J. Alan Miller, director of the LBC Pastoral Leadership Team, has accepted the call as senior pastor of Monroe, First, effective Feb. 1. ALEXANDRIA—J. Alan Miller, director of the LBC Pastoral Leadership Team, has accepted the call as senior pastor of Monroe, First, effective Feb. 1.   "I look forward to returning to the local pastorate. I believe God is giving me the opportunity to put into practice all that I have learned during my life as a pastor’s son, pastor and convention leader. I trust I will be a much more effective pastor," said Miller. "I am honored that First Baptist Church, Monroe, with its rich heritage and bright future, has called me and my family to serve them .…"   Miller served the Louisiana Baptist Convention for five years. Prior to his state convention service, he served three years as director of missions for the Winnsboro area. He is a 1986 graduate of Louisiana College. Other degrees: MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, and DMin from the Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, Birmingham, Ala.   Sandy, Miller’s wife of 20 years, is from Monroe, a graduate of Ouachita High, Louisiana College and University of Louisiana at Monroe. The Millers have three … [Read more...]

LONGVILLE – A new LIFE class on Daniel started at 5 p.m. Jan. 14 at First Baptist. A youth conference with Mark McConkey is set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 20-21. Childrens church for youngsters from 5 years old through the fifth grade called ROCK – Reading Our Community’s Kids – is to start at 10:45 a.m. Jan. 21 in the Family Life Center.Stuart Graves is pastor. WEST MONROE – Ridge Avenue Baptist is gathering a transitional team of about 50 people who are to meet for two hours each of six Sunday afternoons to help guide the church through the transition between pastors.John Yeats is transitional pastor. The Disciple Now student ministry weekend is set for Jan. 19-21. Financial Peace University is to start in mid-January.   JONESBORO – First Baptist’s mission trip to Church Point, La., has been postponed. Biblical teaching fromDouglas Fields on Wednesdays from Jan. 10 through April 4 is designed to "change the way you think, live and worship," according to the church newsletter. Youth Shockwave was to be Sunday evening, Jan. 14. Winter Bible study is set for Sunday evenings in February. Charles Wesley is pastor.   ALEXANDRIA – Calvary Baptist is studying John’s Letters Sunday evenings in January. Foundations … [Read more...]

Staff changes Sherry Wilson, new minister to preschool and children at First Baptist Baton Rouge. Burn Page is pastor. Alan Miller, new pastor at First Baptist, Monroe. Miller was director of pastoral ministries at Louisiana Baptist Convention for five years. Kim Bearden, new singles minister at North Monroe Baptist. Bill Dye is pastor. Al Duncan, church administrator at First Baptist Bastrop, after five months as interim. Jim Ingram is pastor. Seeking staff First Baptist Hornbeck seeks a music/youth pastor. Send resume to FBC Hornbeck, Ministry Position, PO Box 130 Hornbeck 71439 or email ttbjus@yahoo.com. Ordinations Larry Taylor to the gospel ministry, 5 p.m. Jan. 21 at Calvary Baptist, Gardner. Michael McIntosh, pastor. Phil Morrow to the deacon ministry, Jan. 7 at First Baptist Bastrop. Jim Ingram, pastor. Charles Moore to the deacon ministry, Jan. 7 at First Baptist Bastrop. Jim Ingram, pastor. Available to serve Terry Horowitz is available as supply/interim/as needed. Horowitz, a converted Jew, is employed as assistant principal at Phoenix Magnet Elementary School in Alexandria. He is licensed by Glenmora Baptist Church. 318-445-5486; 318-308-0468. Deaths Lloyd S. Reynaud, music … [Read more...]

You should’ve seen the look on her face. You should’ve seen the look on her face. A beautiful 3-year-old girl sat on the floor staring at the twinkling lights of a Christmas tree. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said "THAT!" I noticed she was pointing at the tree and it dawned on me, this is probably the first time she has ever had a Christmas tree, this is the first time she has ever had a Christmas present, and this may be the first time she has ever heard the story of the baby Jesus. See this little girl isn’t mine, at least not biologically, she is a child who has worked her way through the foster care system and now we are in the process of adopting her. So no, she isn’t mine, but at the same time she is. She is my daughter in every sense of the word, with the exception of being mine biologically. She will be the fourth child my wife and I have adopted. Combined with the three biological children we have a total of seven kids. Now, take the sheer number of kids and combine it with the fact that two of my children are not the same color as my wife and I, and that makes going to the mall an interesting experience. So why did we do it? Why adopt four children? It wasn’t our initial plan, but as … [Read more...]

Are the chemical sciences found in the Bible? Is the Word of God a spiritual writing, set apart from the physical and the chemical? Or is all Truth One – do all things spiritual and chemical meld into one reality under the dominion of the Creator?     Are the chemical sciences found in the Bible? Is the Word of God a spiritual writing, set apart from the physical and the chemical? Or is all Truth One – do all things spiritual and chemical meld into one reality under the dominion of the Creator? As a trained scientist, it is more and more clear to me that the Truth of God is confirmed in every natural phenomenon. Every force of nature and every chemical principle directs man to the only source of life and hope: a loving, creative, almighty God.   Isaiah 45:18 (NIV): For this is what the LORD says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says: I am the LORD, and there is no other. Not only did God create from nothing all the matter of the universe, but He shaped it all, too, for His divine purpose. And what was this purpose? Isaiah 45:18 tells us in no uncertain terms that earth was created so that it could … [Read more...]

