There are three great epochs, three great divisions of time, in which God has dealt with His creation in three great methods. By Larry Thompson Pastor, FBC Westlake Chair, Baptist Message trustees There are three great epochs, three great divisions of time, in which God has dealt with His creation in three great methods: First, “In the beginning was the Word ….” (John 1:1). God has always been a communicating God, speaking directly to His creation Himself, and later through “holy men of God … moved by the Holy Spirit,” (2 Peter 1:21). Thus, the Word of God became the Holy Bible. This is our Scriptures. Second, “And the Word became flesh ….”  (John 1:14). God sent His only son Jesus into our world to live out the Word, the communication of God’s love, the sacrifice for our sins. This is our Savior. Third, “And the flesh becomes the word.”  By this I mean what Paul spoke of in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; …an epistle of Christ …written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” God continues to communicate with His world, through His people. You have … [Read more...]

Is truth important to Louisiana Baptists? Will there ever be another problem in the Louisiana Baptist Convention, or in the Southern Baptist Convention, that needs to be clearly and objectively reported? How can we best protect our Executive Director and the Executive Board from charges of bias? Mark Sutton, pastor Brookwood Baptist, Shreveport Former Baptist Message trustee Former LBC President Is truth important to Louisiana Baptists? Will there ever be another problem in the Louisiana Baptist Convention, or in the Southern Baptist Convention, that needs to be clearly and objectively reported? How can we best protect our Executive Director and the Executive Board from charges of bias? These are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself over the past several months as one of the most important parts of the Louisiana Baptist Convention is being looked at for dismantling. Make no mistake: The Baptist Message may no longer exist in a matter of months if recommended changes are made. And, even if it continues, it will no longer have an independent editor whose purpose is to be responsive to local LBC churches to report news accurately and fairly. What are the stated reasons for no longer having … [Read more...]

Week of November 7, 2005 Missions emphasis Missionaries to be featured during the 2006 Southern Baptist North American Missions Emphasis include one Louisiana Baptist worker. Eight Southern Baptist missionaries or missionary couples are selected each year to represent the work of 5,200 missionaries across the United States and Canada. The work of the missionaries selected in 2006 includes starting new churches, student evangelism on college campuses, inner-city Baptist center ministries, associational missions, interfaith witness evangelism and ministering in resort settings. They also include Mary Gore of Zwolle, a resort missionary who shares the gospel with children and adults through various campground ministries in the popular Toledo Bend Lake area. The North American Missions Emphasis includes three aspects – the annual Week of Prayer set for March 5-12, 2006, the North American Mission Study and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. More information about the emphasis is available at www.AnnieArmstrong.com. Disaster relief update Southern Baptist Disaster Relief announced Nov. 2 that volunteers have prepared a record 10.5 million meals since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in late August. The meal count … [Read more...]

Whether giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering or the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, giving to missions is a year-around project at McDonald Baptist Church. Whether giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering or the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, giving to missions is a year-around project at McDonald Baptist Church. While many Southern Baptist churches around the country are gearing up this month for the Lottie Moon offering season, McDonald Baptist Church began collecting for the offering back in the spring – an effort that results in a hefty per capita gift. Throughout the year, the 116-member church gives 8 percent of its operating budget to missions. From April through December, they give 8 percent to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. The church gives the same amount to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions from January to April. Then, in addition to that 8 percent, whatever the church collects for the offerings is matched through budget receipts. “Some churches only worry about it during the particular emphasis,” says Paul Moore, pastor of the Sylvania, Ga., congregation. “(But) you can’t be successful with raising money … [Read more...]

As he tells the story, the call came after hours, when everyone else already had left the office – he was the only one who could answer the phone. As he tells the story, the call came after hours, when everyone else already had left the office – he was the only one who could answer the phone. He did. The person on the other end of the line had a routine request – could an item be placed in the “People, Places and Events” section of the Louisiana Baptist Message? Certainly, it could, replied Lynn Clayton, editor of the statewide denominational newspaper. “What is the item?” he asked. The man explained that his church was seeking a new pastor. He gave the necessary information – the name of the church and where to send the resumes. As the conversation wound to a close, almost by chance, Clayton asked the caller, “What happened to your previous pastor? Why did he leave?” The response was unexpected. “Oh, he’s still here,” the caller said. “We just need to find a younger pastor with more enthusiasm.” For Clayton, that episode ranks as one of the funniest moments of his 27-year tenure as editor of the Baptist Message – and yes, he did explain to the caller that this particular “minister wanted” … [Read more...]

