“I feel fortunate to pastor people who have caught the vision to be what we’re supposed to be as a church,” Pastor Stephen Davis said of First Baptist Church in Russellville, Ark. RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (BP) – “I feel fortunate to pastor people who have caught the vision to be what we’re supposed to be as a church,” Pastor Stephen Davis said of First Baptist Church in Russellville, Ark. This is a body of believers who determined 10 years ago to do everything they could to give themselves away. Davis, who has led the church for 23 years, said, “You’re talking to a guy that is just overwhelmed. I’m just trying to stay out of the way. I watched them get focused and catch hold of the vision. Now I’m watching their kids – their kids are becoming the leaders.” In 1987, before there was an “Acts 1:8 Challenge” in the Southern Baptist Convention, Davis said the church started becoming an Acts 1:8 church. The staff first became convicted that intentional outreach to what Acts 1:8 calls the church’s “Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria” and to “the ends of the earth” was the right thing to do. They began to pray, and then they began to line up opportunities to get their people involved. “People want to have ways to express their … [Read more...]

Louisiana College announced at a press conference Aug. 16 the formation of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law. The first future lawyers are expected to begin classes the fall of 2009. PINEVILLE – Louisiana College announced at a press conference Aug. 16 the formation of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law. The first future lawyers are expected to begin classes the fall of 2009. “I have been asked over and over again, ‘Why a law school?’” LC President Joe Aguillard told the 100 or more people packed into the Granberry Conference Center on the LC campus. “Why a Christian law school?” While the president of Louisiana College answered the question by quoting George Washington, John Adams and John Jay – some of America’s most prominent founding fathers – Congressman Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, La., underscored the need in more practical terms. Judiciary action is causing the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments to be removed from “some of our schools and in their place we are putting metal detectors –  to keep our children from killing each other,” Alexander said. “Are we in trouble?’ One might ask,” he continued. “I fear the answer is yes. Thank you, Dr. Aguillard, for recognizing the need ....” To address … [Read more...]

During the week of July 22-27, Fellowship Baptist Church here was transformed into the Seaside town of Galilee. JENA – During the week of July 22-27, Fellowship Baptist Church here was transformed into the Seaside town of Galilee. No longer were we in Sunday School classrooms but Galilean homes and shops. We saw Jesus on the seashore, feeding with loaves and fishes, calming the storm, teaching us, providing for us, protecting us and loving us. Because of His love for us, 18 decisions were made for Christ, all because we were willing to set aside one week of time known as Vacation Bible School. Yes, we do things here a little different at Fellowship. Workers and children alike dress in biblical costumes. The children are divided into 12 tribes according to age, with Ruben being the Youth and the tribe of Benjamin the Nursery. We have two drama rooms where our Bible story of the day is acted out and the children see Jesus and His disciples. They can ask questions about what they’ve just seen and heard. One of the main things we do differently here at Fellowship during VBS is no crafts. That’s right, No crafts. Yes, that’s the same reaction we got when we first broached the subject. Let’s go back a few years. … [Read more...]

This town has it all going its way. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – This town has it all going its way. The area’s economy is excellent, fueled by technology. Some are calling it the “second Silicon Valley.”  Unemployment is only 2.9 percent.  Retirees are moving there yet the median age in Sioux Falls is just 33 years.  That means they’re having children, productivity is high and individual involvement in the community is high. Business Week puts it in the “Dazzling Dozen” pockets of prosperity in the nation, a “diamond in the rough,” while Ladies’ Home Journal taps it as the third least-stressful city for women.  The state ranks fifth in the nation of students completing high school and sixth for students going on to college. In that booming city of 150,000 (make that 200,000 if you include the surrounding metropolitan area, there are 110 languages spoken by the residents. But there’s one language that’s not spoken nearly enough…the Word of God, according to Clovis Sturdivant, director of missions for Louisiana’s Jackson Baptist Association.  In that great city, there are only 11 Baptist churches and just one is affiliated with Sioux Land Baptist Association, making it Southern Baptist.  It’s Crosspoint Baptist Church … [Read more...]

When Hurricane Katrina reduced the 45-member congregation of a year-old church plant in Slidell to six, members wondered what the future held for them. The week of prayer for Louisiana’s Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering is Sept. 16-23. The state goal is $1.5 million. At least one recipient this past year of the State Missions Offering is to be highlighted every issue leading up to the Week of Prayer, to give you snapshots of your missions offering at work around the state. SLIDELL – When Hurricane Katrina reduced the 45-member congregation of a year-old church plant in Slidell to six, members wondered what the future held for them. But God used the faithfulness of Louisiana Baptists and the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering to confirm in pastor Randy Boyett and his tiny congregation that He (God) would see them through the task of starting over. “It’s a tremendously important offering, and I hope we never lose sight of that,” Boyette said. The 2006 Georgia Barnette allocation enabled Thompson Road Baptist Church to regain its foothold and continue its ministry as families relocated out of flooded areas and into the church’s southwest Slidell part of town. Within months after Katrina, the congregation … [Read more...]