Ironically, six decades removed from the blood-soaked beaches of Normandy, many of the doctrines the Allies warred against now are embraced by the Western world. The morning of June 6, 1944, a massive armada launched from Great Britain and made its way across the English Channel. Known as Operation Overlord, the amphibious action was the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France.   The bold D-Day assault on the beaches of Normandy was critical in turning the tide of World War II. Men fought -- and many died -- in order to halt Germany’s tyrannical advance fueled by Adolf Hitler’s noxious philosophies.   Destroying armies has proven easier than discrediting ideas. Ironically, six decades removed from the blood-soaked beaches of Normandy, many of the doctrines the Allies warred against now are embraced by the Western world.   The Nazi rejection of a personal God who posited absolute truth is in vogue throughout Europe, Great Britain and the United States. Hitler once quipped that the idea of conscience was concocted by the Jews.   The Nazis loathed the children of Abraham, not solely because of race, but for what they represented: transcendent monotheism. Hitler believed that by killing the Jews, Western culture would … [Read more...]

"The world I learned to reach in seminary 20 years ago no longer exists!"         ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – "The world I learned to reach in seminary 20 years ago no longer exists!" These words from a pastor friend have riveted me since I first heard them last year.   I recently took part in what might possibly be the most unique father-daughter mission outing ever planned. DragonCon is one of the largest fantasy film, pop culture and science fiction conventions in the world. Thousands of people converge on Atlanta dressed up as their favorite comic book or film characters to enjoy concerts, attend seminars, visit exhibits, trade comic books and play fantasy games.   My daughter, Perry, and I decided to attend the four-day event to present Christ. In this crowd, where rebellion was the status quo, we were the strangest characters of all with our JoePix t-shirts, hats and cameras.   Never have I been around a more eclectic crowd. As I walked around this sea of humanity in a four square block area of Atlanta, the words of my friend echoed again in my mind, "The world I learned to reach in seminary 20 years ago no longer exists."   In an international missions context no denomination is better … [Read more...]

In honor of the celebration of the life and ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let’s look this week at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Pineville, where Joshua Joy Dara is pastor. Think: Big church. Think: Class.         In honor of the celebration of the life and ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let’s look this week at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Pineville, where Joshua Joy Dara is pastor. Think: Big church. Think: Class. At least 1,200 people were spread out across a light and bright worship center that could probably seat 1,500. Room enough to bring friends!   The choir’s first CD is to be released next month. You’d be blessed by buying it and listening to it. Their style is like a roux – full-bodied and yet smooth. Tears unbidden ran down my cheeks as they sang of God’s goodness, and I could tell I was worshipping God with my whole heart.   Two offerings were collected, which is pretty common in churches that worship in an African American tradition. The first was the tithe; the second, your gift to God, the seeds you’re sowing for the harvest to come.   Pastor Dara spoke for about 20 minutes of all that was happening: The youth are making the Annex into their hangout; … [Read more...]

American families interested in adopting babies from the People’s Republic of China will find it more difficult when tougher guidelines are implemented in May. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – American families interested in adopting babies from the People’s Republic of China will find it more difficult when tougher guidelines are implemented in May. Those rules will refuse adoption to people who are obese, single, over 50 years old or on anti-depressant medication. Prospective parents also will be required to have been married for two years and have no more than four children.   The director of the China Center for Adoption Affairs said the measures will help ensure the quality of adoptive parents, according to a report in the Associated Press. In the past 10 years, more than 50,000 Chinese babies have been adopted by foreigners, the majority of whom are from North America and Europe.   China’s population control law limits most couples to only one child. Large numbers of baby girls are abandoned at birth because of a traditional Chinese preference for sons. More than 90 percent of Chinese babies adopted are girls. AFGHAN WOMEN STILL STRUGGLE – Millions of women and girls in Afghanistan continue to face daily violence and … [Read more...]

The message of the Gospel may be 2,000 years old but thanks to new Internet-driven technologies – podcasts, blogs, webcasts and others –Southern Baptists’ work of spreading the Good News has never been easier, more flexible or more pervasive. ALPHARETTA, GA. (BP) – The message of the Gospel may be 2,000 years old but thanks to new Internet-driven technologies – podcasts, blogs, webcasts and others –Southern Baptists’ work of spreading the Good News has never been easier, more flexible or more pervasive.   The North American Mission Board’s (NAMB’s) church planting group has just launched a new weekly podcast aimed at the church planting community, according to Tom Cheyney, the group’s resourcing manager.   What is a podcast? Think of it as an audio "broadcast" but aimed at – or subscribed to by — specific audiences. The audio program can be accessed live or downloaded for listening at a more convenient time, much like using a Tivo® digital video recorder or VCR to "time-shift" and watch video programs later.   Podcasts can be accessed two ways — via clicking up a site on the Internet, or by using digital music or multimedia players such as Apple’s iPod® with iTunes® software.   "We’ve just released our ninth episode." … [Read more...]