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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Seekers swarm the internet

Victoria Shephard was a journalism major living in the San Francisco Bay area. Even though she was interested in religious things, she wasn’t committed to any religion in particular. Editor’s note: www.gostudent.com is a website sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. Victoria Shephard was a journalism major living in the San Francisco Bay area. Even though she was interested in religious things, she wasn’t committed to any religion in particular. “In January of 1996, I was praying for a friend of mine,” she remembers. “I decided to pray to his god, not mine. At the end of the prayer I asked God to reveal Himself to me.” The true God did choose to reveal Himself – online. One day Victoria came across a Christian newsgroup. After hanging around there for awhile, she asked the following question: “Just an informal question for y’all. In 100 words or less, why are you a Christian instead of something else? Why do you believe?” Of the many responses she got, one caught her eye. It was a succinct reply from Charles Scott, a guy living in British Columbia. And at the end of his reply he wrote, “Out of curiosity, why are you a pagan?” As they began to e-mail back and forth, she … [Read more...]

Chaplain spreads gospel via Internet

Bill Tober shares the gospel with thousands of people each year, including Muslims, Hindus, and atheists – without ever leaving his home. ADAMS, Tenn. – Bill Tober shares the gospel with thousands of people each year, including Muslims, Hindus, and atheists – without ever leaving his home. Tober is an “Internet chaplain,” fully endorsed by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, based in Alpharetta, Ga. The offerings and gifts you give your church help support missions through the Cooperative Program across North America through NAMB, and throughout the rest of the world through the International Mission Board. The Internet is the “new frontier in missions,” the cyber-chaplain says. While many senior adults shy away from the computer, Tober, who will be 75 in September, embraces the computer and the ministry opportunities it presents. Following retirement from the naval chaplaincy in 1992, Tober and his wife, Sally, moved to her homeplace in Adams, Tenn. While doing supply preaching in area churches, Tober began exploring the Internet, and quite frankly, he says, did not like what he was seeing, even in the early days. “I began going into chatrooms and saw them for what they were,” Tober related. … [Read more...]

NOBTS Homecoming celebrates God’s goodness, grace

Sunlight and shade paint tree-lined Seminary Place, the main artery through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Faculty members tend to their yards. Down the road, the children of students slide and swing on the playground. Red brick and green grass make it seem as though nothing was ever out of place. NEW ORLEANS -- Sunlight and shade paint tree-lined Seminary Place, the main artery through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Faculty members tend to their yards. Down the road, the children of students slide and swing on the playground. Red brick and green grass make it seem as though nothing was ever out of place. Members of the seminary family like doctoral student Billy Puckett know better. Puckett, 32, of Or-ange, Texas, returned to campus after Hurricane Katrina hit to find a lifeless campus of downed trees, mud, muck and mold. “It was as if you were in a black-and-white world,” Puckett said. “It was colorless. “There was gray mud and dirt all over campus. We didn’t see life anywhere.” And now? “There’s life. There’s color. You hear children laughing on the playground. There’s life here. I can walk out on my balcony and see it every day.” That long road to recovery, which seminary … [Read more...]

New doctor of philosophy approach receives approval at NOBTS

The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) approved an initiative by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to allow a modified residency requirement for the Christian education major of the doctor of philosophy degree. NEW ORLEANS -- The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) approved an initiative by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to allow a modified residency requirement for the Christian education major of the doctor of philosophy degree. The one-of-a-kind pilot project for a new delivery system in the seminary’s doctor of philosophy program opens the program to students who live farther away from campus. For now, the “modified presence” pilot will only be available in the Christian education major. In the past, students were required to meet on the main campus each week for their courses. The weekly class time limited the program to those students living on campus or within a reasonable commuting distance of New Orleans. Instead of weekly on-campus meetings, the new pilot project allows students to meet on weekends periodically spaced through the semester. This change will allow students serving in full-time ministries … [Read more...]

Unlimited Partnerships offer hands-on ministry experience for NOBTS students

With buildings battered and congregations scattered, pastors in post-Katrina New Orleans were worn out. NEW ORLEANS -- With buildings battered and congregations scattered, pastors in post-Katrina New Orleans were worn out. “There were pastors living in trailers, half their congregation gone, devastated, discouraged.” said Bill Taylor, former director of Network Partnerships of LifeWay Church Resources, who serves as a consultant to the North American Mission Board. “They had problems with insurance. They couldn’t handle it. They needed somebody to help all the time.” From the heartbreak of Katrina came the spark of an idea. Initially, the plan was to bring in Christian educators to help on a short-term basis, Taylor said. But the problems were just too large. And the beleaguered churches were in no position to pay staffers. The formula was simple: Seminary students, plus sponsoring churches or associations, plus churches in need. The end result? Practical experience for students, and bruised churches revitalized; better known as the Unlimited Partnerships – New Orleans. The project is a joint effort of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), the Louisiana Baptist Convention, the Baptist Association of … [Read more...]

