Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

ERLC presidential search committee announces Evan Lenow as the candidate to serve as ERLC president

By ERLC NASHVILLE (ERLC) - The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s presidential search committee has announced Evan Lenow as their candidate to serve as the entity’s next president. The full board of trustees will vote on this recommendation from the search committee at a special called meeting in April. Lenow’s candidacy follows a seven-month search led by the search committee, composed of seven trustees approved by the full board. Lenow currently serves as the director of the Institute for Christian Leadership, director of Church and Minister Relations, and chair of the Christian Studies Department for Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss. Mitch Kimbrell, chair of the search committee, commented on Lenow’s presidential candidacy. “Evan is exceptionally qualified and has time-tested experience, but what I’m most encouraged by is how much he loves Southern Baptists and how eager he is to serve by helping us apply the Scriptures and the Baptist Faith and Message to the most important ethical questions of our day. I know that when he represents Southern Baptists in the public square, he’ll do so as one of us.” If elected by the ERLC trustee board, Lenow will assume the role of ERLC president, succeeding Gary … [Read more...]

Christian apologist Frank Turek to speak at LCU

By LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) - Louisiana Christian University will welcome renowned Christian apologist Frank Turek to campus, April 7. Turek will answer the following questions in a four-point case for Christianity: Does truth exist? Does God exist? Are miracles possible? Is the New Testament reliable? Turek is president of the Christian apologetics ministry CrossExamined.org and best-selling author of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.” A mentor to the late Charlie Kirk, Turek was just a few feet away from Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, when Kirk was assassinated. Christian apologetics uses science and reasoning to prove the truth of Christianity and cross-examines claims against it. More information about Turek’s ministry is available on CrossExamined.org. The event begins at 7 p.m. in Guinn Auditorium and is free and open to the public. … [Read more...]

LCU inaugurates Johnson as president

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM)  – In a year when Louisiana Christian University is marking its 120th anniversary, the school celebrated the inauguration of Mark Johnson as its 10th president. The ceremony reflected a theme of service to the college, Louisiana Baptist churches and central Louisiana that has been the heartbeat of his first months as president. “My father, being a pastor for over 50 years in ministry and a grandfather in ministry, taught me at an early age, ‘Trust the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and then see what happens,'” (a reference to Proverbs 3:5-6) Johnson shared during the March 26 ceremony. “Because I was supposed to do three things, and the Lord was supposed to do one; He was supposed to direct my path. And so I stayed with that for my whole life. A lot of places where I could have spoken back, I decided not to because I was going to trust the Lord with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, in all my ways acknowledge Him and He would direct my path." The event, held inside Guinn Auditorium, emphasized the importance of faith, family, business partnerships and educational excellence … [Read more...]