife makes," Luter said. … [Read more...]