By Wayne Taylor & Jerry Love, Louisiana Baptist Foundation As usual the title given to a bill recently passed by congress doesn’t reflect what the legislation actually does. Most of the provisions in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 don’t apply to all American taxpayers; most of the provisions apply to upper income earners. The new legislation also provides very little relief to taxpayers.  It wasn’t even passed or signed in 2012. Neverthe-less, it is a legislative act and must be dealt with. The Louisiana Baptist Foundation assists individuals with gifts that benefit Baptist churches and Baptist ministries in Louisiana and worldwide. As part of our service to Louisiana Baptists we attempt to stay current and provide information on changes in the tax code in general, especially how it impacts charitable giving. Here is a summary of the good, the bad and the ugly of the so-called American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.   The Good n The IRA Charitable Rollover was renewed through 2013. This reinstates the ability for individuals age 70 ½ and above to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) up to $100k directly from an IRA to a charitable organization (other stipulations also apply). A … [Read more...]

By Albert Mohler Jr., President Southern Baptist Theological Seminary A new chapter in America’s moral revolution came recently as Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio withdrew from giving the benediction at President Obama’s second inaugural ceremony. In a statement released to the White House and the Presidential Inaugural Committee, Giglio said he withdrew because of the furor that emerged Jan. 9 after a liberal watchdog group revealed that almost 20 years ago he had preached a sermon in which he had stated that homosexuality is a sin and that the “only way out of a homosexual lifestyle ... is through the healing power of Jesus.” In other words, a Christian pastor has been effectively disinvited from delivering an inaugural prayer because he believes and teaches Christian truth. The fact that Giglio was actually disinvited was made clear in a statement from Addie Whisenant of the Presidential Inaugural Committee: “We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection, and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural. “Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver the benediction in large part because of his leadership in combating human … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey, LBC President and Pastor of First Baptist Church Covington With President Barack Obama’s inauguration complete and the second four years of his administration officially begun, what can Christians and the church expect over the next 48 months? While we don’t know the specific answer in many areas like who will fill vacant cabinet positions and what policies will be emphasized, we do know what we have seen over the last four years. I understand people can change, and I certainly hope and pray for change in President Obama, his world-view and political philosophy. I also know that the best predictor of the future is the past. Based on this truism, I believe we can expect a continuation of policies that are antagonistic to the church. First, we can expect an erosion of the First Amendment right of the freedom of religion. We have already seen an emphasis on freedom of worship rather than freedom of religion. Freedom of worship is vastly different from freedom of religion. Freedom of worship means we have freedom within the confines of our worship services and homes but we do not have freedom in public forums. Yesterday I read an article about a mother explaining why she is raising her … [Read more...]

