Prancing around the house in a Mary Lou Retton leotard, a 4-year-old Stephanie Brown Trafton wanted to be just like the gold medal gymnast from the 1984 Olympics. BEIJING (BP) – Prancing around the house in a Mary Lou Retton leotard, a 4-year-old Stephanie Brown Trafton wanted to be just like the gold medal gymnast from the 1984 Olympics. “I think a lot of young girls looked up to her during that Olympic season,” Trafton said. “She was graceful, beautiful and full of energy. I wanted to wear the USA uniform just like her.” At 6-4, Trafton doesn’t bear much physical resemblance to the petite Retton. But her dreams of following Retton to the Olympics came true in Athens in 2004. This year in Beijing, Trafton is again representing her country at the discus competition, which begins Saturday. “I plan on going into the event with a determination to make it onto the medal stand,” said Trafton, a native of Arroyo, Calif. “My first round will be doing just what it takes to make finals. In the final round I will be confident that I have the ability to compete for a medal.” Trafton has more on her mind in Beijing than just the competition. She also is leading a Bible study in Olympic Village for any athletes who want to … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Three years ago, New Orleans residents escaped a city forever changed. Nearly half would leave for good because they had no reason to return after Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge forced Lake Pontchartrain into their streets and living rooms. Those who returned when the city reopened came back to the eerie silence of a city under siege by disaster— a silence interrupted only by the mechanical buzz of construction equipment and military vehicles. “It was like a ghost town,” says Freddie Arnold, a North American Mission Board-supported church planter missionary, who only salvaged some cast-iron cookware and crystal from his own home. “To come back and see all your stuff moved around the house . . . furniture rotting. . .” Even now, the city is still only at half strength. Even as the smooth notes of jazz and tourists fill the French Quarter, places to the north near Lake Pontchartrain will never be the same. Indeed, some parts will never be rebuilt. In parts of the now-infamous Lower Ninth Ward, for instance, all that remain are houseless foundations reclaimed by overgrowth – a state made all the more poignant as alleged corruption siphons off a multi-billion-dollar stream of government – and other aid … [Read more...]

Keith Manuel didn’t join the Evangelism/Church Growth team at the Louisiana Baptist Convention planning to develop a simplified evangelism tool. He already had one. ALEXANDRIA – Keith Manuel didn’t join the Evangelism/Church Growth team at the Louisiana Baptist Convention planning to develop a simplified evangelism tool. He already had one.  Just weeks before Hurricane Katrina keelhauled New Orleans, Calvary Baptist Church in the Algiers neighborhood on the West Bank received its order of 3,000 business cards developed by then-Pastor Manuel. The cards asked, “What does God require for a person to go to heaven?” The answer: PRAY – a promise, a reality, the answer, and you. “It doesn’t get any easier than that,” Manuel said while describing several situations over the last year in which he used what is being rolled out this week as One on One: Evangelism Made Simple.  Plan A had been for the Calvary congregation to incorporate the PRAY gospel presentation into their outreach efforts, but then Katrina came calling. Instead, volunteers, many of whom stayed on Calvary’s sizable parking lot, passed out the cards when they engaged Katrina victims in conversation.  One on One is a cutting-edge yet simple evangelism tool … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA – Do you practice what you preach? It’s a simple question, but Matt Kearns’ audience of youth leaders from across Louisiana was stunned to learn the answer: No! And unfortunately the answer applies to pastors or ministry leaders all over the United States – all over the world. “Matt’s message was very revealing, but sadly it is true,” said LBC Youth Strategist Kevin Boles. “His frankness really hit home with everyone that was here today. I believed he opened some eyes.” Kearns, the director of student ministry in Missouri, was the featured speaker at a day-long forum – the second of two this year – presented by Boles and LBC’s student ministry department. Kearns began the forum by reading this piece of scripture. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? John 5:44 He didn’t follow with a catchy video or eye-popping Power Point presentation. There was no music nor video games, common tools used by youth minsters. There was nothing really, except for a heartfelt message. He stood near a podium – seldom referring to his notes, which at times caused him to get off message – and spoke openly and frankly to the group. And the … [Read more...]

With gasoline prices reaching record highs, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has implemented three initiatives to ease the burden on students and make theological education more accessible. NEW ORLEANS – With gasoline prices reaching record highs, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has implemented three initiatives to ease the burden on students and make theological education more accessible.  The efforts include a new online commuter connection center to aid in establishing carpools, a one-year exemption of the online course restrictions for main campus students, and Wednesday schedule changes. The cost-saving steps are designed to relieve some of the financial strain on commuter students throughout the NOBTS system. “We want to be responsive to our commuter students, whether they are extension center students or students coming to the New Orleans campus,” said NOBTS Provost Steve Lemke. “[The increased fuel cost] is something we are all experiencing, but the burden falls much harder on our commuting students. We want students to know that we are doing all we can to mitigate the dramatic increase in costs that they are experiencing.”  A student with a 100 mile round-trip commute could spend several … [Read more...]

