New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has honored the life and ministry of Perry R. Sanders, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Lafayette, La., with the naming of the new Perry R. Sanders Center for Ministry Excellence.  NEW ORLEANS (BP)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has honored the life and ministry of Perry R. Sanders, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Lafayette, La., with the naming of the new Perry R. Sanders Center for Ministry Excellence. A host of visitors, including members of Sanders’ family and church, former fellow staff members and Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins, were on hand for a ribbon-cutting at the new center April 11. The Perry R. Sanders Center for Ministry Excellence, located on the west side of the seminary’s Leavell Chapel, will house the seminary’s doctor of ministry and doctor of educational ministry programs. “It was a while back on the old campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary when a young kid showed up and wanted to be a seminary student, and he was told that he was too young to be enrolled in seminary,” NOBTS President Chuck Kelley recounted, That young kid was Sanders, and though he was a year too young to enroll … [Read more...]

Walking down the aisle with a graduation gown on and an inch of red hair peaking from the sides of the cap—no hints of gray—73 year old senior Sue Miller will walk a 56 year journey to grasp the degree she has long awaited for. PINEVILLE – Walking down the aisle with a graduation gown on and an inch of red hair peaking from the sides of the cap—no hints of gray—73 year old senior Sue Miller will walk a 56 year journey to grasp the degree she has long awaited for. Miller has metaphorically worn out dozens of pairs of shoes on her 56-year journey during which she cared for an elderly parent, her husband, as well her three children, all the while serving in the Pineville community and at First Baptist Church of Pineville. Her mother had always talked about coming back to college, but before anything, her family had always been her first priority, said Miller’s daughter, Susan Nixon, office manager to LC President Joe Aguillard. “She talked about it, but she was always so busy,” Nixon said. “My father was a physician, so she was busy raising her kids and her family. She was a caregiver for my grandfather who was sick.” Several years after she began caring for her father, Sue Miller’s husband became ill. She took on his … [Read more...]

The theological and political debate within the Southern Baptist Convention about private prayer languages came to the fore April 27-29 at the “Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit” at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. ARLINGTON, Texas (BP) – The theological and political debate within the Southern Baptist Convention about private prayer languages came to the fore April 27-29 at the “Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit” at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. Pastor Dwight McKissic repeatedly affirmed at the conference his conviction that he has been gifted with a private prayer language. “God just showed up in my prayer closet,” McKissic said April 28 during a panel discussion. “I’ve asked the Lord to explain what I am saying, but as of yet I cannot understand it.” McKissic went on to say that his understanding of private prayer languages was that they were for personal edification and not for public display unless there are interpreters, and then no more than two or three. Bart Barber of First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, presented a case for semi-cessationism, or the belief that some of the gifts (including speaking in tongues) ceased with the early church. Specifically … [Read more...]

Listen. Do you hear it? Want to know what it is? It’s the sound of silence. Listen. Do you hear it? Want to know what it is? It’s the sound of silence. Specifically, it’s the sound of liberal groups not protesting a prayer offered by a Muslim imam that opened a recent session of the Texas legislature. Yusuf Kavakci of the Dallas Central Mosque was invited to open the Senate session with prayer April 4. The imam’s appearance occurred on the Jewish holy day of Passover and just four days prior to the Christian observance of Easter. The imam was invited to pray by Republican state Senator Florence Shapiro of Plano, who happens to be Jewish. Kavakci strode onto the dais in the Texas Senate and prayed. And it was not one of those watered-down, wishy-washy, weak non-sectarian prayers so favored by liberal jurists. No, Kavakci boldly voiced an Islamic prayer. Prior to the prayer, the imam explained what was going to take place. “We will pray by reading from first chapter, opening chapter, Al-Fatiha, from holy Quran, followed by recitation – traditional way of recitation from holy Quran – with an addition.” The content of Kavakci’s prayer is as follows: “In the name of god, Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. All … [Read more...]

Words, according to England’s Lord Chesterfield, are “the dress of thoughts; which should no more be presented in rags, tatters, and dirt, than your person should.” Words, according to England’s Lord Chesterfield, are “the dress of thoughts; which should no more be presented in rags, tatters, and dirt, than your person should.” I find it somewhat satisfying that just days after I wrote a Baptist Press column concerning obscenity in the arts, a radio shock jock was fired for expressing hate and bigotry through words. Not that I want to see any man lose his job, but the media aftermath of Don Imus’ fall has furthered the discussion of artistic expression, with many reexamining the crudeness of that expression. It’s dawning on some that there really is power in language and that we should take care in how we use it. Still, others justify its abuse. And they just happen to be the ones making all the money. Go figure. At times the entertainment industry professes to have an influence on our society, while at other times its members maintain that they only reflect the culture. The truth is, it’s a community that embraces any illustrative conduct, so long as they can say at the end of the day, “Show me the money.” But … [Read more...]

