Every year, a swash of orange, white and green spans the nation of India on the anniversary of its independence from Britain. DELHI (BP) – Every year, a swash of orange, white and green spans the nation of India on the anniversary of its independence from Britain. The Indian flag is a central part in each year’s Independence Day celebrations. “Flags are everywhere, on bikes, in schools, in shops,” said Muida*, a language teacher in southern India. “Everyone has a flag. There are big banners in the big markets and bazaars, plus the flags.” On the morning of Aug. 15, the nation’s prime minister raises the flag at the ancient Red Fort in Delhi, just as India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, raised it 60 years ago. Around the nation, Indians follow suit. “We still have classes, but we take classes on freedom fighting, said Muzammil, an Indian student. “Then we march in the road with flags. Our parents are invited to attend.” At the very center of India’s tri-color flag is the Gandhi “chokra.” “Gandhi’s symbol is very important,” Muida said. “It is the symbol of a hard worker.” Like the Indian flag that is proudly flown to proclaim independence, Christians across India are flying banners of another kind – … [Read more...]

Various reports: Culture robs young girls of innocence CULTURE TAKES AWAY GIRLS’ INNOCENCE -- Dolls dressed in fishnet stockings, miniskirts and stomach-flaunting tank tops, Care Bear thongs and push-up bras are just some of the items being marketed to girls younger than 12 these days, according to a book by Wendy Shalit promoting a return to modesty in an overtly sexual age. “American popular culture seems determined to obliterate innocence – even in the crib!” syndicated columnist Mona Charen wrote in reference to Shalit’s book, “Girls Gone Mild.” Magazines like Cosmo and Seventeen advise girls to “keep your heart under wraps,” Charen said, because, as the magazines contend, the worst thing a woman can do is express desire for commitment from her sexual partner. Such behavior is “boring and clingy,” the periodical tells young girls. A magazine called Scarleteen offers a “sex readiness checklist” for girls, Charen wrote, that includes “I have a birth control budget of $50 per month” and “I can separate love from sex.” A report released this year by the American Psychological Association coined the term the “sexualization of girls” based on the blaring messages coming from “role models” such as Paris Hilton, Britney … [Read more...]

Before Katrina made landfall on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans (BAGNO) could count some 140 churches and missions. One month later, when we re-entered the area, we were able to identify 35 still operating. Today, two years after this life-changing event, we’re up to 94. Editor’s note: Joe Mc-Keever, author of the www.joemckeever.com blog, is director of missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. The Message asked him to update readers on the current situation in New Orleans. NEW ORLEANS – Before Katrina made landfall on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans (BAGNO) could count some 140 churches and missions. One month later, when we re-entered the area, we were able to identify 35 still operating.  Today, two years after this life-changing event, we’re up to 94. “So, are your churches back to normal and operating?” is the question I field most often. The answer is, “Some are. Some are doing great. Some are gone forever. Some are meeting in someone’s living room or in someone else’s buildings. But all have been affected deeply and are changed forever.” Most of the churches we lost were small congregations or young missions. When the … [Read more...]

What began in 1985 as a class project on storefront ministries became a 22-year commitment to a ministry with lasting results. JONESVILLE – What began in 1985 as a class project on storefront ministries became a 22-year commitment to a ministry with lasting results.   Jenny White, already a veteran school teacher and at that time a seminary student, was researching storefront ministries.  Little did she know that God had more than a passing grade in store for her. Breadcrumb Baptist Center began as an after-school literacy program for children in Jonesville when White realized that the project she had assembled on paper was a workable plan.  Through the support of the Ouachita Baptist Association and Louisiana Baptists, the successful ministry expanded to provide other service ministries, including an adult literacy program.  The venue of the literacy program has proven effective in building relationships with adults whose struggles are not always easy to untangle, but whose lives are being impacted by the mentoring and support of a faithful volunteer staff. When White thinks of lives that have been changed through the ministry of Breadcrumb Baptist Center, a young man whose life was transformed by Christ comes to … [Read more...]