Too often, a youth minister gets caught up trying to fill up a calendar, and it overflows onto his personal life. When this happens both his ministry and his spiritual life suffer for it. ALEXANDRIA – Too often, a youth minister gets caught up trying to fill up a calendar, and it overflows onto his personal life. When this happens both his ministry and his spiritual life suffer for it. What can be done about it? Matt Kearns, director of Student Ministry at the Missouri Baptist Convention, says youth leaders should step back, make an honest evaluation of their walk with the Lord, and get their priorities straight. The featured speaker at the second of two yearly youth ministry forums sponsored by Louisiana Youth Ministry department of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Kearns spoke frankly to a room of youth ministers from across the state. “You are so fortunate because you get to hear from God,” Kearns said. “Unfortunately, you just don’t how to listen. You shouldn’t feel bad, though because you are not alone. It is the same all across the board. “Too often we get lost in the numbers – how many did we have Sunday morning, Sunday evening, or Wednesday evening,” Kearns said. “As a former youth minister, I know I  … [Read more...]

In the days following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation to our part of the world, I began calling on pastors and churches to see who was still in business and who needed our immediate help. At the First Baptist Church of Luling, Pastor Todd Hallman gave a brief tour of his fellowship hall which they had turned into a distribution center, supplying necessities for storm victims. NEW ORLEANS – In the days following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation to our part of the world, I began calling on pastors and churches to see who was still in business and who needed our immediate help. At the First Baptist Church of Luling, Pastor Todd Hallman gave a brief tour of his fellowship hall which they had turned into a distribution center, supplying necessities for storm victims. Volunteers were everywhere and a constant stream of people flowed in and out of the buildings, entering empty-handed and leaving heavily laden. Todd said, “One of our leaders returned from evacuation and saw all this and became indignant. He wanted to know who gave me the authority to turn the church into a distribution center.” He smiled. “I told him it was a no-brainer.” That’s as good an answer as any, and probably all the man needed. Some things do not need … [Read more...]

Friday is the third anniversary of the landfall of our omnipresent storm, Hurricane Katrina, the most powerful storm to strike America since scientists began measuring such calamities. NEW ORLEANS – Friday is the third anniversary of the landfall of our omnipresent storm, Hurricane Katrina, the most powerful storm to strike America since scientists began measuring such calamities. Hurricane Katrina was three times the size of Rita or Andrew or Camille in the sheer energy it generated, lifting the waters of the sea at least 10 feet above sea level for a span of 200 miles. This storm surge, 30 feet high at the midpoint, filled Lake Pontchartrain to unprecedented levels and toppled the walls of the city’s drainage canals at seven different locations. And there you have it – Mother Nature’s swirling gift that just keeps on spinning. Not a day goes by – maybe not even a waking hour – that I don’t somehow encounter this storm in my memory. Driving through Lake-view I see a new home and think, “They didn’t elevate it much. I guess they’re betting on the levees.” I see a vacant lot where a home used to sit and wonder, “Is that family living nearby or still displaced by the storm?” I walk our church parking lot and lament … [Read more...]

“Since 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention has focused on one mission – the Great Commission.” BATON ROUGE – “Since 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention has focused on one mission – the Great Commission.”  With these words, Janie Wise opened a five-minute talk at Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church one recent Sunday on the Cooperative Program, the SBC’s unified plan of giving through which cooperating Southern Baptist churches give a percentage of their undesignated receipts in support of their state convention and SBC missions and ministries. Wise is women’s missions and ministry strategist in the Missions department of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. She is one of more than 30 people trained to make presentations in Louisiana churches about the Cooperative Program. With churches working on their budgets for the next year, this might be a good time to have a Cooperative Program speaker explain how it works, said Michael Stewart, Cooperative Program strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The Cooperative Program is built on a foundation of biblical stewardship, Stewart explained. The first thing to understand is that everything you have comes from God. In a sense, it’s all His. Returning a tithe – a tenth – to … [Read more...]

Looking at their community, Richland Baptist Association knew God had a plan for ministry opportunities in the area. Seeing the physical needs right at their doorstep, Care and Share Ministry in a downtown Rayville storefront was started. RAYVILLE –  Looking at their community, Richland Baptist Association knew God had a plan for ministry opportunities in the area.  Seeing the physical needs right at their doorstep, Care and Share Ministry in a downtown Rayville storefront was started. Thanks to volunteers helping to supply food, clothing and emergency assistance to families in the small agricultural community, within the first year of operation, eleven people made professions of faith in Christ.  “That’s what we strive to do at Care and Share … help people,” Brenda Winburn said. One recipient of the assistance offered through Care and Share ministry is a 90 year old woman. Her husband, now deceased, served many years as a Southern Baptist pastor.  Although her physical disability limits her ability to personally go and receive the help offered at Care and Share she is thankful for the “dear people who work there.  I appreciate everything. It’s a big help to me, it helps me get through life,” she said. When the … [Read more...]