Two-and-a-half years ago, Nicholls State University Baptist Collegiate minister Tim LaFleur identified a problem - more than12,000 African-Americans lived within a five-mile radius of the Thibodaux campus with no church for that ethnic group. Two-and-a-half years ago, Nicholls State University Baptist Collegiate minister Tim LaFleur identified a problem - more than12,000 African-Americans lived within a five-mile radius of the Thibodaux campus with no church for that ethnic group.   While LaFleur was pondering the best way to reach the large group, then-Director of University Police Al Carter was holding a Bible study on Wednesday nights on the campus for the African-American students. Carter, now serving as deputy staff lieutenant for the LaFourche Parish Sheriff’s Department, started the Bible study with just five students, but it grew to nearly 60 attending each week.   "It has been very strange how it all happened," Carter says. "We didn’t even have a musician at first, as all the singing was a capella. It’s been a blessing."   LaFleur and Jim Duck, pastor at University Baptist Church in Thibodaux, began praying about the situation. They approached Carter about starting a … [Read more...]

Almost certainly, members of Christ Baptist Church in Houma and Bayou DuLarge Baptist Church in Theriot have sung "I’m So Glad I’m a Part of the Family of God" on occasion.   However, they probably never have sung it on a more meaningful occasion than the one celebrated late last month.   They sang it then to close a joint service between the two churches and other congregations in the area. Almost certainly, members of Christ Baptist Church in Houma and Bayou DuLarge Baptist Church in Theriot have sung "I’m So Glad I’m a Part of the Family of God" on occasion.   However, they probably never have sung it on a more meaningful occasion than the one celebrated late last month.   They sang it then to close a joint service between the two churches and other congregations in the area.   While that might not make for an unusual occasion in most instances, the April 26 joint service at Christ Baptist Church definitely was not a "most" instance.   It was the first time the two estranged congregations had come together in seven years.   Indeed, the recent "reconciliation service" ended a sometimes bitter dispute, dating to when Bayou DuLarge was a … [Read more...]

His black hair is slicked back, and he is wearing the latest clothes, with a leather necklace tied tight around his neck.   By all appearances, one never would know this teenager is from noble descent, that future service to his people is not a question but totally expected of him. His black hair is slicked back, and he is wearing the latest clothes, with a leather necklace tied tight around his neck.   By all appearances, one never would know this teenager is from noble descent, that future service to his people is not a question but totally expected of him.   The youth, Agoumoulou, belongs to a group of people who roam across the Sahara desert in camel caravans, a people known as the Tuareg. In the old days, these people transported everything from salt to slaves. But due to drought and hard times, the Tuareg have moved from their desert dwellings closer to the villages in order to find food and work. (See accompanying article)   Agoumoulou’s family is no different. At one time, they owned slaves to do the manual labor. Now, they do it themselves in the privacy of a courtyard - so no one will see.   After all, Agoumoulou comes from a long line of … [Read more...]

In West Africa, a nomadic, unreached people group struggles through changing circumstances and fights just to survive.   They bear an ominous name - Tuareg.   It literally means "abandoned by God." In West Africa, a nomadic, unreached people group struggles through changing circumstances and fights just to survive.   They bear an ominous name - Tuareg.   It literally means "abandoned by God."   However, this month, Southern Baptists are asking God to help the Tuareg people understand he really does love them. The group is the focus of the annual Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization, scheduled for May 19.   All in all, 99.9 percent of the Tuareg do not know the love and forgiveness of God. Indeed, the vast majority of them never have even heard the good news of salvation in Jesus.   "Tuareg" does not define just one ethnic group. It identifies the many people - Arabs, Berbers and Bellas - who share a common history and speak a common language, Tamashek.   The Tuareg are estimated to number from 500,000 to 3 million, living in countries such as Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Tuareg camel caravans played … [Read more...]

David P. Gushee’s well-presented thoughts should stop any thinking Christ dead in his or her tracks: "When scholars write the history of the late 20th century Western world, the major story may well be our systematic and unjust sacrificing of the needs, interests and rights of children on the altar of the needs, interests and (supposedly more important) rights of adults." David P. Gushee’s well-presented thoughts should stop any thinking Christ dead in his or her tracks: "When scholars write the history of the late 20th century Western world, the major story may well be our systematic and unjust sacrificing of the needs, interests and rights of children on the altar of the needs, interests and (supposedly more important) rights of adults."   Gushee, the Graves Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy and senior fellow with the Carl F.H. Henry Center for Christian Leadership at Union University, Jackson, Tenn., claims that "when push comes to shove when the interests and demands of adults clash with those of children with alarming frequency we choose the interests of adults."   Gushee presses his point with several examples. He begins by pointing to abortion on demand. He says the 1973 Roe v. … [Read more...]

