By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor JERUSALEM – Now that I’ve been to Israel, I wonder why I waited so long.[img_assist|nid=6218|title=Scale model of Jerusalem before its destruction by the Romans in 66 AD|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75] Next time I plan to stay longer and not have such an ambitious agenda. I didn’t realize Israel would be as much a spiritual as it was an historical journey. Next time I want to spend an entire day on the hillside where Jesus gave the sermon on the mount, to ponder with Bible open what He said and why He said it the way He did, to imagine myself one of the crowd of 5,000 clinging so intently to his every word that we don’t even think of food until the disciples begin passing some out.[img_assist|nid=6206|title=With hands bound Jesus walked up these steps on his way to Caiaphas|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100] Next time I want to “watch with Him” one entire hour in the Garden of Gethsemane. And, okay. To be totally honest, next time I want to get slathered with Dead Sea mud. Don’t ask me why. I guess because it’s just part of the adventure![img_assist|nid=6207|title=One of the possible crucifixion sites of … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer ‘Give honor to whom honor is due.’ – Romans (13:7 NASB) OIL CITY – Deserving or not, Chad Mills didn’t want to leave his mother’s side last November to receive an award, even if it was for “Small Church Pastor of the Year for 2008.” His mother Sharon was dying.[img_assist|nid=6222|title=Chad Mills receives Small Church Pastor of the Year Award from Eddie DeHondt|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75] Diagnosed with lung, bone and liver cancer on Oct. 27, her health was deteriorating as the cancer spread quickly. Mills, pastor of First Baptist Oil City since October 2007, moved his mother from Natchitoches to Oil City to better care for her. Within a couple of weeks, he was forced to move her to a hospice. Added to his burden were his pastoral duties as well as his responsibilities as vice president of the rapidly approaching Pastor’s Conference. “It was a very tough time for me. I felt overwhelmed and I struggled with it all on a daily basis,” Mills said. “I was very close to my mother and I did not want to leave her side for any reason.” Therefore, when Gary Mitchell, the LBC’s Smaller Church Consultant for the Pastoral Leadership Team called to inform him of … [Read more...]

By Diana Chandler, Regional Reporter LAKE CHARLES – “Very evangelistic,” is how Alan Weishampel describes East Ridge Baptist Church, a congregation quick to minister at festivals, parades and various special events. Yet, he laments the fact that his approximately 120 mostly white active members haven’t been able to permanently attract the people who live in their increasingly African-American neighborhood.[img_assist|nid=6224|title=Workers pour foundation for East Ridge Baptist Church|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=76] Instead, East Ridge Baptist Church is moving to the outskirts of town and attempting to sell its existing facility to an African-American congregation. “We were saddened by it, but we had to deal with the reality of it,” Weishampel said. “We haven’t been able to reach our real neighborhood.” The difficulty of reaching a changing demographic is one of the reasons East Ridge is building a new facility at 5400 Hwy. 397 in a developing, mostly white area of Lake Charles where there are no churches. Two years ago, East Ridge met with the pastors of several African-American congregations and concluded the area could best be evangelized by people of the same culture. “In a way, it’s kind of … [Read more...]

By T. Preston Pearce, Missionary-in-residence Louisiana College Editor’s Note: All Scripture references are from HCSB unless otherwise noted. The second section of Article VI of the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) says: All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. [img_assist|nid=6226|title=Cord of three strands stands for eternal security, peservance and assurance|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. This statement reflects what I have long believed that Scripture teaches, and what I had thought was a near-universal belief among Baptists around the world. When our family began serving in Eastern Europe in 1994, however, we were surprised to encounter the typical Eastern European Baptist belief in both their confessions (that is, their “BFM”) and in preaching, that salvation can be … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, Ph.D NOBTS Professor of New Testament and Greek Question: What is the importance of Palm Sunday and what was the chronology of that week? [img_assist|nid=6120|title=Bill Warren NOBTS Professor of New Testament and Greek|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100]Bill Warren responds: As the start of Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ ministry before the crucifixion and resurrection, Palm Sunday marks the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. But it is more than just the entry story, for some events in the life of Jesus are “parabolic” events. They are not parables in the sense of stories like the Good Samaritan, but rather are events that carry meanings beyond the physical event itself, much like the “sign” miracles in John (i.e., the wedding at Cana). In the Synoptic Gospels, such events are marked with indications in the text about a larger meaning, like with the triumphal entry. With this in mind, the triumphal entry is a street play that communicates that the king has come into his own city. Jesus had already walked all the way from Galilee to the Mount of Olives, so he could have walked the last downhill distance without any problem at all, but instead he rides down on a colt, like a … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message LAKE CHARLES – Two years from conception to grand opening, TK’s Place opened recently at Trinity Baptist Church. [img_assist|nid=6230|title=Check in desk at Trinity Baptist Church s TKs Place is shaped like a boat and offers computerized check-in stations|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]TK’s Place – Trinity Kids Place – is a 37,000 square-foot, two-story structure that features an IMAX-type worship theater stretching 20 feet high and 50 feet wide, plus much more. “It’s designed for children from birth through fifth grade and offers something for everyone in that age range,” said Evan Dickson, children’s minister. “We built it for families in the community. There truly is nothing like it in southwest Louisiana. “The bottom floor is like you’re at the beach; the second floor is like you’re in the air,” Dickson continued. “A theme-ing company came in and did all this. The second floor of the existing building is like you’re in an aquarium.” The facility also includes 21 classrooms, a 400-seat worship theatre and a missions wall leading into it, that shows the youngsters how the money they give for missions is used. The $6.9 million cost of the building is more than half paid … [Read more...]

