Every February for the last 16 years, duck hunters, deer hunters, coon hunters, and fishermen emerge – minus face paint, camouflage and weapons – from the piney woods that surround this town and converge on First Baptist Church for a feast featuring game of every kind, door prizes to make the most well-equipped outdoorsman salivate, and a speaker who unabashedly shares his love for the outdoors right alongside his love for Jesus Christ. HORNBECK – Every February for the last 16 years, duck hunters, deer hunters, coon hunters, and fishermen emerge – minus face paint, camouflage and weapons – from the piney woods that surround this town and converge on First Baptist Church for a feast featuring game of every kind, door prizes to make the most well-equipped outdoorsman salivate, and a speaker who unabashedly shares his love for the outdoors right alongside his love for Jesus Christ. The 17th annual Wild Game Feast is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 16. Church planners for the event are excited about what God is going to do this year, they said. Last year, at least 450 men and boys attended, with 56 making professions of faith or renewing their walk with Christ. “The heart of the church is to see as many … [Read more...]

Bordered on the west by 1,200 miles (the length of the parish) of Toledo Bend Dam shoreline, and with a sparse population scattered throughout its piney woods, Sabine Parish is a paradise for those who enjoy the outdoors. Editor’s note: The year 2007 marks the 300th anniversary of Baptist associations in America, and to honor this milestone the Message plans to take an up-close look at one of Louisiana’s 48 Baptist associations each week this year, in no particular order. Watch for your association even as you see how God is working through the state’s other associations. SABINE ASSOCIATION – Bordered on the west by 1,200 miles (the length of the parish) of Toledo Bend Dam shoreline, and with a sparse population scattered throughout its piney woods, Sabine Parish is a paradise for those who enjoy the outdoors. People enjoy canoeing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, boating, r.v.-ing, scuba diving, swimming, flower and bird watching, golfing, and more. This is what keeps tourists coming back every year and the more than 23,000 residents sticking around. Toledo Bend Dam, the largest man-made reservoir in the South and the fifth-largest in the nation, is one of the state’s jewels, … [Read more...]

Lee Dickson, Director of Missions for the Sabine Associatin, along with his wife Barbara, have a Great Commission focus. Director of Missions: Lee Dickson. Born: Oct. 1, 1943, Natchitoches, La. Number of years as DOM: Just beginning 30th year. Number of years in ministry: 45. Also a retired colonel, after 38 years, from the Army Reserves. Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accounting, from Northwestern State University; Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1970; Master of Religious Education from SWBTS, 1971. Wife: Barbara (also works at Missions office): Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Nothwestern State University; Religious Education studies at SWBTS. Three children: Linda, 33, lives in Asheville, N.C. She works with special needs children and performs weekly as a folk singer in local venues. John Scott, 31, is married to Rebeccca; they  live in Florien; he works in the oil fields. They have no children. Victor Lee, who joined the military like his father, died in 2004; he was 22. Hobbies: Traveling and photography. Favorite Scripture: Galatians 2:20. Main focus for this association this year: “Getting those … [Read more...]

Douglas seemed to have it all – a wife, children and vibrant ministry. Editor’s note: The following article contains sensitive information. Real identities of Louisiana Baptist pastors and members have been changed for privacy reasons. Douglas seemed to have it all – a wife, children and vibrant ministry. But the Louisiana Baptist pastor had a dark side to his life – an addiction to pornography. It began to develop while Douglas attended high school and college, he said. “What was a common struggle with masturbation became compulsive and eventually led to the use of pornography,” Douglas said. “As technology made pornography more readily accessible, the more intense the bondage became.” Douglas said his addiction caused intolerable pain and shame. He suffered stress, significant financial loss, lack of respect from friends and family, and untold damage to his marriage, bringing the pastor to the brink of divorce. “Perhaps the most painful reality is the pain and shame I heaped upon my children – especially my girls,” Douglas recalled. “The immediate pleasure that it brought does not begin to compare with the pain, shame and misery accompanying it. Eventually it led me to the … [Read more...]

Resources to help men deal with pornography addictions are common, but how should a woman deal with the devastating pain of knowing her husband has been ensnared in one of Satan’s most lethal traps? By Erin Roach Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Resources to help men deal with pornography addictions are common, but how should a woman deal with the devastating pain of knowing her husband has been ensnared in one of Satan’s most lethal traps? Dr. Rebekah Land, a Southern Baptist psychotherapist in private practice in Nashville, Tenn., told Baptist Press that Internet pornography is considered the “crack cocaine” of pornography these days because it’s so addicting and easily accessible. Pastors are not immune to its deceitful allure, tearing apart families every day. “It used to be that if a guy wanted to look at pornography he’d have to go to some seedy, XXX theater and watch awful B-grade or C-grade films,” Land said. But today, the most common pornography users wouldn’t dare go to a theater or creepy bookstore; the average man can be swept up and his marriage shattered without even leaving his office. In this kind of environment, it’s all the more necessary that wives become … [Read more...]