It’s been a long two years in this southern coastal city since being keelhauled by Katrina Aug. 29, 2005. NEW ORLEANS – It’s been a long two years in this southern coastal city since being keelhauled by Katrina Aug. 29, 2005. People here deal on a daily basis with not only changed lives – loss of family, friends, neighborhood, lifestyle – but also unresponsive bureaucracy and ever-more-blatant crime and corruption. An event designed to do much more than just mark the date was set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, at First Baptist Church of New Orleans, where David Crosby is pastor. “I think many people need the encouragement and the hope that comes only with faith in God, and only in prayer,” Crosby said. “The recovery and rebuilding have gone slower than people have expected. There’s some despair and frustration with how things are going, and with this event we’re reminding people that our true hope and strength is in God.” Will Graham – Billy’s grandson; Franklin’s son – was to be guest speaker at what has developed into a 90-minute prayer rally. Like his father and grandfather, Will Graham preaches all over the world through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Lisa Pierre, a Black Gospel singer from … [Read more...]

Do we love one another? Do we love our pastors? Do we genuinely care one for another? Do we care for the lost? Obviously, the list could go on and on, but the question remains, “do we love and care for one another?” Do we love one another? Do we love our pastors? Do we genuinely care one for another? Do we care for the lost? Obviously, the list could go on and on, but the question remains, “do we love and care for one another?” I have been greatly burdened in recent days. Our lost world, our lost continent, hurting churches and hurting pastors are crying out. A few days ago I had the opportunity to share Christ with a young man on an airplane. At that very moment, I had to decide whether to continue writing this article or talk to this young man. Obviously, I put the writing material down and spoke with this young man who is in desperate need of Christ. He, like our world, is looking for authenticity and for love. I point this out because I believe we often are making the wrong choice. Our witness is being diluted and energies expended on other activities, especially on internecine conflict. Church conflict is rampant. Seldom does a day go by that I do not receive a call for help from either a church, a pastor or … [Read more...]

It is a shame that it takes a disaster to bring a community together. It is a shame that it takes a disaster to bring a community together. Through my 42 years of living in hurricane-prone areas – including here in Louisiana – I have found that crisis causes strangers to become friends. People want to tell someone their story. A woman told me about how a group of disaster relief workers, mainly senior adults, came to her home, cleaned it and removed the debris after a hurricane. Suddenly, her neighbors, who had not helped anyone on their block, came out of their houses and started helping one another. She told me these older men and women brought hope from the Lord to her community. God uses committed followers of His to reach out to hurting people. People want and need to share what they are feeling when they go through a natural disaster or any kind of abnormal event. A chaplain once told me, “That which is mentionable, is manageable.” I was able to use the lessons I learned during the crisis of Hurricane Katrina when a tornado struck a nearby community. As I was taking photos and working on an article about the disaster, my heart became heavy for the people picking up the pieces of their lives. I … [Read more...]

Several hundred people each July attend Sunday School Week at Ridgecrest (N.C.) or Glorieta (N.M.) conference centers. STATEWIDE – Several hundred people each July attend Sunday School Week at Ridgecrest (N.C.) or Glorieta (N.M.) conference centers. Attendees at the conference centers owned by the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Christian Resources include potential teachers, first-year teachers, long-time teachers, department directors, Sunday school directors, ministers of education and single-staff pastors. All have different needs related to small group Bible study, which are met in a wide variety of training sessions. “We want to help your Sunday school become more inviting,” says LifeWay’s website,www.lifeway.com/ridgecrest/events. “You will learn how to invigorate your learning environment, incorporate ideas to increase visitor “traffic,” intercede more effectively, invest in people, invite them to come, then involve them in fellowship, ministry and Bible study.” Many people, however, are unable to get away for this week of specialized training, so in August, the training comes to them. Some state conventions have one large training event. Louisiana has six, strategically scattered across the … [Read more...]

Vacation Bible School isn’t the only thing Southern Baptists do in the summer in Louisiana, but it’s the one thing that most churches do. Hebron Baptist did four of them! One at their church, one at Burning Bush in Walker, a congregation they’re helping rebuild, plus two out of state. STATEWIDE – Vacation Bible School isn’t the only thing Southern Baptists do in the summer in Louisiana, but it’s the one thing that most churches do. Hebron Baptist did four of them! One at their church, one at Burning Bush in Walker, a congregation they’re helping rebuild, plus two out of state. The alphabetical VBS report on this page and the next are incomplete, but with 161 churches reporting, out of about 1,600 across the state, a solid picture emerges of the value this summertime evangelistic event is to God’s Kingdom work. In all, 975 people made professions of faith at VBS this summer, in the reporting churches. This was not just children. Reports came in of adult workers and parents reached during Family Night. The largest VBS of the reporting churches was Trinity Lake Charles with an enrollment of 1,426, which included workers. Not far behind Trinity Lake Charles was Calvary Alexandria, with 1,404. Third largest was First … [Read more...]