By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – The 2021 Louisiana Legislative Session was designated a budget session, so each lawmaker was limited to submitting five bills each that did not deal with state finances. However, it was those other bills, most involving vices, that seemed to dominate headlines across the state. PROSTITUTION Rep. Mandie Landry (D) of Orleans Parish, submitted H.B. 67 which would have legalized prostitution, elevating it to the same status as any line of work in the state. Witnesses in support of the bill mocked “morals” and urged members of House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee “not to look to your pastor” for guidance about prostitution. But opponents argued that legalizing prostitution would contribute to more human trafficking and greater exploitation of sex workers – because the bill also decriminalized “pimping” and brothels and these two activities are used to keep women captive in sex trafficking. In the end, Landry voluntarily withdrew her bill when it became apparent from comments by committee members that it was going to be voted down. Meanwhile, the House soundly defeated a resolution (H.R. 136) by that committee’s chairman, Rep. Ted … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer COVINGTON, La. (LBM) – Johnny Huffman, founder of Fairhaven Ministry in Covington, has issued an ur-gent call for donations that will be placed in a 40-ft. container and shipped to Israel. “Recently, as I have watched the news, I watch people here in the US, as well as countries around the world, turning against Israel,” Huffman told the Baptist Message. “The Lord has impressed on me that if there was ever a time that Christians need to stand with and support His people, it is now. It is my opinion that the Lord gives us these opportunities. What we do with them is our decision.” Fairhaven Ministry, through a partnership with God’s Warehouse that is operated by Nolachucky Baptist Association in Morristown, Tennessee, is collecting items that will be shipped to and distributed by the non-denominational Joseph Project in Israel. According to its website, since 2000, the Joseph Project has received nearly 800 containers and provided more than $100 million in humanitarian aid to Israelites. Israel experienced 11 days of fighting between the country’s army and terrorists in the Gaza Strip before a cease fire was in effect, May 20. At least 230 Palestinians were killed, … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer MONROE, La. (LBM) – U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow won Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District seat in March, only three-and-a-half months after her husband, Luke, died from COVID-19 complications, Dec. 29, 2020. He was just five days from taking office after he had won the election the month before to succeed Ralph Abraham, who retired from Congress. She told the Baptist Message that the prayers of others helped her during that difficult time. “It’s hard for me to put into words how overwhelmingly beautiful and impactful and precious those prayers were to me,” Letlow said. “Even while we were in the hospital and Luke was in bad shape, we treasured those intercessory prayers that people were saying on his behalf and on ours. I know that they enveloped him, and he wasn’t alone, and he was at peace, and he had hope. To feel that on a visceral level -- thou-sands if not many thousands of prayers going up -- I will never be able to put into words what that means to me and my family.” Her husband’s death was not the first loss of a close loved one, she said. When she was a junior at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, her brother, Jeremy, 17, died from injuries sustained in a … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Louisiana Baptists gathered in Nashville, Tenn., for the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. While 633 registered as messengers, many more came as guests for a time of fellowship, business meetings and even a Youth On Mission experience. Their time in Nashville was captured in photographs submitted to the Baptist Message. … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff LAKE CHARLES, La. (LBM) – Among the many people in need of help to restore their homes damaged by recent flooding in southwest Louisiana, six also had their souls restored through a Gospel witness by Southern Baptist disaster relief teams. “While it’s wonderful to help people get their homes cleaned out so they can rebuild, we are reminded that those homes are temporary,” Louisiana Baptist disaster relief coordinator Stan Statham told the Baptist Message. “Now, those individuals who accepted Christ are prepared for an eternal home.” Since relief operations began out of Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, teams from Louisiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas have worked in the area, which received up to 15 inches of water in some parts May 17. According to Clark Fooshe, white hat (coordinator) at the Incident Command Center at Trinity Baptist, teams have completed 166 jobs out of 200 requests, distributed 64 Bibles and presented the Gospel 40 times. Teams are expected to remain in Lake Charles until June 19. Another team from Ohio also is working out of Baton Rouge, which received more than 12 inches of rain. “We’ve had a good number of states respond,” … [Read more...]