Cardiologist M.L. Godley, chief of staff at the LSU Medical Center in Pineville, made small talk with a camo-clothed lad not yet 3 years old, and to honor the attention, young Devyn Fitt proudly showed the doctor the toy truck he was taking good care of. GLENMORA – Cardiologist M.L. Godley, chief of staff at the LSU Medical Center in Pineville, made small talk with a camo-clothed lad not yet 3 years old, and to honor the attention, young Devyn Fitt proudly showed the doctor the toy truck he was taking good care of. The physician’s body language and gentle touch spoke of his care for the dozen patients he was seeing this dark Thursday night in a 20x40 unmarked wooden building in what seemed to be deep into timber country, even though it was just seven miles off the nearest highway. The time Dr. Godley took with each patient spoke of his concern that they felt their medical needs had been adequately addressed. “I do this as a volunteer, to help people,” Dr. Godley said. “That’s why I became a doctor – to help people.” The prominent cardiologist was volunteering this mid-January Thursday night at the Amiable Medical Clinic, a ministry of Amiable Baptist Church in Rapides Parish, about 30 minutes southwest of … [Read more...]

Giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions topped $58 million for the first time ever in 2006, exceeding last year’s goal by more than $2 million.     TALLADEGA, Ala. (BP) – Giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions topped $58 million for the first time ever in 2006, exceeding last year’s goal by more than $2 million.   Carlos Ferrer, North American Mission Board interim executive vice president for missionary services, shared the news with national and state leaders of Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), gathered for their board meeting at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center in Talladega, Ala.   "Today, we want to express our gratitude to all Southern Baptists who so generously shared their resources with us so even more can go to missions in North America," Ferrer told the group Jan. 15. "In addition, I want to tell our friends at WMU a special thank you for everything you do each year to promote the offering. We know your support is critical to our success."   Ferrer reported that because of the increased offering NAMB will be consulting with state convention partners to put additional missions resources on the field in 2007.   "We want you to … [Read more...]

Rising insurance costs are not news. Insurance refunds are. BATON ROUGE – Rising insurance costs are not news. Insurance refunds are. Last year many individuals and institutions in Louisiana paid a special surcharge on their property insurance. The assessment was to fund the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Program. Churches were not spared the surcharge. This year those individuals and institutions, including most churches, who paid the special surcharges can get them back. The Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is a state-sponsored nonprofit organization that provides property insurance to individuals and institutions who cannot secure property insurance on the open insurance market. These properties are usually “high-risk,” such as those in coastal areas of the state. As a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana Citizens encountered $850 million in charges which created a significant deficit. Louisiana Citizens then levied an assessment on each property insurer doing business in Louisiana as allowed by state law. Most insurance companies then passed on some or all of their assessment to effected individual and commercial policy holders in the form of … [Read more...]

First Baptist here plans to present Last Chance, a multi-media live drama Jan. 28-30, as an evangelical crusade in the community, said pastor Shelby Cowling. HAYNESVILLE – First Baptist here plans to present Last Chance, a multi-media live drama Jan. 28-30, as an evangelical crusade in the community, said pastor Shelby Cowling. The same company that produces Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames – Reality Outreach Ministries;www.realityoutreach.org – now has another drama with which to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last Chance centers on a grandfather’s descendants and their spiritual and eternal values. It is performed with the church congregation as cast members, and includes professional lighting, sound, projectors, screens, visual effects, staging and sets, according to the website. It’s A “PG-13” drama – the website suggests youngsters might be too young for the graphic imagery – that depicts the love of Christ, and the faith and hope of a grandfather in the lives of his family over the course of 20 years. “The audience is challenged over three presentation nights to consider where they will spend eternity, based on the biblical reality of life after death and beyond the grave,” according to the website, which … [Read more...]

A $30 check from a teenager gave Willie Breaux new hope to keep on going. NEW ORLEANS – A $30 check from a teenager gave Willie Breaux new hope to keep on going. Breaux has been pastor of Christian Fellowship Cathedral in East New Orleans since he started it in 1986. Pre-Katrina the church gave out food and clothing in the neighborhood, and had a job training and development program for high school students. But the church God entrusted to him took in 4.5 feet of water after Hurricane Katrina’s onslaught; his home had 10 feet of water and the wind took off all the shingles; his mother’s home had 8.5 feet of water. “Most people go back to deal with one situation; I had to deal with three,” Breaux said. He’d also lost most of his 50-member congregation; those left had overwhelming needs themselves. Toneyell Shropshire was one of his members who relocated; she and her family to Dothan,  Ala. “This is Toneyell sending you a little bit for you and our church,” she wrote him. “I know that it is not much but I just wanted to show you that I believe in you. I know $30 can’t do a lot but I just want to try and help.” That check buoyed him when he needed it, Breaux said. “When the scriptures talk about barren land, … [Read more...]