Week of November 14, 2005 Potpourri CROWVILLE – First church: Casey Johnson, guest speaker; Nov. 27, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. BATON ROUGE – Sherwood church: Down East Boys and Julie Jones in concert; Nov. 18, 7 p.m.; love offering accepted; David Womack, pastor. WEST MONROE – First church: Fred Luter Jr., guest speaker; Nov. 20, 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 10:50 a.m.; Scotty Sanders, executive pastor. Youth EUNICE – Acadian center: Children’s Winter Retreat; Dec. 9, 5 p.m. registration- Dec.10, 1 p.m.; for boy/girls grades 1-6; Shawn Walker, guest speaker; $35 per person; to register or for more information, call (337) 457-9047; James Newsom, camp manager. Revivals FLORIEN – Pleasant Hill church: Nov. 27-30, 7 p.m. nightly; Jack Daniels, evangelist; Jimmy Evans, pastor. Anniversaries START – Start church: 100th; Nov. 19, 6:30 p.m.; Nov. 20, 10:30 a.m.; friends and former members invited; Mickey Hawkins, guest speaker; Jeff Smart, pastor. Homecomings DRY CREEK – Cherry Grove church:  89th; Nov. 27, 10 a.m.; everyone invited; Ron Butler, pastor. DRY PRONG – New Prospect church: Nov. 20, 10 a.m. with dinner on the grounds to follow; Jim Lofton, guest speaker; David Denton, pastor. JONESVILLE – Utility church: … [Read more...]

My time as editor of the Baptist Message is short, and I have undelivered “Second Thoughts” in my head. This calls for doing a couple of short thoughts rather than just one second thought per paper. My time as editor of the Baptist Message is short, and I have undelivered “Second Thoughts” in my head. This calls for doing a couple of short thoughts rather than just one second thought per paper. My first second thought of the day is what it is like to be on the other side of the pen. Normally, we do articles about people and the pieces are published before the subject of the article is able to read it. Well, this week, the Baptist Message has an article about me that was written by Lacy Thompson for the last issue of the paper he put together. He was totally free to do whatever. I have not read it prior to publication. So, I’m a little anxious about it. I have total confidence in the accuracy and fairness of Associate Editor Lacy Thompson, but that is the cause of my anxiety – he may quote me just the way I said it. Which brings me to another point. Lacy Thompson, who has been associate editor of the Baptist Message for 20 years, resigned in order to return to his home in Belle Chasse. His mother’s and … [Read more...]

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, more than 25,000 separate donations totaling more than $18 million have poured into the North American Mission Board – so many that the Southern Baptist Convention entity has hired temporary help to process the gifts. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, more than 25,000 separate donations totaling more than $18 million have poured into the North American Mission Board – so many that the Southern Baptist Convention entity has hired temporary help to process the gifts. Nearly $10 million of that amount has already been sent to the devastated areas to minister to needs of individuals and Southern Baptist churches and to share Christ. Most of the checks have been in the $25-$100 range and often come with notes expressing concern for hurricane victims and usually include a “God Bless You” to Southern Baptists for their unprecedented disaster relief efforts the last two months in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida. Individual donations have been as little as two quarters taped to an index card and as much as half a million dollars. One woman inserted a $5,000 check into an envelope – without a note or instruction of any kind – and … [Read more...]

The Louisiana Baptist Foundation recently took a pro-active approach to help churches that are impacted by Hurricane Katrina. By Brian Blackwell LBM Newswriter The Louisiana Baptist Foundation recently took a pro-active approach to help churches that are impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The recent hurricanes damaged churches, leaving some of them without a way to receive monetary donations during their weekly services and at their regular mailing address. If churches want the Louisiana Baptist Foundation to act as a “temporary storehouse” for them, Wayne Taylor said they are ready and able to help. “Members or interested persons can mail their tithes to us or they can give on-line,” Taylor, executive director of the foundation, told the Baptist Message after the entity’s recent board meeting in Alexandria. “The foundation will give tax receipts to the individuals and the church can access the money as they need it.” So far, four churches and organizations have established funds with the foundation – First Baptist Church of New Orleans, Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans, First Baptist Church of Chalmette and Global Maritime Ministries in New Orleans. Also, the foundation can … [Read more...]

Week of November 14, 2005 Rogers hospitalized Adrian Rogers, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has been hospitalized for double pneumonia. The former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., was admitted to an area hospital Nov. 3 and reportably is responding well to antibiotic treatments. Since his retirement from the pastorate, Rogers has been undergoing treatment for colon cancer. Church giving down A report released by empty tomb, inc. in mid-October examined the giving trends of church members in the United States and determined that financial contributions to churches were down as a percent of income when compared with previous years. The Illinois-based Christian research organization surveyed 28 Protestant denominations representing 146,000 of the total estimated 350,000 congregations in the United States and found that for each dollar donated to a congregation, denominations spent 2 cents on overseas missions in 2003, down from 7 cents in the 1920s. Half of the 28 denominations grew in membership from 1968 to 2003 and half decreased, the report said, and those that grew had a higher level of international missions support while those that declined had a lower average of … [Read more...]