‘Being Jesus’ works

From writing letters of encouragement and completing construction and cleaning projects to volunteering at local ministries, raising money, and throwing parties, members at North Monroe Baptist here have been fulfilling God’s purposes for them together. MONROE – From writing letters of encouragement and completing construction and cleaning projects to volunteering at local ministries, raising money, and throwing parties, members at North Monroe Baptist here have been fulfilling God’s purposes for them together. As part of their 40 Days of Community Campaign April 22 through June 3 — a program from Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. — about 600 members at North Monroe participated in a slew of mission and ministry projects in their community, resulting in both practical and spiritual rewards, said Pastor Bill Dye. “When you go out and serve people in the spirit and nature of the Lord, your focus may not be evangelism, but it’s a by-product,” he added. “Not only were people’s lives changed physically, but people came to the Lord. “Adults that normally you would never consider to be servants were out there doing real servant- oriented things,” Dye continued. North Monroe Baptist, like many other churches across … [Read more...]

BaptistBiz.com creates Kingdom connections

There’s a new business in town, and its owners have missions and community-building on their mind. PINEVILLE – There’s a new business in town, and its owners have missions and community-building on their mind. It’s an online business directory – www.BaptistBiz.com – listing Baptist-owned businesses or those that employ Baptists. It’s a mechanism that connects Baptists in need of services or products with Baptists in their own churches and elsewhere who can provide those services or products. “We really wanted this to help connect new or potential new members to the local church family,” said cofounder Dale Lingenfelter. “Imagine a new member moving into the area. What better way to get them plugged in than to help them find a fellow church member who is a real estate person, or attorney, for closing on their new house, or maybe a family doctor or dentist. … “BaptistBiz also helps the existing church members find what they need, and hopefully the businesses are tithing, all of which brings more money into the church for missions and ministry,” Lingenfelter continued. “We believe God has given this [idea for this    business] to us, and our desire is to make a kingdom difference.”   Brand new, but already BaptistBiz … [Read more...]

LC hosts wellness expo

The Louisiana Athletic Club is Louisiana College’s building – it’s the James and Mary Baker Health and Wellness Center situated at the far south end of the campus – but the workers are employed by Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital. PINEVILLE – The Louisiana Athletic Club is Louisiana College’s building – it’s the James and Mary Baker Health and Wellness Center situated at the far south end of the campus – but the workers are employed by Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital. Some say the joint venture provides the best fitness center in central Louisiana. The facility, which was first opened to the public in 2001, hosted its annual Health and Wellness Expo June 25. “The big advantage is that we are backed by two solid institutions,” said Sherman Fookes, general manager of the Louisiana Athletic Club. “That allows us access to professors, doctors and nurses for community education. That’s something we’re moving toward.” The late-June Expo provided an opportunity for area residents to meet health professionals and get preliminary wellness screenings, as well as a tour of the clean and spacious facility. Among the exhibitors at the Health and Wellness Expo 2007 were Alexandria Spine and Rehabilitation Center, … [Read more...]

Ominous precedent on the horizon?

Have we reached the point that a Christian who affirms traditional church teachings cannot be appointed to public office? Have we reached the point that a Christian who affirms traditional church teachings cannot be appointed to public office? The case of Dr. James Wilson Holsinger Jr. now raises that question. President George W. Bush has nominated Dr. Holsinger to be the next Surgeon General of the United States. As a physician, Dr. Holsinger is unusually qualified for the position. He holds a medical degree from Duke University, where he also earned a Ph.D. in anatomy and physiology. He also holds graduate degrees in hospital administration and biblical studies. He has served as medical director for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, an agency he served for 25 years. He also served for 31 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he received numerous citations and retired at the rank of major general. Beyond these qualifications, he served as chancellor of the University of Kentucky Medical Center. He later served as secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for Kentucky. By any measure, Dr. Holsinger is one of the most qualified physicians in the United States. So, why are so many people – … [Read more...]

The Alamo: A somber symbol for the church

One of the joys of attending the Southern Baptist Convention is the opportunity it affords of renewing old acquaintances and establishing new friendships. While in San Antonio for last week’s annual meeting of the Convention, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Daniel Sanchez, a professor of missions at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, who is a native of San Antonio. One of the joys of attending the Southern Baptist Convention is the opportunity it affords of renewing old acquaintances and establishing new friendships. While in San Antonio for last week’s annual meeting of the Convention, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Daniel Sanchez, a professor of missions at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, who is a native of San Antonio. One day Dr. Sanchez and I were discussing the Alamo, which is situated only a few blocks from the Henry B. Gonzales Convention where we were meeting. He said, “You know, The Alamo was once a church, then a battlefield; now, it is a museum.” His comments inspired me, and I thought, “This is the perfect outline for a sermon – or an editorial.” The Alamo – a Church The Alamo was originally a Catholic church, named Mision San Antonio de Valero. The mission was authorized in 1716 by the … [Read more...]