By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor BATON ROUGE – ‘I Will.’ Defined in the dictionary, ‘I will’ means one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action. It is exactly what Wayne Jenkins, director of evangelism and church growth for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, hopes participants will do at next year’s 2014 Evangelism Conference. “The five sessions are really broken into five parts,” Jenkins said. “I will be intentional. I will intercede. I will invest. I will invite. I will impart the word to any and all I see. We will ask people to write down a person’s name and make a commitment. When you combine all of this, you realize this is what the conference is about.” Jenkins, though, hopes the theme and the pledges will grow legs and be used in churches after the conference. “Everybody who enters the conference will receive a booklet,” Jenkins said. “It will contain 10 pages and five commitments and it is our hope churches will use it. A pastor can order additional copies from the printer or he can use just the outer cover and include his own special messages. Either way, this will give a pastor a good five week series.” The two-day event, which takes place at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge on Jan. 27-28, … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 12/02/2013 - 14:36 Participants sign up for the 127 Foster and Adoption Conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria. More than 150 attended the inaugural event. By Julie Cupples, LBCH Communications ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home & Family Ministries partnered with Louisiana Family Forum and Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria to host the inaugural 127 Foster and Adoption Conference on Saturday, Nov. 16. Over 150 enthusiastic participants included current foster and adoptive parents, families interested in foster care and adoption, and pastors and church ministry leaders wanting to learn about orphan care ministries. The general session began with a warm welcome from Dr. Perry Hancock, President of the Children’s Home. Hancock pointed the conference attendees to James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans… in their distress…” Hancock reminded the audience that even though everyone is not called to be a foster parent, all Christians are called to care for orphans. Louisiana Family Forum President Gene Mills shared the story of Davion Only, a child in foster care who asked a local church congregation to help … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor Homosexual activism in America may have started as a movement for toleration. In recent years, however, it seems to have developed into an intolerant campaign to force complete acceptance of a lifestyle many regard as immoral behavior. Most historians trace the homosexual rights movement’s beginnings to what is known as the Stonewall Riots that began June 28, 1969, in New York City. According to the History Channel website, “Just after 3 a.m., a police raid of the Stonewall Inn – a gay club located on New York City’s Christopher Street – turns violent as patrons and local sympathizers begin rioting against the police. “Although the police were legally justified in raiding the club, which was serving liquor without a license among other violations, New York’s gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs, a majority of which had already been closed. “The crowd on the street watched quietly as Stonewall’s employees were arrested,” the History Channel report continued, “but when three drag queens and a lesbian were forced into the paddy wagon, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police.... “The so-called Stonewall Riot was followed by several days of … [Read more...]

By J.D. Greear, Pastor, Summit Church, Durham, N.C. I’ve often heard that we should keep our views on various moral issues out of the public square. My first contention is that it is impossible to do. Judgments offered from either side of the discussion have a fiercely moral tone. While the moral indignation of gay marriage and abortion opponents is well-known, none can doubt a similar indignation in those who affirm gay marriage and abortion. Who has not seen the fires of perceived righteousness burning in the eyes of ideological opponents? Sometimes it is a righteous fire born of concern; other times it is the smug fire of self-righteousness. But we cannot deny that the indignation is moral in its nature. One can hear moral overtones when President Obama, who has done more to promote both gay marriage and abortion-on-demand than any president in history, follows up a proposal with his trademark, “It’s just the right thing to do.” The president’s statement, of course, is usually met with applause from those sharing his moral outlook. But right according to what? Furthermore, we typically laud those who operate according to their convictions -- unless, that is, those convictions are wrong. Very few of us admire those who … [Read more...]

By Todd Peebles, Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, San Angelo, Texas In seminary, students knew we had to be very intentional to connect with and share the Gospel with people who have not been engaged with its message. That intentionality included classes in evangelism and campaigns around the campus to engage the community. Sadly, it was easy to live life in the seminary bubble of people just like me, who do many of the same things as I. In a nutshell, the bubble isolates people from the world, disengages them from ministry to the lost, and gives a false sense of security. The bubble is not limited to the campuses of seminaries or Bible colleges; it also unfortunately affects local churches. My pastorate, Hillcrest Baptist Church, now realizes we were living in the bubble. It sounded something like this: “I can’t participate in this upcoming outreach event because I do not know any lost people!” Hillcrest is one of the 70 percent of churches that have plateaued or are declining. We have a church full of people who socialize with people from church and hang out with people from church. Sadly, we do not engage those outside our circle. The looming question is how do we exit the bubble? We do not just wake up one day and the … [Read more...]

