Submitted by philip on Fri, 03/07/2014 - 10:36 LC President Joe Aguillard Editor's Note: Subscribe to the Baptist Message for one week for $1.00 or a full year for $14.00 By Kelly Boggs, Editor PINEVILLE – A spate of leaked documents continues to fuel controversy at Louisiana College. The actual sources of the heretofore confidential information remain anonymous. In just over a week’s time, recently, information from confidential LC trustee meetings, letters from an attorney, a never-filed lawsuit and other documents have been made public. The primary outlet for the leaked information has been Reformed Baptist pastor and blogger J.D. Hall from Montana, who maintains a website where he writes a weblog and offers a regular podcast. Hall has been an outspoken critic of the LC Board of Trustees, LC president Joe Aguillard and Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins. Executive Committee deals with blackmail attempt The minutes of an Executive Committee Meeting of the Louisiana College Board of Trustees, which was convened on Nov. 15, 2011, were leaked to the public. The occasion of the meeting is what is described in the minutes as an attempt to blackmail the Louisiana College president by his … [Read more...]

Subscribe to the Baptist Message for one week for $1.00 or a full year for $14.00 EDITOR’S NOTE: Excerpted from a Town Talk report filed by Leigh Guidry.  The original report was edited for space purposes. ALEXANDRIA – Portions of a conversation Jodi Martin, an LC graduate who worked for the school’s recreation sports and graphic services departments, had with Aguillard recently were posted on Faith on View, a blog operated by former Louisiana College art teacher Rondall Reynoso, who has publicly feuded with Aguillard for two years. Martin’s identity was not revealed on the blog, but Aguillard identified her in an interview with The Town Talk. Martin later confirmed she had made the recording. “I didn’t expect it (the story) to be picked up,” Martin said in her first public comments since leaving LC. “I didn’t expect it to be a big deal. I knew it would take time to devote to this, which I was willing to do, but it was safer in the beginning to be anonymous. ... Since it was not going to be anonymous anymore, I felt responsible to provide context.” In the meeting, Aguillard discussed what type of attitude employees should have toward him. “I am the employer, and I sign your contract,” Aguillard said on the recording. “You … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 03/07/2014 - 11:04 Senior Pastor Brian Crain and his wife Hannah stand beside the Baptist Collegiate Ministry sign on the LSU campus. In the background is the chapel the new church plant is utilizing on Sunday’s. The new start rents the LSU BCM’s facilities to hold Sunday services and is averaging 50-55 at the moment. They have had 14 people indicate they wanted to join the church and several more interested in being baptized during March. By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor BATON ROUGE – Listen to him speak and it quickly becomes apparent Brian Crain is driven, passionate about his work and on fire for the Lord. Listen just a little closer and you will hear a quiet confidence as well. Impressive, considering that at only 28 years of age, Crain is the lead pastor of a new church plant in Baton Rouge, Progression Church, where he and his core team of six families (17 people) are seeking to reach the millennial generation. “A year before my wife and I left to come here, I began praying about who God wanted us to reach,” Crain said. “I was reading a book, Millennials, by Thom Ranier (President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources) on the unchurched. Ranier said the millennial generation – … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Editor What did you do on Darwin Day 2014? If you are like me, you totally missed it. Someone had to call my attention to the celebration of all things evolutionary, after the Feb. 8 event had taken place. A little research allowed me to discover the website of the International Darwin Day Foundation (IDDF). According to the site: “Darwin Day is an international celebration of science and humanity held on or around Feb. 12, the day that Charles Darwin was born on in 1809. Specifically, it celebrates the discoveries and life of Charles Darwin – the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection with scientific rigor. “More generally, Darwin Day expresses gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity.” The IDDF website encourages enthusiasts to ask elected officials for proclamations declaring Darwin Day a recognized and official celebration in their jurisdictions. You can even send a festive e-card from the IDDF site. One that caught my eye was a colorful depiction of the ascent of man with the encouragement, “On Darwin Day Let’s Resolve to Evolve.” A recent Pew poll on the … [Read more...]

By David E. Hankins, Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention In 1892, William Wrigley began placing two pieces of chewing gum in every order of baking powder purchased from his fledgling company. He hoped this “premium” would increase sales. To Wrigley’s surprise (and profit), the gum became more popular than the baking powder. Wrigley’s new brands Juicy Fruit and Spearmint became household names, and the Wrigley Co. grew into a multi-billion dollar business. (It sold to Mars, Inc. in 2008 for $23 billion.) Thanks in large measure to William Wrigley, chewing gum developed a life of its own. Even though it had existed in some form for centuries, chewing gum became a part of Americana. Do you remember baseball cards with chewing gum enclosed? Today, kids still practice blowing bubble gum to see how large a bubble they can make without it getting stuck on their face and hair. Gum chewing is touted as a remedy for refreshing your breath, cleaning your teeth, calming your nerves, and performing emergency repairs when a more ordinary adhesive is unavailable. Millions of people of all ages like to chew gum. One reporter said of Wrigley, “He taught the world the gum chewing habit.” Of course, gum chewing has its … [Read more...]