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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Louisiana Notables

ON THE MOVE Larry Baldridge licensed to the Gospel Ministry and Chaplaincy at Catahoula Lake Front Community Church, St. Martinville. Pastor: Louis Charrier. Philip Casper is new as pastor at Central Baptist Church, Springhill. Ronnie Osborne is new as pastor at Heflin Baptist Church, Heflin.   REVIVAL/HOMECOMING Salem Baptist Church, Plain Dealing: Homecoming: Celebrating 170 years, July 13, Services at 11 a.m. followed by lunch at noon and singing at 1:30 p.m. Speaker: Ben Jordan (Salem pastor in 1970). Music: Main Street Connection. Pastor: Larry Earhart. New Hope Baptist Church, Independence: Recharge Revival event, July 13-20. Speaker: Bishop Innocent Mabuza from Swaziland. Pastor: Steven Campbell. First Baptist Church, Zwolle: Summer Revival, July 13-16. Speaker: Bob Utley. Worship: Craig Forque. Pastor: Jerry Penfield. Lone Star Baptist Church, Hineston: Lone Star Community Cemetery Incorporated Homecoming, July 13, 10 a.m. Speaker: Chad Longino. Temple Baptist Church, Ruston: Marvelous Mondays, July 14, 21, 28, and August 4. Speakers: Bill Hardin, Rob Futral, Steve Horn, and Junior Hill. Each Monday there will be a meal at 5 p.m. and service will be held at 6 p.m. Pastor: Dr. Reggie … [Read more...]

Christianity played huge role in our country’s founding

By Kelly Boggs, Editor Editor’s note: This column first appeared in the Sept. 26, 2013 issue of the Baptist Message. It has been revised and appears in this issue of The Message to coincide with the observation of America’s Independence Day. ----------------- Many liberal historians contend the United States was founded by secularists and nominally religious individuals who wanted the public square free from the influence of biblical precepts and principles. Evidence seems to indicate otherwise. Were there godless men among those who helped establish America? Yes, of course there were. But some of those cited by liberal historians as examples of irreligious founders made only a minor contribution. Thomas Paine, for example, was hostile to Christianity. While there is no doubt he was a zealot of the Revolution, Paine did not arrive in the United States until 1774. He remained only a short time and did not help write the Constitution. Paine died in 1809. In the book “The Life of Thomas Paine,” Moncure D. Conway, an admirer and contemporary of Paine’s, observed that only a handful of people attended his funeral because of Paine’s relentless ridicule of Christianity. By contrast, a thorough examination of the personal letters, … [Read more...]

Praying for one another is biblical and powerful

By Roger 'Sing' Oldham, Vice President of Communications for the SBC Executive Committee I must confess surprise in a recent concordance search; the phrase “pray for one another” is found only one time in the Bible! James 5:16 states, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (NKJV). This singular biblical instance, however, is supplemented throughout Scripture with numerous expressions of prayer for others and requests for prayer from others. In terms of praying for others, Jesus set the standard in His High Priestly prayer, recorded in John 17. He prayed for His disciples (John 17:9) and for those who would come to faith in Jesus as a result of their witness (John 17:20). Jesus continues praying for us even now as the ever-living, heavenly intercessor (Hebrews 7:25). Further, Paul’s letters are replete with specific prayer requests for Christ-followers in Rome (Romans: 1:9), for the Ephesian believers upon learning of their faith (Ephesians 1:15-21), for the saints in Philippi (Philippians 1:9-11), as well as for the churches in Colossae (Colossians 1:3-12) and Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5). In terms of … [Read more...]

Floyd: Envisioning a ‘Great Awakening’ in Columbus

By Ronnie Floyd, SBC President As the newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, I want to call every pastor, every church leader and every layperson from a Southern Baptist church to join me in Columbus, Ohio, on June 16-17, 2015. As I work with our Order of Business Committee as well as other leaders, I will respectfully request that we dedicate as much time as possible in next year’s convention to pray extraordinarily for the next Great Awakening. I want to call you to Columbus to what could be one of the most significant prayer gatherings in our history. Yes, we have to conduct business at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, and we will do it with great diligence. But we will also bring to fruition a year-long emphasis of praying in an extraordinary manner for the next great spiritual awakening in America. For the next year, I want to humbly request from each church, each national SBC entity and each state convention that we begin to pray in an over-and-above way for God to move mightily in our lives, our churches and our nation. Now is the time Why is this important? Our convention has bemoaned our decline in baptisms, membership, attendance and giving far too long. Now is the time for us … [Read more...]

Five “musts” that could fix the Southern Baptist Convention

By John Yeats, Executive Director Missouri Baptist Convention Considering the complex issues swirling around the SBC, I’m not sure anyone has a definitive word on how to fix what ails us, especially as we rub against a culture increasingly more hostile to the Gospel. There is no silver bullet to fix all that plagues our great convention of churches. Truth is, we are broken people, raised by broken parents, living in a broken world, and our only hope is the transformational power of the Lord Jesus to fix our brokenness. Yet, it is through our brokenness that our Lord works most powerfully through His church. A friend of mine asked, “John, what do you think would ‘fix’ the SBC?” I offered five transformational “musts” that have the potential to position Southern Baptists for a movement of God: 1. We must return to being a convictional people. It is one thing to say you believe. It is quite another to behave like you say you believe. Most Americans have assented to the realities of the historical Jesus. But that doesn’t make them authentic Christians. They may have adopted a cultural form of Christianity that enables them to disconnect from their religion while they dabble in all kinds of debauchery. History records that … [Read more...]