By Rex Butler, NOBTS “Costly grace ... is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life…. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘Ye were bought at a price’, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship). Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a disciple of Jesus Christ, and the cost of his discipleship was his life – not only at the end of his life, when he was hung as a conspirator in the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler, but also throughout his life, as he gave himself to his family and friends and to the true church. Dietrich was born on February 4, 1906, one of eight children in an intellectual, talented, but only nominally religious family in Germany. Dietrich surprised everyone when he decided at age 14 to become a theologian and pastor. At the University of Berlin, he studied under liberal theologians, but he also came under the influence of Karl Barth, who criticized liberal theology for its irrelevance to the church. Even while being trained in theology, Bonhoeffer’s heart was always in the … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, NOBTS Question: What are the differences in the words “sheol,” “hades,” and “gehenna” in the Bible? Bill Warren responds: The word sheol is a transliteration of the Hebrew term used in the Old Testament rather than a translation of that term. Likewise, the word hades is a Greek term that is transliterated into English rather than being translated. So what do these two terms mean and what do they have in common? In the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, normally hades is used to translate the Hebrew term sheol, with the primary meaning being the abode of the dead. The emphasis could be positive, negative, or neutral, so this is not actually a term for “hell.” For example, David says in Psalms18:5 that God delivered him, noting: The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. Sheol and death are being used as parallels, with sheol referring to the abode of the dead. Only the context can show when sheol and hades refer to a specifically negative place where the evil suffer punishment since the terms themselves don’t require a negative emphasis. Gehenna, however, is definitely a negative term used to refer to a place of judgment and … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Thu, 01/31/2013 - 09:26 Grace Baptist Church bivocational pastor Ricky Baker days – and evenings – can be quite full and very different. By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director MONROE – Ricky Baker’s full-time job as a financial program manager at ARCO, A Community Resource, may end at 4:30 p.m. but many times his day has just begun. Each day is different for this bivocational pastor at Grace Baptist in Monroe. One day he might conduct a funeral in the afternoon and that evening visit with a church member undergoing surgery at the local hospital. The next day Baker may spend his lunch hour visiting several sick church members and that evening could drop in on a prospect who visited the church the Sunday prior, before preparing for his sermon soon after. But Baker doesn’t see the extra work as a burden. He sees it as a high calling that he wouldn’t think twice from stepping aside as a bi-vocational pastor. “I love to be with my people,” Baker said. “Never did I see myself as a bi-vocational pastor before coming here. But God changed my heart and I’m so thankful He did.” A native of West Monroe, Baker felt the call to ministry at age 14 while attending a youth camp … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Thu, 01/31/2013 - 09:30 This is an artist’s conception of the $1.5 million Georgia Barnette Baptist Conference Center, which is to be located at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth. By Staff, Baptist Message STATEWIDE – Edith Kirkpatrick, 94, made the first donation earlier this year for the $1.5 million Georgia Barnette Baptist Conference Center, to be located at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center. Kirkpatrick was Louisiana WMU president from 1960-63. She’s the oldest living WMU president. “We’ve got to have it,” she said to her son when she called to tell him to write a check for her, said John Hebert, missions director for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The need for the 8,400 square foot building was made clear by a recent poll taken in southern Louisiana, Hebert said at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, in a called gathering of WMU members from throughout central Louisiana. Hebert made the same presentation at seven locations across the state. The poll showed at least 58 percent of South Louisiana residents responded positively to Baptists coming to their door to invite them to church, and among a clear majority of residents, 64 percent … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director PINEVILLE – The key to the very best in life is to do everything with the goal of making God smile, said Eric Thomas to 1,169 pre-teens and their leaders at the mid-January Pre-Teen Invasion. Those who take a step of faith must keep in mind three points when faced with the decision of whether or not to “make the leap” and follow God on faith, Thomas said. • Doing so involves a risk. “Taking a chance is not always fun but is necessary when God commands it,” Thomas said. “We don’t know where we’re going but we know it’s what God wants us to do,” he said. • Could result in tasting the good God offers. “We all need to pay the price, to make God smile,” Thomas said. “We need to take the risk to be different, to show others that this God stuff is for real.” • Involves sharing what God offers. “God does not give me the good so I can keep it for myself,” Thomas said. “He gives me the good so I can share it with others.” Youngsters from 86 churches heard Thomas’ message at the third annual Pre-Teen Invasion, a Cooperative Program-funded ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The event for fourth-through-sixth graders in LC’s Guinn Auditorium featured games led by Oklahoma … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Thu, 01/31/2013 - 09:34 Joe McKeever, chair of GMM’s debt retirement drive, John Vandercook, founder of Global Maritime Ministries in 1963, Philip Vandercook, GMM executive director, and Larry Pridmore, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Mansfield, prepare to shred a copy of the “Paid In Full” mortgage as a result of Southside Mansfield’s $254,924.19 gift. By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – God’s answer was bigger and came earlier than Joe McKeever, debt retirement campaign chair, and team members dared hope for. An unexpected check at Christmas for more than $250,000 cleared Global Maritime Ministries’ building loan debt and met an ambitious goal a full year ahead of campaign schedule. “We are now debt-free,” Philip Vandercook, executive director, said in a surprise announcement at the ministry’s annual meeting recently in New Orleans. Global Maritime Ministries staff and volunteers contacted more than 16,000 seafarers from 120 nations last year at the ministry’s centers at the Port of New Orleans and at the Port of South Louisiana in Reserve, distributing more than 1,200 Bibles in seafarers’ native languages and recording 11 professions of … [Read more...]

By Karen Willoughby, Managing EditorPINEVILLE – Hope was the theme, though suicide and abortion were the topics discussed at the first chapel of the semester at Louisiana College on Jan. 18.   “You are the hope for our lives,” adapted from Romans 8:24-25, was repeated in the worship led by Andy Jordan and the LC Praise Band, in special music presented by Ryan Hess and Juliana Andy, and by a very personal testimony by LC President Joe Aguillard, as well as the chapel service’s special guests. Following a concise sketch of his academic and professional prowess and entertaining slides from “thereifixedit.com,” Aguillard said, “Jesus Christ is the only hope. It’s not in duct tape and it’s not in diplomas.” He couldn’t fix it when his daughter Julie tried to kill herself not once, but four times, he said. “No daddy can fix what only God can do,” Aguillard said. He encouraged his listeners in Guinn Auditorium on the LC campus to “find your hope in Jesus Christ.” Then Julie Aguillard – today a registered nurse in Shreveport – spoke. “Nothing was ever enough,” she said about her life as a teenager. “I always felt ‘less than.’ … I didn’t want you to see what I saw on the inside.” She tried liquor, cocaine, meth, … [Read more...]