Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

FIRST PERSON: No, Amendment 2 does not place taxes on churches

By Julie Emerson, Louisiana State Representative, District 39 (Lafayette Parish) and member of FBC Lafayette BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) -- Politics is an increasingly wild and quite unpredictable sport. By now, you’ve likely seen claims that Amendment 2 (on your March 29 ballot) will somehow place property taxes on our churches. This just could not be further from the truth. Amendment 2 does not place any taxes on properties that are currently enjoying exemptions…and certainly not churches. As a third term State Representative and current chairman of the House Committee on Ways & Means (that governs the state’s tax code), I authored four bills in the 2024 tax session—two to make our corporate tax structure more competitive, one that gave us the largest personal income tax reduction Louisiana has seen, and the final to rewrite Article VII of the Constitution, which is Amendment 2 on your March 29 ballot. In drafting House Bill 7 (Amendment 2), the aim was to declutter and strengthen the Louisiana Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is short, concise, to the point. It serves as a framework and a guiding document that has made our country great for almost 250 years. There are no tax exemption protections for churches or … [Read more...]

John 3:16 initiative set for March 16

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – March 16 has been designated as a day for all Louisiana Baptist pastors to preach on John 3:16. The initiative aims to catalyze soul winning across the state and will include an emphasis on prayer leading up to the special day. Louisiana has joined other state Baptist conventions for the effort, which are being coordinated with the North American Mission Board. “A coordinated effort to emphasize evangelism across our state and across our nation on March 16 will prompt us to have an evangelistic focus leading us to Easter on April 20 and Baptism Sunday on April 27,” Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Strategist Kevin Ulmer told the Baptist Message. “This focus will unify our efforts to win the lost both locally as well as nationally and foster our desire to create a culture of evangelism across our state. Think of the impact of thousands of churches across the state and beyond proclaiming the love of God for every sinner and the implications of that truth. My prayer is that this evangelistic catalyst leads to a fruitful time in our state and nation.” Leading up to March 16, Louisiana Baptists will be encouraged to follow a special 16-day prayer … [Read more...]

Newly elected LCU president shares Kingdom vision

By Brian Blackwell, Message staff writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Shortly after his election as the 10th president of Louisiana Christian University Feb. 25, Mark Johnson shared his excitement about fostering partnerships with the community and for the Kingdom. “It's not about me,” Johnson shared with local news media after the conclusion of a press conference on campus. “It's about all of us. And I think that’s what makes me more excited – to bring people together and to get some excitement.” When he officially assumes his role June 1, Johnson said he will embark upon the P3 56 Tour, a series of 100 events in 100 days. Based on Proverbs 3:5-6, the effort will aim to engage the community and promote the university. “Here's my appeal to everyone in the community and in the area,” he said. “Become one of those 100 events. We want you to say, hey, come and meet our school. Come and meet our business. Come and meet our leaders. And we’re trying to generate the kind of buzz that we can fill up these 100 events with events not only on the campus but off the campus as well. “I believe in partnerships,” he said. “We grow with partnerships, and I think we can do something great when we pull that together.” Johnson stressed … [Read more...]

Mark Johnson elected 10th president of Louisiana Christian University.

By Staff, LCMedia PINEVILLE, Louisiana -- The Louisiana Christian University Board of Trustees has approved  Mark Johnson, the current director of the Doctor of Ministry program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, its 10th president, upon recommendation of the presidential search committee. “There have been countless hours of prayer, listening, seeking, reading resumes and other application materials, while asking God to guide this process and have His way,” said Tommy Kiker, chair of the search committee. “With this vote today, approving Mark Johnson as the 10th president in the history of Louisiana Christian University, we believe God has graciously and wonderfully answered those prayers and blessed this labor.” In May 2024, the board of trustees created a presidential search committee comprising four board members and two LCU faculty, assisted by a candidate search consultant. The committee was tasked with conducting its search independently and as transparently as possible while maintaining the confidentiality of the candidates being reviewed. The committee has carried out this mission without external influence, fully trusting God in the process, and maintaining a high level of integrity and confidence in their … [Read more...]

TWO OPINIONS about the Annual Meeting debate regarding culpability for abortions

NOTES (Feb. 24, 2025): The following LETTER TO THE EDITOR and the EDITOR’S RESPONSE originally were published on Feb. 17, 2025, under the title “POINT <== ==> COUNTERPOINT  ‘Abortion: Jail / Don’t Jail The Woman?’ ” In response to Dr. Pourciau’s objection to this wording, the new headline “TWO OPINIONS about the Annual Meeting debate regarding culpability for abortions” was substituted on Feb. 24, 2025. Also, the subheadings “WOMEN ARE CULPABLE FOR ABORTIONS” and “WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE JAILED” were removed, respectively, from the LETTER TO THE EDITOR and the EDITOR’S RESPONSE. The heading “Letter to the Editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message” was part of the letter that was received, and this heading was included when the letter originally was published. In the case of the response, the heading “Editor’s response” was added as a substitute description.  As was the case when first published, the LETTER TO THE EDITOR is published in its entirety as it was received. Except for the new heading, the EDITOR’S RESPONSE remains the same. Nothing was changed in the introductory paragraph. Finally, new artwork was attached so that readers would take a fresh look at the LETTER TO THE EDITOR and EDITOR’S … [Read more...]

ECON 2025: Continue to build a culture of evangelism

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer COVINGTON, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists were en­couraged to reach their friends and family for Christ as part of the continuing effort to create a culture of evangelism within their congregations. during ECON 2025, held in the facilities of First Bap­tist Church, Covington, Jan. 27-28. ECON featured Louisiana Baptist pastors, seminary profes­sors, a women’s ministry leader, vocational evangelists, an evan­gelism vice president from the North American Mission Board, and the president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. The event also included times of worship led by a combined choir (FBC Coving­ton and area churches) as well as Selah, an award-winning Christian contemporary music trio. MIKE COURTNEY Mike Courtney, itinerant evan­gelist in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, reminded Louisiana Bap­tists to be faithful in their call to share the Gospel. “In spite of your failures, keep fishing,” said Courtney, draw­ing from Jesus’ commandment to the disciples to be fishers of men in Luke 5:1-11. “This is a call to faithfulness even when and if we have failed.” He reminded Louisiana Baptists that the passage is an example of … [Read more...]