By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – COVID-19 continues to kill people in our state and across our nation even though government officials know what is causing the complications leading to hospitalizations, ventilations and deaths and why COVID-19 affects a very specific vulnerable population in such dramatic ways. As of this writing, there have been about 4,500 deaths from the coronavirus in our state, with 41 percent of these lost lives being suffered by nursing home residents, according to Louisiana Department of Health data. Indeed, more than 3,000 deaths (67 percent) have stricken those 70 years old or more. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published information showing that half of the 176,000 COVID-19 deaths, so far, have taken the lives of those 78 years old or more. But what these victims share in common is not age. Instead, they have a condition also shared with younger victims of hospitalizations, ventilations and deaths – an increased volume of angiotensin converting enzyme 2, a protein that regulates blood pressure. It is a factor in hypertension, diabetes, cardiac disease, chronic kidney disease and obesity, all of which are comorbid … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. - In my distress I called to the Lord;     I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice;     my cry came to his ears. -2 Samuel 22:7 My Facebook memory notifications are reminding me that this week marks four years since the historic floods in South Louisiana. Our church at the time had 50 families with water in their homes. In some ways, four years seems like a lifetime ago. So it is with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005. So it is with 9-11, now nearly 19 years ago. One day, we will talk about COVID-19 the way we talk about these other life catastrophes. All of those were, and are headline-dominant, history-making, life-altering events – giants, if you will.  And in this COVID-weary season, there often appears to be no shortage of these giants. They simply keep coming. Their shadows cover our attempts to recapture some degree of normalcy in our ministries, our families and our culture. We know about David’s battle with Goliath, but the rapid succession of giants coming against David, as recorded in 2 Samuel 21:15-22, is not as familiar. In the span of eight verses, we learn of four giants coming against Israel. All four were descendants of that great giant, Goliath. All were … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey Recently, I saw a tweet on Twitter that asked the question, “What would Jesus do in the midst of a worldwide pandemic?” No answer to the question was given, but the author obviously had an agenda and a suggested answer. The good news is that it led me to really ask, “What would Jesus do?” A man I’ve known about for a long time tried to answer that question biblically and seriously. Wallace Henley said that Jesus would do now what He did then. At that point Henley began to describe what Jesus did then and what the church today should do. In my words, the church needs to come out of this pandemic stronger than when we entered this difficult time. We need to make sure we live biblically and express the hope that we have in Christ. What did Jesus do? 1. He worshiped. Jesus worshiped, and He taught people to worship. He told us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul. He told us to worship God in spirit and in truth. Luke reminded us that Jesus made it His custom to worship the Father. 2. Jesus interceded. One of the great things we can do is intercede for our neighbors. In times like these, people want to pray, and they want us to pray for them. One of my favorite old … [Read more...]

By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptist missions and ministry team leader ALEXANDRIA, La. - “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) This verse describes the exercise of faith as accurately as any in the Bible. Abraham exercised faith by obeying and going. He didn’t even know where he was going, yet he acted. Exercising faith is an essential skill for all church leaders. In the past year, I have tried to present the skills of successful church planters and church leaders. Hopefully these articles have been of benefit to our readers. The idea behind my writing has been manifold. -- I wanted to present a complete list of necessary skills. --I wanted to clearly define each skill. --I wanted to describe them in such a way that individuals could assess their skill development on a practical rather than academic level. --I wanted to challenge all leaders to continue in the pursuit of skill development. The skill of exercising faith is harder to describe than to illustrate. In Hebrews 11, however, the writer seems to do both well. The New International Version (NIV) Bible … [Read more...]

By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. - Transitions are some of the most beautiful things that occur in life. In music, we can feel our spirits lift as a modulation occurs. In sports, transitions cause us to rise from our seats and cheer on our team as the football is run into the end zone or the basketball is passed to a player who shoots and scores. In creation, the daily sunrise and sunset and the seasonal changes can take our breath away. As we live our lives, we see a lot of persona...l transitions: the first day of school, graduation day, wedding day, first job, new job, new home, first child, first grandchild, etc. Most transitions come at beautiful times in life. We celebrate them as they happen, and remember them with fondness as we look back through pictures and videos. Have you ever stopped to realize, though, that every transition, no matter how beautiful, has a bit of fear attached to it? Will the musicians make that key change effectively? Will the catch be made? What does the night hold? What does the new day hold? What will this year of school be like? What will being on my own be like? Is this really the person for me to marry? What kind of parents will we be? Will we be able to handle the empty … [Read more...]