If we are honest, there are times when we get spiritually dry, times when God just seems distant to us. We all walk through those times. But then there are those other times when God’s presence is so powerful and His work so personal that we can hardly imagine it getting any better. I had one of those times recently. ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – If we are honest, there are times when we get spiritually dry, times when God just seems distant to us. We all walk through those times. But then there are those other times when God’s presence is so powerful and His work so personal that we can hardly imagine it getting any better. I had one of those times recently. I was speaking at the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Pastor’s Conference and was in a room beside the worship center getting a bottle of water and getting ready to preach. The door opened and a man that I had not seen in a long time walked in -– a man I will call Chan that I first met on the other side of the world. Several years ago I was in a country where believers are persecuted. My mission was to disciple a pastor/church planter who was one of the most wanted men in the country. He had angered the government by successfully planting many … [Read more...]

From the start, the 89th commencement service at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, which took place Dec. 16 in New Orleans, was seasoned with reflection. NEW ORLEANS – From the start, the 89th commencement service at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, which took place Dec. 16 in New Orleans, was seasoned with reflection. For students who relocated after Hurricane Katrina, graduation was, perhaps, their first trip back to New Orleans in 16 months. For them, as well as students who returned to campus for their last semester, commencement was the end of the road to graduation, a road that had a few unexpected twists. Others, no doubt, reflected on the fact that one of the many newborn babies heard cooing throughout Leavell Chapel was their son or daughter. Seminary President Chuck Kelley called all graduates – 162 in all – to notice the setting of graduation. “A year ago, we were having seminary graduation, but not here,” Kelley said. “A year ago, we had it in Birmingham (Ala.) because this campus was still in shambles after Hurricane Katrina. A year ago, this student body was scattered to 29 different states and the faculty to nine different states.” He congratulated students … [Read more...]

To paraphrase the Louisiana Senate, suggesting that it is somehow “unconstitutional” to say Merry Christmas is absurd considering that the Constitution itself concludes with acknowledgment of Jesus Christ (/“Done … in the Year of our Lord…”/)! Dear Editor: On December 15, Louisiana’s Legislature unanimously passed two resolutions (HCR 33 and SCR 23) asking Congress to enact the /Constitution Restoration Act/, (CRA). Once adopted, this hope-inspiring federal legislation removes from federal court jurisdiction cases affecting the “/acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty or government/.” Religious free speech will again be treated like other free speech. To paraphrase the Louisiana Senate, suggesting that it is somehow “unconstitutional” to say Merry Christmas is absurd considering that the Constitution itself concludes with acknowledgment of Jesus Christ (/“Done … in the Year of our Lord…”/)! Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 23 stresses that the elimination of such religious free speech lawsuits would help congested federal courts. These important tribunals could concentrate their limited resources on dispensing justice instead of meddling with prayer before elected … [Read more...]

Football Coach Dennis Dunn, and now the Louisiana College Wildcats, have taken the slogan “Football isn’t just a sport, it’s an attitude” to a whole new level. PINEVILLE – Football Coach Dennis Dunn, and now the Louisiana College Wildcats, have taken the slogan “Football isn’t just a sport, it’s an attitude” to a whole new level. And this team’s attitude is summed up best by the coach himself: “Wins on the field will take care of themselves,” Dunn said. “I want these young men to be good dads, husbands and productive citizens.” Teaching them to be centered on Christ is the means to that end, said Dunn. “The way things differ at LC is there’s a spiritual aspect to the football team,” said Daniel Mujure, sophomore line backer who played for Dunn in high school at Shreveport’s Evangel Christian Academy. “Yes, we have to make plays and score more points, but … a team under the anointing of God is able to do things they shouldn’t be able to do. I saw it in high school when I played for Evangel. Coach Dunn has the anointing of God, and he passes it on to his team.” That anointing travels well beyond the gridiron. For instance, during Fall Camp, the team had meetings every night with … [Read more...]

Tom Smith gets discouraged sometimes – and he’s not ashamed to admit it. NIGERIA, West Africa—Tom Smith gets discouraged sometimes – and he’s not ashamed to admit it. As a missionary strategy coordinator, Tom and his wife, Shirley, face the daily challenge of reaching the Futa Toro (FOO-tah TOR-oh), a Muslim people numbering more than 2 million. It’s not just their size that gives Tom pause. It’s their far-flung locations and bewildering diversity. The Futa Toro actually comprise two major subgroups of the Fulani peoples of West Africa: the semi-nomadic, cattle-herding Fulbe (FULL-bay) and the more settled Tukulor (TOO-kuh-lor). They live in many clans and castes scattered throughout northern Senegal and parts of The Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Mauritania. “It’s easy to become discouraged when we see the immensity of the task and so few results, so few workers, so few believers,” Tom says, rubbing the sun from his weary eyes after a long day’s drive through the scorched back roads of northern Senegal. “Sometimes I wonder why God called me.” At such moments, however, a divine voice speaks in silence to his heart: “You just do your part. Don’t worry about My part; I’ll take care of … [Read more...]