The ongoing trauma of how the Catholic church has in some incidents dealt with the abuse of children by priests can only be called tragic.   The sexual abuse of children is always tragic, and that men who were in positions of trust in a church perpetrated the crimes makes the tragedy greater. The ongoing trauma of how the Catholic church has in some incidents dealt with the abuse of children by priests can only be called tragic.   The sexual abuse of children is always tragic, and that men who were in positions of trust in a church perpetrated the crimes makes the tragedy greater.   Then, that some bishops and archbishops simply transferred the priests to other parishes where the same kind of crimes were again committed compounds the tragedies. That the church leaders used the funds of the church to pay off victims and their families to keep the crimes from becoming public knowledge is almost incomprehensible.   As much as we might want to distance ourselves from the Catholic church in this matter, the reputation of Christian churches suffer and ministers in general are questioned.   As the Catholic church struggles with what has become their crisis, … [Read more...]

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary student Kenneth Foy says prison was the best thing that ever happened to him.   "That which was set up for my destruction was my salvation," says Foy, who will graduate with a master of arts in marriage and family counseling on May 17. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary student Kenneth Foy says prison was the best thing that ever happened to him.   "That which was set up for my destruction was my salvation," says Foy, who will graduate with a master of arts in marriage and family counseling on May 17.   Foy’s story began in 1985, when he was charged with four counts of robbery and sentenced to Orleans Parish Prison in Orleans Parish. The next day, he was charged with 12 more counts and, then, an additional 30 counts the following day for a total of 46.   "Right then and there, I knew what was going on was spiritual rejection," Foy says. "In the midst of it all, I began to cry out to the Lord."   It was after the third day in prison that Foy accepted Christ as his personal savior. "I told God I was sorry and kept telling him that," Foy says. "Prison and among all of these guys is not the place you want to break … [Read more...]

On Page Nine of this week’s Baptist Message, a full-page advertisement appears, courtesy of a Southern Baptist layperson. It is the same advertisement the man is placing in every single Baptist newspaper in the Southern Baptist Convention - a plea for pastors and laypersons to be more decision-oriented in their witness. He is paying for the ads personally, which raises an obvious question. Why? On Page Nine of this week’s Baptist Message, a full-page advertisement appears, courtesy of a Southern Baptist layperson. It is the same advertisement the man is placing in every single Baptist newspaper in the Southern Baptist Convention - a plea for pastors and laypersons to be more decision-oriented in their witness. He is paying for the ads personally, which raises an obvious question. Why? Why would a layperson spend tens of thousands of dollars of his own money to urge persons in their witness? The answer is just as obvious as the question - simply because he believes it needs to be done. "We’re not asking for decisions out there," explains W.M. Gurley, an 79-year-old businessman and longtime Southern Baptist. "And to be very honest with you, I’m not sure how many people really know how to do … [Read more...]

Kay Bennett understands hopelessness. As director of the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, she has seen plenty of it firsthand.   She has seen it in the homeless women who live day-to-day, in the abandoned mothers struggling to care for children, in the desperate women who do not have the skills needed to find a job, in the frantic woman who just needs a pair of shoes she can wear to a job she finally has found. Kay Bennett understands hopelessness. As director of the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, she has seen plenty of it firsthand.   She has seen it in the homeless women who live day-to-day, in the abandoned mothers struggling to care for children, in the desperate women who do not have the skills needed to find a job, in the frantic woman who just needs a pair of shoes she can wear to a job she finally has found.   Yes, Kay Bennett understands hopelessness.   However, because of that, she also knows hope when she sees it - and these days, she sees it in the Christian Women’s Job Corp program sponsored by the Southern Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union.   "This is one of the best programs Woman’s Missionary Union has ever done," Bennett says. … [Read more...]

Nine Louisiana Baptists have been nominated or appointed to serve on various Southern Baptist Convention boards and committees.   The nominations and appointments recently were released in anticipation of the annual Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, set for June 11-12. Nine Louisiana Baptists have been nominated or appointed to serve on various Southern Baptist Convention boards and committees.   The nominations and appointments recently were released in anticipation of the annual Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, set for June 11-12.   Each year, the convention president is responsible for appointing persons to serve on various committees, including the Committee on Committees.   This year, SBC President James Merritt named a pair of Louisianians to serve on the latter committee.   The Committee on Committees is comprised of a pastor and layperson from each qualified state convention. The committee exists only during the annual meeting each June and is responsible for nominating persons to serve on the next year’s Committee on Nominations.   Louisiana’s representatives on this year’s Committee on Committee’s are:   • Thomas … [Read more...]