"I’ve been doing child abuse and sexual assault cases for 20 years and I have never seen anything like this,” Sgt. Dan Scott of the Santa Monica sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau told the Los Angeles Times recently. "I’ve been doing child abuse and sexual assault cases for 20 years and I have never seen anything like this,” Sgt. Dan Scott of the Santa Monica sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau told the Los Angeles Times recently. What is it that has so shocked the veteran California police officer? It is the behavior of a man by the name of Jack McClellan. McClellan, according to the Times report, is a pedophile who is forthright and outspoken  about his sexual attraction to little girls. McCellan has appeared on news programs and talk shows to discuss his proclivity. He even had a website (now down) that listed the best places to watch little girls. “Being a pedophile – an adult who is sexually interested in children – is not illegal,” the Times report stated. “Acting on that interest by touching a child for the adult’s sexual gratification is illegal.” As far as authorities are concerned, there is no evidence that McClellan has ever acted upon his perverse desire. The Times reported he “has no arrest or conviction … [Read more...]

The saying goes, “A rose by any other name is a rose,” but I have a corollary I’d like to offer: “You can call a dead fish a rose, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a dead fish.” The saying goes, “A rose by any other name is a rose,” but I have a corollary I’d like to offer: “You can call a dead fish a rose, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a dead fish.” This analogy came to mind  as I caught some recent commercials about shows in ABC Family’s lineup of programming. Two in particular – “Greek” and “Slacker Cats” – seemed to punctuate with an exclamation point ABC Family’s newest tagline, “a new kind of family.” “Greek” is not a docudrama about Aristotle Onassis, but a raunchy series about college life, with gratuitous emphasis on binge drinking and sex combined in an atmosphere of crudities. It portrays the next generation in negative stereotypes, not at all reflective of so many young people whose lives are not one continuous foray into self-gratification. Network officials seem to think nothing says “family” like watching actors depict collegians drinking body shots. Then there is the animated “Slacker Cats.” As I write this, I have only the promotional trailers to judge, but it is clear from ABC … [Read more...]

Drive north from Alexandria on Highway 167 through the piney woods for about an hour and you’ll find yourself in Winnfield. JACKSON BAPTIST ASSOCIATION – Drive north from Alexandria on Highway 167 through the piney woods for about an hour and you’ll find yourself in Winnfield. Another 30 minutes north through more timberland brings you to Jonesboro, population just under 4,000, the largest town in Jackson Parish, population just over 15,000. Not surprisingly, forestry is Jackson’s major industry, with the Smurfit-Stone paper mill in Hodge, Jonesboro’s sister city just to the north, being their largest employer.   “We’re not a rich parish by any stretch of the imagination,” said director of missions Clovis Sturdivant. “The median household income is about $28,000, while the national average is about $42,000. But any time we need something, the 24 Southern Baptist churches in Jackson Baptist Association come through.” “The beauty of the association right now is that every church has a pastor and they are all doing well. The vast majority of them are growing,” said the director. Jackson is holding its 84th annual associational meeting in October. Some 15 of those churches have fulltime pastors, with the remainder served by … [Read more...]

“I could see it in his eyes,” said Russell Evitt, a deacon at First Baptist Williston, N.D. “He got it.” STURGIS, S.D. – “I could see it in his eyes,” said Russell Evitt, a deacon at First Baptist Williston, N.D. “He got it.” What Daniel Buie, a biker from Gardner, Kan., ‘got’ was a heart-level understanding of God’s love for him and His desire to have a relationship with Buie. He got that because Evitt gave a few days out of his life in early August to share his testimony at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. “Russell didn’t tell me anything new,” Buie said, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Others have told me about the same thing, but today – today – he got to me; he connected with me. Today, I got it!” ‘It’ is a life-changing faith in and relationship with God. Evitt was one of about 150 volunteers from across the nation to participate in the second annual Sturgis intentional evangelism event hosted by the Dakota Baptist Convention, in partnership with several state conventions and the North American Mission Board. Buie was one of nearly 900 people to make a profession of faith in God as a result of the volunteers simply sharing, for three minutes each time, their personal stories of the difference God had made in … [Read more...]

Grammy and Dove award-winning vocalist Michael W. Smith is to perform in concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at First Lafayette. Tickets are available by calling 337.233.1412. LAFAYETTE – Grammy and Dove award-winning vocalist Michael W. Smith is to perform in concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at First Lafayette. Tickets are available by calling 337.233.1412. Nationally-known family humorist Charles Petty is to speak at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at the church. “Dr. Petty is known for helping people achieve success in balancing work and family,” reports Dennis Clark, media minister at the church. “He uses humor to help people understand the relationship of family life and job performance.” Often compared with motivational speakers such as Zig Ziglar and Art Linkletter, Petty has spoken humorously of family success principles for 20 years. Petty’s appearance is to conclude a four-week family emphasis at First Lafayette. Susan Emerson is new as principal of First Baptist Christian School, a ministry of First Baptist Lafayette. Enrollment is at an all-time high, Clark reported. Additional Pre-K and Kindergarten classes were added for the 2007-08 school year. Enrollment is still open. FBCS opened in 1985. Emerson is its third … [Read more...]