Now that the dust has settled and we have had a chance to absorb the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the constitutional validity of the national ban on partial-birth abortion, we can step back and assess the significance of the court’s decision. Now that the dust has settled and we have had a chance to absorb the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the constitutional validity of the national ban on partial-birth abortion, we can step back and assess the significance of the court’s decision. In the immediate aftermath of the decision, some in the pro-life community hailed it as a huge advance, while others who support abortion decried it as a major setback. Unfortunately, it is neither. At best, this decision represents a small step forward in our long struggle to protect the lives of unborn children. While it is significant that this is a step forward, it would be excessively optimistic to imagine that the Carhart ruling has paved the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. What is clear from the opinion is that the court continues to use the principles of Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey as its benchmarks for measuring the constitutionality of … [Read more...]

Each year Forbes Magazine publishes a list of the richest people in the world. It is interesting to note the variety in this year’s list, from the variety in the types of businesses to the variety of nations in which the wealthy live. Each year Forbes Magazine publishes a list of the richest people in the world. It is interesting to note the variety in this year’s list, from the variety in the types of businesses to the variety of nations in which the wealthy live. But the matter that stands out most is this: The wealthiest among us are self-made billionaires. Their wealth may have come from computer software or insurance investments, manufacturing or entertainment. These self- made wealthy individuals may live in America, Mexico or India, but most of the super-rich are entrepreneurs who grew their financial assets from comparatively little wealth. A corollary to this observation is that the children of the super-rich of previous generations are either no longer on Forbes’s list, or they are much further down the list than in previous years. It seems that inherited wealth tends to dissipate rather than grow. The Rockefellers and Carnegies and Morgans are no longer on the list, which is now dominated by names unknown … [Read more...]

The Feed and Seed Storefront Ministry takes seriously the Great Commission, using what it has to plant gospel seeds in the hearts of DeSoto Parish residents. MANSFIELD – The Feed and Seed Storefront Ministry takes seriously the Great Commission, using what it has to plant gospel seeds in the hearts of DeSoto Parish residents. Established under the sponsorhip of First Baptist Church here in 1991 and originally housed in a feed and seed store, the ministry has since moved to a new location, keeping its visionary name. “It’s a ministry of spiritual food,” said Barbara Lilly, a volunteer pianist/record keeper at the ministry. “The idea is to get [people] to church. It doesn’t matter why they’re coming.Our goal is to get them in to preach to them and to teach them about the gospel.” The first director of the ministry, Robert Peterson, was a Mansfield pharmacist with a heart and soul for the poor, said DOM Lee Dickson. Though he suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease, he continued to serve from a wheelchair before passing away in December 2003. Peterson’s passion ignited those around him with a desire to reach the lost through meeting their needs. In a 2002 interview with the Message, Peterson said the center is another … [Read more...]

Lee Dickson, like Abraham’s Sarah, has laughed in unbelief at a prophetic word, only to see that word come true a few years later, he said. NATCHITOCHES – Lee Dickson, like Abraham’s Sarah, has laughed in unbelief at a prophetic word, only to see that word come true a few years later, he said.  Director of Missions for the DeSoto Association, as well as four others, for 30 years, Dickson had his start in pastoring at Benson Baptist Church in  Converse where he learned much, he said. Once a member shared what turned out to be a prophetic word with him.   “We were painting the building when one of the men standing beside me said, ‘One of these days I’m gonna watch you preach on television,’” Dickson remembered. Though he laughed at the man in unbelief, God caused it to happen six years later, when Dickson went to Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport as associate pastor under Dr. Scott Tatum.  There, he had the opportunity to be televised while preaching, he continued.  “It was a very nice privilege,” he said, and the man who’d made the comment years earlier was quick to call Dickson afterward.  Another time at Benson Baptist, a man drove by the church, Dickson said. After observing the men of the church working … [Read more...]

When Desert Harvest Baptist Church isn’t helping ex-felons, the homeless and teenagers, they’re reaching out in other ways locally and globally. Second in a two-part series of snapshots as to what Southern Baptists across the nation are saying about the Cooperative Program. LAS VEGAS, Nev. (BP) – When Desert Harvest Baptist Church isn’t helping ex-felons, the homeless and teenagers, they’re reaching out in other ways locally and globally. “By giving to the Cooperative Program, we don’t have to be concerned about ‘How do we help?’ We’re already helping,” Pastor William Upchurch Jr. said. “We’re supporting missions, we’re supporting families, we’re supporting disaster relief through the Cooperative Program.” When the predominantly African American church was launched in 1999, Upchurch led the congregation to give 10 percent of its offerings to missions through Cooperative Program, Southern Baptist’s unparalleled way of reaching people and supporting missions across America and around the world. He’s quick to voice a good word about Las Vegas. “I’ve been here 22 years and I just don’t get the sense that this is the seat of Satan,” Upchurch said. “I don’t want to give Satan too much credit. I see the mission of … [Read more...]