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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Are you a builder or a breaker?

By Greg Laurie I heard about a monk who joined a monastery and took a vow of silence, with the exception of being allowed to speak two words every year. After the first year passed, he was called into the abbot’s office to speak his two words. The monk said, “Bed’s hard.” Another year passed, and again he went to speak his two words before the abbot. The monk said, “Food’s cold.” Another year went by, and he appeared once again before the abbot. “You’re allowed your two words,” the abbot told him. “What are they?” The monk said, “I quit.” “It’s no wonder!” the abbot exclaimed. “Since you’ve been here, all you’ve done is complain!” That is true of some people. All they want to do is complain. My friend James Merritt says there are two kinds of people in this world: those who are born again, and those who are born against. Some people are simply contrary. Nothing pleases them. Nothing meets their standards. They actually like to go and make trouble in the lives of others. As Proverbs 4:16 says, evil people are restless unless they’re making trouble. They can’t even get a good night’s sleep unless they have made life miserable for someone. Zig Ziglar said, “Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember, the only … [Read more...]

Patrick: Of unity and foregone conclusions

By Rick Patrick SYLACAUGA, Ala. (LBM) – As I challenge the prevailing narrative arising from the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, my remarks, though sincere and well-intentioned, will likely be misunderstood. This is regrettable and unavoidable. Just because something is difficult to say does not mean it should not be said. Perhaps my timing will be challenged. Could this not wait for another day? Yes, it could, but Barney Fife’s “nip it in the bud” philosophy is practically a core value of mine. Why allow a questionable notion to grow unchallenged for an extended period of time? Most accounts of the convention describe the beautiful feelings of unity and peace elicited by the withdrawal of J.D. Greear from the presidential race just prior to the second runoff ballot on that Wednesday morning in 2016. The election result was thus determined, not by the expressed will of the electorate, but by one candidate yielding to another. Candidates are free to run and free to withdraw, but in the aftermath of Greear’s resignation, I must have read a half dozen times that Greear is almost certain to become the SBC president in 2018. The theory is that his 2016 forfeiture was such a sign … [Read more...]

Editorial: Does the ERLC represent the SBC?

By Will Hall, Message Editor ALEXANDRIA – When an unnamed staffer “boasted” to the online media outlet Think Progress in October 2014 that Russell Moore had “completely rebranded” the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, few could have imagined what this meant. However, Moore’s all-in campaign against presidential candidate Donald Trump, highlighted by his most recent attacks on Liberty University for hosting Trump at a student convocation, reveals something quite unexpected about Moore when he was elected to lead the ERLC in 2013—a penchant for disdain for Christians who think differently than him. Moore rightly points out Trump’s moral flaws—and character should count—and he has a right and responsibility to comment on Trump’s policies and to share his view of what these might mean in terms of Christian values. But Moore’s dislike for Trump goes beyond the pale, translating into disrespect and even contempt for any Christian who might weigh these considerations differently than Moore when comparing the range of personal beliefs and behaviors as well as public records of ability and achievement within such a large field of candidates for the White House. DISRESPECT FOR OTHERS In an editorial for the New … [Read more...]

The GBO’s impact: language works

By Carlos Schmidt, Louisiana Baptists Hispanic catalytic church planter strategist Without GBO, language works would suffer. -- We could not supplement new language works -- We could not train church planters for diverse language groups Without GBO, we could not equip churches through evangelism conferences, total church workshops, small group training and many other equipping events. Without GBO, individual churches and associations would have to carry the entire burden to support and equip church plants to spread the Gospel in areas where it is not now present. With GBO, we join together in this venture. Named for the first executive director of the Woman’s Missionary Union, the Georgia Barnette Offering’s annual Week of Prayer is set for Sept. 10-17. The theme for this year is “Why Wait, For They Are Ready” inspired by John 4:35. This year’s offering goal is $1.7 million.   … [Read more...]

GBO’s impact felt across Louisiana

By Janie Wise, Louisiana Baptists women's missions and ministry strategist What would Louisiana missions be like without the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering? It's a scenario I would not want to imagine. It is like asking, “What if churches had no desire or conviction to share God's great love with the lost in our state?” It is like asking, “What if we didn't care that our neighbors and co-workers were dying without knowing Jesus?” -- Without the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering providing assistance to church planting, the 2,908 persons baptized by our church plants since 2010 likely would not have heard the Gospel. -- The 200 congregations of the church plants established since 2010 would not have met for discipleship, for worship and fellowship, and, they would not have been reaching and teaching people who were not being reached by existing churches. -- Without the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering to provide an allocation for children's mission events, sixteen girls and boys would not have heard the Gospel at M-JAM in the spring of 2016 and responded in faith for salvation. Six girls at Girls' Mission at mission camp may have waited longer to accept Jesus as Savior. -- Without … [Read more...]

The GBO’s impact: disaster relief

By Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptists disaster relief strategist GBO provides our budget to have a ready response during times of disaster in Louisiana as well as across the USA. -- All the funds needed for training come from the GBO. -- All the funds for start-up equipment we use in national disasters come from the GBO. By faith we train and prepare for disasters. But if we did not have the funds from the GBO we would not be able to respond. Last year, during the floods inf Louisiana we had teams from 29 different state conventions that came to assist in our response. We were able to assist the Red Cross in preparing thousands of meals to survivors as well as providing meals for the volunteers who came on their own dollar and stayed for months helping people through these devastating floods. I hope and pray that your largest gift this year beyond your local church will be to support the GBO. When everyone in our 1,600 plus churches give to the GBO it makes a difference when the storms of life touch the people of Louisiana. Give with a cheerful heart. Thanks for your faithfulness to the GBO and the CP. Named for the first executive director of the Woman’s Missionary Union, the Georgia Barnette … [Read more...]