Compiled by Joanne Brechtel NEEDED Part-time youth minister at Wallace Baptist Church; send resume to Wallace Baptist Church, 4209 Hwy. 177, Pelican, LA 71063; Attn: Youth Minister Search; Jeff Jinks, pastor. ANNIVERSARIES BOSSIER CITY – Barksdale Baptist: 70th Anniversary 3 p.m. Saturday, April 17; Brad Mount in concert 7 p.m. Saturday, April 17. REVIVALS DERIDDER – Ludington Baptist: 10:45 a.m. Sunday, April 4; 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, April 5 – 7; Keith Manuel, evangelist; Mark Lanier, music; Lonnie Cleveland, pastor. CLAYTON – Faith Baptist: 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 12 through Friday, April 16; Ron Tarver, evangelist; Pat and Roy Doty, music; Brent Bemont, pastor. RINGGOLD – First Baptist: 6 p.m. Sunday, April 18; 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, David Hanna, evangelist; Blake Brothers, music; Ronnie Osborne, pastor. NATALBANY – Natalbany Baptist: 10:15 a.m. Sunday, April 11 Lonnie Wascom, speaker; Natalbany Praise Team, music; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 11. Kevin Dunn, speaker; Eagle Heights Praise Team, music; 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 12. Pete Charpentier, speaker; Woodland Park Praise Team, music; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13. Marvin Poole, speaker; Souls Harbor Praise Team, music; 6:30 p.m. … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE – Louisiana College is experiencing a very busy spring schedule. During our Easter/Spring break, many of our students and faculty will be going on mission trips and sharing the Gospel with the world. Fred Guilbert and The Louisiana College Chorale will be going to Taiwan for twelve days where they and faculty will be singing and sharing Christ to elementary/secondary students, nursing homes, national colleges and universities, local churches, and other groups. [img_assist|nid=6234|title=Career Fair at LC|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]Meanwhile, Brandon Robin will lead another group of students and faculty to Turkey where they will be sharing Christ in inner cities as well as rural areas. Altogether more than 75 LC students and faculty will be on the mission fields during this time! Our new academic programs are bringing new opportunities for students and faculty. The new Physical Therapy Assistant program will graduate its first class this Spring and the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program will graduate its first class this next fall. Spring always brings with it much excitement in our spring sports. Our women’s basketball team made history when they won the American … [Read more...]

By Mark Kelly, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Penetrating the lostness of North America will require a shift in strategy – how Southern Baptist Convention missionaries and money are distributed across the continent, members of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force told associational directors of missions in a March 16 conference call. [img_assist|nid=6236|title=GCRTF conference call to associational directors of missions|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=66] The Network of Baptist Associations, which represents 370 of 1,100 Southern Baptist local church associations, hosted the panel discussion in which task force members responded to questions submitted in advance by conference call participants. The host for the call was Bobby Gilstrap, director of missions for the Huron and Southeastern Baptist associations in Michigan. Call participants did not have the opportunity to ask questions during the discussion. The task force, which is charged with finding ways for Southern Baptists to be more effective in sharing the Gospel with a lost world, released a “progress report” on its work Feb. 22. How the recommendations envisioned by that report would affect the denomination’s current structure became … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) – Chris Crain, a pastor in his mid-30s, was called six years ago to his first full-time senior pastorate. It was at a declining church in a transitioning community. By “sticking to the basics,” he has seen a revitalization in South Roebuck Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., and the launch of a second campus, North Valley, 18 miles away. [img_assist|nid=6238|title=South Roebuck Baptist Church|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75] An early learning center has been opened and another one re-established. All the while, the church has maintained its longtime commitment to missions through the Cooperative Program, the Southern Baptist Convention’s method of supporting missions and ministries of state conventions and of the SBC nationally and internationally. “I interview missionaries on my Sunday platform in ‘prime time,’” Crain said. “Missionaries should not be relegated to evening services if we are serious about raising up a new generation of missionaries. “The younger generation wants to do something, not sit in a room and look at a prayer map,” Crain said. “Mission opportunities light fires of interest.” A missionary residence at the South … [Read more...]