By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor In an enormous outpouring of financial support for the Georgia Barnette State Offering, Louisiana Baptists have helped to make history. When the final tally was in, the GBO had not only surpassed the $1.85 million goal set for the coming year by $133,000 but was just $17,000 shy of topping the $2 million mark. The $1.98 million – $1,983,000 to be exact – is the most ever received, and eclipses the previous high mark of $1.72 million set in 2011 by an impressive $262,000. “God is so good,” Mission and Ministry Director John Hebert said. “We have just received the highest total ever for the GBO. This kind of blessing is a testimony that our churches strongly support missions in Louisiana.” The Georgia Barnette Offering partially funds – 46 percent – the Missions and Ministry team budget, as well as provides funding for the LBC’s Mission Church Builders, Disaster Relief, Church Planting, Resort Ministries, training conferences and leadership training/missions education events – RA/GA, and scholarships (the WMU Christian Education Scholarships and Christian Vocational Service Scholarships at Louisiana College.) “The GBO is the whole package for missions in Louisiana … it is the lifeblood of this … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 02/07/2014 - 10:19 Tony Nolan, founder of TNT Ministries in Canton, Ga., shared his testimony and message at the 2014 Evangelism Conference in Baton Rouge. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE – Tony Nolan knows first-hand how the power of Christ can overcome a dysfunctional early life. Born to a homeless, mentally ill prostitute who was placed in a mental institution in Jacksonville, Fla., and then immediately placed in foster care where he suffered abuse, Nolan was eventually adopted by a poor and dysfunctional family for $200. Often, his adopted father would tell him in a drunken rage that he wished he had never bought him. His adopted father’s words eventually resulted in a life of drug addiction and thoughts of suicide for Nolan during his teenage years. “I didn’t care about living,” said Nolan, founder of TNT Ministries in Canton, Ga. “I didn’t care about life. Those were dark days in my life.” However, on Feb. 24, 1989, a layperson at Westside Baptist in Jacksonville invited Nolan to attend a Bible study where he accepted Christ and was released from his pain. He soon began serving in his church and was called into the ministry. “God specializes in operating in … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 02/07/2014 - 10:22 Thomas, a civil engineering graduate of LSU, gives his testimony at the 2014 Evangelism Conference how the investment of Christians on campus and in the Baton Rouge area helped lead him to give his life to the Lord. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE – The Chinese student first visited a LSU Baptist Collegiate Ministry function for the free food but eventually found the bread of life. Thomas, who was studying civil engineering, arrived at LSU in the fall of 2010 unsatisfied with what he learned as a half-materialist, half-Buddhist. He learned in the months and years ahead the difference Christ can make in a person’s life, thanks to the investment of Christians on campus and in the Baton Rouge area. “I became half-Buddhist because they had a few interesting theories but they could not explain everything,” said Thomas, who shared his testimony at the recent Louisiana Baptist Convention Evangelism Conference at Istrouma Baptist in Baton Rouge. “When I first came here I saw Christians and I saw their life is totally different from non-believers. “Before I came I thought all Americans were people from Hollywood movies,” continued Thomas, who goes by … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 02/07/2014 - 10:25 Dr. Richard Land, President of Southern Evangelical Seminary and former head of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association Director of Missions Lane Moore lead a large crowd of participants over the Texas Street Bridge in Shreveport during in the Louisiana Life March North Saturday, Jan. 25. An estimated crowd of 5,280 people attended the inaugural event. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY – Scanning across the crowd of around 5,280 marching in unity for life across the Texas Street Bridge, Mike Johnson couldn’t help but think he was experiencing a glimpse of heaven. Men and women, young and old, from various denominations and races joined together on a sunny late January Saturday morning to make the 1.2 mile-journey from Bossier City to Shreveport in the inaugural Louisiana Life March North. “The first annual Life March for North Louisiana was an incredible success, and a tremendous encouragement about our future,” said Johnson, a Shreveport attorney and legal counsel for Louisiana Right to Life. “The more than 5,200 people who participated in the event on January 25 will never forget the … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor The Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996 allowed states to refuse to recognize homosexual marriages that were granted by the laws of other states. However, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared Section 3 of DOMA to be unconstitutional it opened the door for homosexual couples to insist their marriages performed in one state to be recognized in a state where homosexual marriage was not sanctioned by law. Section 3, which the Court found violated the Constitution reads as follows: “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” The Supreme Court’s ruling coupled with the trend of states granting legal status to homosexual marriage has caused some measure of concern among churches throughout America. Louisiana Baptist are no exception. The concern is very real. I have predicted in previous columns that homosexual activists will seek to further advance their agenda of forced … [Read more...]