In Niger’s desert sands the Tuareg people still live in the nomadic lifestyle of their ancestors, still survive where water and food are increasingly scarce, and still practice the Islamic faith passed down to them. But Tuareg now search for hope as their way of life is progressively threatened each day. NIGER, West Africa—In Niger’s desert sands the Tuareg people still live in the nomadic lifestyle of their ancestors, still survive where water and food are increasingly scarce, and still practice the Islamic faith passed down to them. But Tuareg now search for hope as their way of life is progressively threatened each day. The Tuareg have long lived off the land they don’t own, possessing the land only as long as they live on it. Years of drought have killed their animals and left them wondering how much longer they can survive without seeking jobs in the city. “The way of life that is historically (Tuareg) doesn’t look like it will exist another decade,” says Warren Hessling, who along with his wife, Sharon, serve as strategy coordinators for the Tuareg people. Sharon recalls how a woman in a Tuareg village said she feared her family would “die out here like camels” if they didn’t get more … [Read more...]

About the time youngsters turn 13, many teens and parents stop talking with each other. BATON ROUGE – About the time youngsters turn 13, many teens and parents stop talking with each other. Both feel slighted, disrespected, unnecessary to the other, and double walls of conversation-cutting self-protection grow higher and thicker. What’s a parent – or a teen - to do? The Turning Hearts Tour, which early in December at Florida Boulevard Baptist Church completed its inaugural year, provides answers. The Tour is an intense  one- or two-day event that combines powerful worship with straight talk in separate sessions for teens and for parents. This is a conference not for the faint of heart. From graphically-told stories of horrid childhoods to a bludgeoned and bleeding Jesus on video screeens (clips from Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’), the first session is all about bitterness and the need for forgiveness. The second session forces communication between parent and teen. They sit apart from anyone else, in family groupings, and respond to questions from the leader. “Parents, what do you remember about the first moment you set eyes on this human being?” Another: … [Read more...]

The Louisiana Baptist Convention recently called a New Orleans pastor to lead in personal evangelism. ALEXANDRIA – The Louisiana Baptist Convention  recently called a New Orleans pastor to lead in personal evangelism. Keith Manuel Ph.D., who was pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in the Algiers section of New Orleans, is to start work Jan. 8 as an Evangelism Associate. “No one accidentally gets saved; someone intended to tell them about Jesus,” Manuel is known to say often. “We must be intentional about personal evangelism, because who shouldn’t take evangelism personally?” The obvious result of not being intentional about personal evangelism is no baptisms, pointed out Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, in recent news articles. He was reporting on statistics compiled by LifeWay from the Annual Church Profiles. In 2005, the last year for which complete statistics are known, baptisms were down by 4.15 percent, or 16,097 fewer than in 2004 – the lowest number of baptisms since 1993. “Southern Baptists should view this report as a wake-up call,” Rainer said. “We must focus our efforts, prayers and resources on reaching people for Christ. Baptism is the … [Read more...]

First Natchitoches is going into its third year sponsoring Upward Basketball and Cheerleading, and the numbers of children participating have grown every year, said Oren Conner, minister of youth at First Natchitoches in charge of the Upward programs. NATCHITOCHES — First Natchitoches is going into its third year sponsoring Upward Basketball and Cheerleading, and the numbers of children participating have grown every year, said Oren Conner, minister of youth at First Natchitoches in charge of the Upward programs. Upward is an “evangelistic sports ministry specifically designed for kindergarten through sixth grade boys and girls that promotes salvation, character, and self-esteem in every child,” according to the website, www.upward.org. Upward also offers soccer and flag football programs. “The most obvious result is that we have families that are now involved in our church,” said Conner of the impact First Natchitoches has had in its community through Upward. “We’ve seen them gravitate to our church because they saw we were reaching out to their children.  People are beginning to see that we care about their children.” In its first two years with Upward, First Natchitoches saw … [Read more...]

Potpourri OAK GROVE – First church:  Bayou Macon Associational Brotherhood Men’s Rally; Jan. 11, 7 p.m.; supper included; for information, call the associational office at 318-926-3251; Tom Sharplin, associational Brotherhood director; Jay Morgan, director of missions; Carl Gulde, pastor. NATCHITOCHES – First church:  Sunday School Conference; Jan. 7, 4-7:30 p.m.; John and Missy Hunt, conference leaders; free; for information, call Tanya Conlay at 318-352-3737 or email tconlay@fbcnatchitoches.net; Josh Hunt, guest speaker at 11 a.m.; Thomas Rush, pastor. HAUGHTON – Koran church:  Phaedra Clemons in concert; Dec. 31, 11 a.m.; George Rogers, pastor. … [Read more...]