A God-blessed America has obligations, responsibilities

By Richard Land, President of Southern Evangelical Seminary, Matthews, N.C. America is fundamentally distinct from all other countries in its founding, in its national life, and in the values, rights and privileges it confers upon its citizens. In other words, America is exceptional. And if it is exceptional in its domestic character, in what it offers to immigrants in search of a better life, then it would follow that America is exceptional in what it has to offer to the global community. America is not an ethnicity or mere geography, but a creed, a set of first principles to which we pledge allegiance – freedom, human dignity, self-government, and equality. Anyone who pledges allegiance to these values can consider himself or herself an “American.” America has been blessed by God in unique ways – we are not just another country, but neither are we God’s special people. I do not believe that America is God’s chosen nation. God established one chosen nation and people: the Jews. We are not the new Israel. We cannot assume “God is on our side.” We are not God’s gift to the world. America does not have a special claim on God. Millions of Americans do, however, believe God has a special claim on them – and their country. The … [Read more...]

Smith, LC officials meet with ArkLaTex alumni April 29

Submitted by philip on Fri, 05/02/2014 - 10:07 Argile Smith, executive vice president at Louisiana College, talks to members of the Louisiana College ArkLaTex chapter. Smith will become interim president of the college on Aug. 1. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SHREVEPORT – Building trust with Louisiana College alumni and other Louisiana Baptists is key for the state’s only Southern Baptist college to move forward, Louisiana College Executive Vice President Argile Smith recently said.   “We’re not going to be able to do much of this in the interim but if we pray together for God to bring a president who will understand the value of trust and nurturing relationships, eye to eye conversation, who can move on beyond that, that will be most helpful as the school moves on,” Smith told a group of around 50 Louisiana College alumni meeting at the LSU-Shreveport Baptist Collegiate Ministry building.   Smith joined other school administration officials at an April 29 meeting of the Louisiana College ArkLaTex alumni which included a meal, music by the Voices of LC student music group and updates from LC administrators. The other administrators present were Michael Shamblin, Byron McGee, Philip Caples and … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptist Bible Drill winners turn in the ‘most amazing’ performances

Submitted by philip on Fri, 05/02/2014 - 10:11 Participants in the State Bible Drill practice before competing. First Baptist Pineville hosted the event which drew students from throughout the state. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff WriterPINEVILLE – Chaz Morgan believes in a day when scandals and cover-ups are too common for elected officials, that adopting biblical qualities such as honesty, humility and prayerfulness could lead to statesmen once again leading the nation.   “Time does not change the Bible and its principles are never out of date,” said Morgan during his speech at the recent state Bible Drill Speakers Tournament. “The need for political leaders to be honest, steadfast, sober, prayerful and humble does not diminish even though leaders increasingly disregard these attitudes. “Statesmen embrace these qualities; politicians ignore them,” he continued. “Who is leading our nation today?” For his speech entitled “Politicians or Statesmen,” Morgan won first place in the recent tournament at First Baptist Pineville. A member at Woodlawn Baptist in Baton Rouge, the 11th grader received a $4,500 annual scholarship to Louisiana College. The other two 11th grade competitors in the speakers tournament both earned … [Read more...]

Mother’s Day – Honoring God’s indispensable gift

By Barrett Duke, Vice President of Public Policy and Research at the ERLC “God couldn’t be everywhere, so He made mothers.” While not theologically accurate, this old Jewish saying describes beautifully the significant role mothers have in our lives. Motherhood is one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity. A loving, committed mother is an indispensable person in our development. Just imagine a world without mothers. It would be a sterile place indeed. Mothers instill powerful social and nurturing characteristics in each generation. It is principally from their mothers that children learn the virtues of sacrifice, sharing, valuing others, compassion, community and a host of other interpersonal values and skills that enable humans to live together in peace. Biologically, women are designed for self-sacrifice. When pregnant, a woman’s body focuses its primary attention to nurturing that new, growing life developing within her. Her body will automatically prioritize the needs of her unborn baby. This inherent gift for self-sacrifice isn’t only biological. After her children are born, a mother will continue to sacrifice herself for the needs of her children. She will do whatever she can to assure her children have what they … [Read more...]

Twelve ways pastors can go from burnout to vision

By Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay Christian Resources There are few vocations that can engender burnout like the pastorate. The demands on a pastor’s time, emotions and energy can be overwhelming. When I was a pastor, I often felt at least the symptoms of burnout. I recently spoke with 17 pastors who had experienced burnout, or who felt they came precariously close to burnout. The good news about these pastors is that they moved out of burnout, and now they are re-engaging in exciting and visionary ministries. So I asked them the obvious question: What did you do to reverse the dark spiral of burnout? The question was open-ended, so they could respond with as many answers as they desired. When it was all said and done, I tabulated 12 different responses from the 17 pastors. Obviously, many of them gave similar answers. Here are the 12 responses ranked in order of frequency. Each answer has a representative quote from one of the pastors. 1. Spent more time in prayer and the Word. “Slowly over time, I spent less and less time in the Bible and in prayer. I succumbed to the tyranny of the urgent. When I committed to reversing that pattern, my life and leadership began to renew.” 2. Dreamed again. “When I first arrived at … [Read more...]