By Jeff Iorg, President of Golden Gate Theological Seminary According to the Guttmacher Institute, the abortion rate in the U.S. declined in 2011 to its lowest rate since 1973 and the number of abortions fell by 13 percent between 2008 and 2011. While there were still about 1.06 million abortions in 2011 (and that’s still a national disgrace), the declining numbers are encouraging. The report postulated several reasons for the decline – ranging from the economic downturn making people more cautious about pregnancy to improved access to and use of contraceptives. Another factor, not mentioned in the report, is a growing cultural aversion to abortion as a birth control method. Other more recent surveys show a slight majority of Americans now oppose abortion. While far from being outlawed, abortion is less popular than ever. This is good news for unborn children who depend on others to defend their right to life. It’s also good news for the American society as we take at least one small step away from policies and practices designed to weed out those persons deemed weak, unnecessary, or unproductive. While a diminished number abortions isn’t the same as eliminating abortions, it’s a positive step in the right … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever, Author, Cartoonist in New Orleans Nothing is more difficult, more unpleasant, and with a greater possibility for collateral damage than terminating a minister on the church staff. Few churches get this right.  Many end up doing far more damage to the kingdom of God than if they had left that staff member where he was and done nothing. To be sure, there are occasions when terminating a minister on the spot with no advance notice is necessary. If a staff member has been arrested and there is probable cause, is guilty of immorality, is teaching heresy and refuses to stop or is trying to get the pastor fired he or she should be terminated immediately. However, even in those situations, you as a church leader have more people to think about than just that one person. If he has a wife and children, you owe them the Christ-like care and continued ministry of the church until their lives straighten out. If that minister has the trust and affection of church members, you owe them the assurance that this matter is being handled in a way they would approve of if they were doing it. Under normal circumstances no minister should ever be terminated abruptly without attempts being made to correct whatever was wrong.  He … [Read more...]

By Evan Lenow, Professor of Ethics at SWBTS Many of us would like to think that the church is immune to the growing trend of cohabitation prior to, or instead of, marriage. Unfortunately, this cultural trend has crept into the pews as fewer church members recognize cohabitation as a violation of biblical sexual ethics. Scripture is clear in its condemnation of fornication (a KJV-style word for a pre-marital sexual relationship). Fornication and fornicators (as well as adulterers) are described as evil, subject to judgment, and not heirs of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 15:19; Acts 15:20, 29; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Hebrews 13:4). Beyond the clear scriptural statements regarding fornication, cohabitation presents another breach of biblical ethics. God established the sexual relationship between a man and a woman in Genesis 2 as a sign of the covenant of marriage. Just like the rainbow serves as a tangible reminder of God’s covenant with Noah that He will not destroy the earth by flood again, the sexual relationship between a husband and wife demonstrates the exclusive, permanent union of marriage. It is so intimate that Genesis 2:24 says the man and woman “shall become one flesh.” Those who cohabit participate in the “pleasures” … [Read more...]

By Randall Williams, SBC's Executive Director of Seminary Extension As a young man, I worked in a small, family-owned meat market. Our primary business was to cut and wrap meat from livestock local farmers raised, slaughtered and brought to us. We would start work early in the morning, take a quarter of beef or half a hog from the cooler, and within a matter of an hour or so, we would have it cut, wrapped and boxed for the owner to take home. Most of the work we did revolved around using very sharp knives to section, break down, debone and process the meat. It did not take me long to learn that having a sharp knife made the work easier, safer and faster. In fact, I learned within the first week that the fastest way to keep my knife sharp was to use a “steel” to re-shape the edge of my blade. Just a few well-placed and well-timed honing strokes really made a difference. Over the years as I have studied the book of Proverbs, I have noticed how often the simplest phrase can carry the greatest meaning. Proverbs 27:17 is a great case in point. I have often thought of the lessons I learned in using a steel to sharpen a knife. Many who are reading this have quoted this verse in discussing the importance of transparency and openness … [Read more...]