To the Editor   During the 166th Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention motions were made concerning our Executive Director, David Hankins. In brief, both motions sought to abolish the voting privileges of Dr. Hankins on the board of trustees for Louisiana College as an ex officio member. What this boils down to is an attempt to extinguish the voice and the vote of our Executive Director. I appreciate any Louisiana Baptists’ right to disagree with and even protest the decisions of any board. But, if Louisiana Baptists have an Executive Director that can’t be trusted to give influence, then the matter is much larger than motions about procedure. I believe David Hankins has proven himself trustworthy time and again. He is doing the job Louisiana Baptists have asked him to do with fairness and accountability. When I moved to Louisiana from Georgia, I was somewhat concerned because I knew little about the LBC. But, I knew Dr. Hankins. I had spent time with him and knew his track record. Since I have been here, I have found Dr. Hankins to be a good leader, just as he has always been. I believe the overwhelming majority of Louisiana Baptists feel the same way. We trust David Hankins and desire neither his … [Read more...]

By Argile Smith, Louisiana College Hope in the holiday season can be hard to come by these days if we try to find it in what’s going on around us. However, we can always find hope when we turn to the Lord. Of course, turning to Him comes by way of getting into His Word. For that reason, we do well to reflect on Psalm 102. In this psalm, we’re reminded of the certain hope we have in the Lord as we face an array of uncertainties that can rob us of the joy that the holiday season represents. The author of Psalm 102 endured extreme physical agony, and at the same time he grieved over the destruction of Jerusalem, the city he loved. In his pain, sorrow, and loneliness, he cried out to God for help. We don’t know the psalmist’s name, and we probably can’t identify with his situation. But we can certainly get our hands around his anxiety. He probably lived in Babylonian exile when he wrote the psalm. Along with others from Israel who had been deported there after the destruction of Jerusalem, he longed to be home. In his painful ordeal, he pleaded with God for a response to his impassioned call for help. His situation was desperate (1-6). His life seemed to be drifting away like smoke vanishing in the wind. His fever had become so … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, NOBTS Question:  What do we know about John the Baptist?   Bill Warren Responds: Most of our information about John comes from Luke 1 and 3:1-20, with additional details coming from the other Gospels and the Jewish historian Josephus, who says John was a righteous person calling people back to God, with Herod putting him in prison due both to what John was saying and his popularity. As indicated by other NT references to John, his influence did not cease with his death, and even today there is a small group of followers of John the Baptist in Iraq. John’s father Zechariah was a priest and his mother Elizabeth was also from a priestly family (and related to Mary, the mother of Jesus), which would have been the norm—priestly families normally married within the priestly group. Although older when John was born, Zechariah’s age was still likely below 50, the normal age for priests to retire, for Zechariah is still an active priest.  Between John’s birth and later in life, apparently something happened related to the temple leadership in Jerusalem that drove him to shift from his priestly heritage to denouncing those in charge, as seen in Mt. 3:7-10 where he calls the Jerusalem leaders a brood of vipers, … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Three Louisiana Baptist women are hoping their recently-published books about personal experiences with breast cancer, bullying and other difficult times will inspire others to persevere through crises. Though the subjects and length of time taken to write each book were different, the goals were the same – offer encouragement and hope to those suffering with life’s problems. “Women have a tendency to do-it-all and not ask for help,” said Angelia Carpenter, one of the three female authors. “Having a book, written by an everyday person, gives them the opportunity to find the answers or identify with someone who has already been through what they are experiencing. It helps them realize they aren’t alone; someone else had those feelings, thoughts, and experiences too.” She hopes her book, “From One Survivor … to Another … to Another … to Another,” that she co-authored with her mother, Jean Hulsey, can help encourage both cancer patients and caregivers during their journey. Hulsey was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, nine months after her father and husband were killed in an automobile accident. Her mom’s positive example on how to cope helped Carpenter when she was diagnosed with the … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs and Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message Editor’s note: The nature of the messages preached at the 1845 conference made it difficult to report on them with any depth due to the space constraints of the print edition of the Baptist Message. The report is but a synopsis of the sermons preached during the conference. All messages can be accessed via the Heritage Baptist website at http://hbcshreveport.com/   SHREVEPORT – Heritage Baptist Church in Shreveport hosted The 1845 Conference Oct. 31-Nov. 2. The conference featured sermons that sought to convey  the speakers understanding of the spirit and theology of those who formed the Southern Baptist Convention. There was also an opportunity to share the Gospel in the neighborhood surrounding the church. Earl Blackburn, pastor of Heritage, preached a sermon to his congregation on Sept. 15 titled “Why the 1845 Conference and Why Now?” Blackburn not only cited the decline of Christianity in Western Civilization, but he also expressed concern about the Southern Baptist Convention. “If the overall direction of the SBC continues the way it is theologically today, there will be a need for another conservative resurgence in two or three decades,” Blackburn said. He offered … [Read more...]