By Message Staff VIDALIA, La. (LBM) - Ralph Webber, whose ministry spanned 70 years, died May 28. He was 89. Born June 3, 1930, in Jonesville, Webber was ordained to preach at 20 years old while attending Louisiana College. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from LC and later earned divinity degrees at the master and doctoral levels with New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Throughout the years Webber with his wife, Ann, by his side during their 66 years of marriage, served as pastor of Utility Baptist Church, Jonesville; Sicily Island First Baptist Church; First Baptist Church of LaPlace; Suburban Baptist Church, New Orleans; Vidalia First Baptist Church; Harrisonburg First Baptist Church; and, the Osyka Baptist Church in Mississippi . He also served as interim pastor of the Immanuel Baptist Church, Natchez, Miss., as well as a number of other congregations in Delta, LaSalle, and Ouachita associations. Webber also served as director of missions and ministry with the Louisiana Baptist Convention from May 1981 to February 1997. During that time, he worked with 78 churches in Catahoula, Concordia, LaSalle and Tensas parishes. Funeral services for Webber were held May 31 at First Baptist Vidalia. Webber is … [Read more...]
Five old innovations for our new day
By Lane Corley It’s a new day. New normals will emerge. Our churches are picking up new technologies and new innovations to help us continue to deliver the gospel. In this season of new, of change, of adaptation, there may also be some OLD innovations that we need to circle back to. As we reset our churches over the coming days, consider resetting these five practices and attitudes: The prayer chain –principle: mobilize prayer for the church and the lost. Growing up Southern Baptist, every church my family was a part of had a prayer chain. The prayer chain was a phone network built to mobilize prayer quickly when need arose in the congregation or community. How can your congregation be more effective at mobilizing prayer for one another, for the lost, for the community? Today, we have technologies available to us that can greatly enhance the impact of prayer mobilization. We all encourage prayer. How can we move from encouraging prayer to mobilizing prayer? What innovative approaches to prayer can we develop in the new normal? Discipleship training – principle: train the faithful to train others. The creativity of churches has grown tremendously over the last 20 years. Graphic design, stage design, sermon series … [Read more...]
Ebenezer girl became child of God on Mother’s Day
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HAMMOND, La. (LBM) – The most recent Mother’s Day weekend resulted in an extra celebration for Lachee and Chris Morgan. Their daughter, Bry’Anna, 8, told her parents on May 7 – three days before the holiday – she had declared Jesus as her Savior and wanted to share the decision publicly through baptism. “We prayed together and all cried,” Lachee told the Baptist Message. “As a parent, the only thing you can hope for is your children accept Jesus and that you will all be together for eternity. Eternity is so much bigger than life here and are excited Bry’Anna will join us in Heaven one day.” Bry’Anna, who stirred the baptismal waters at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hammond, May 24, said her salvation experience evoked an incredible joy and excitement that has not waned. “I was happy and excited then, and am still now,” Bry’Anna said. “My job as a Christian is to tell everyone about Jesus and what He did. I can’t wait to do so much for Him.” PRAYER-FOCUSED RESULTS Pastor Ken Schroeder credits a church committed to pray for a harvest for Bry'Anna's openness and readiness to receive salvation and her subsequent obedience in baptism. Hers was the sixth salvation and baptism … [Read more...]
Because Christ lives, Ravi Zacharias also lives
By Ron F. Hale It was on Ravi’s seeming death bed in Delhi, India, that a man walked into his hospital room with a little red Gideon New Testament. At the age of seventeen, young Ravi had downed a concoction of poison mixed with water and chemicals. Growing up in a culture of honor and shame, Ravi’s undisciplined life led him to a very dark place. His mother asked the man to leave the room. Holding up the New Testament, the man said, “Your son needs this more than anything else.” She allowed him to turn to the 14th chapter of John. Through the smog of his skepticism, shame, and pain, Ravi tried to listen as the Scriptures were read aloud. Then something happened. “It was like a bolt of lightning in a moment of pitch blackness,” Ravi Zacharias would later say of the moment the Holy Spirit pierced his heart and mind with the pregnant promise of the inspired Word of God. “‘Because I live, you also shall live,’ were the seven words that cracked open my encrusted heart.” He realized that what “live” refers to in John 14:19 was not what his life was about. In an instant, he wanted this new life more than anything in the world. Ravi humbly and honestly prayed, “Jesus, if you are who you claim to be here, I want that life … [Read more...]
State Fire Marshal issues Phase Two rules for churches
By Message Staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) - After the Monday announcement about loosening COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings by Gov. John Bel Edwards, Chief H. “Butch” Browning, the state fire marshal, issued specific guidance today for churches regarding how to conduct in-person worship services during Phase Two of the reopening of the state’s economy. In general, places of worship must continue to adhere to strict mitigation standards for preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, but may make greater use of seating capacity -- up to 50 percent -- while spacing individuals and groups to limit concentrations of people. The complete set of "Open Safely" instructions can be found by clicking here. Changes from Phase One guidance are highlighted in yellow. … [Read more...]
Louisiana College issues statement on Floyd death, racism
By Louisiana College Office of Communications PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews) — We stand with our fellow Christ followers in grieving the senseless death of George Floyd. Racism is sin! I have and will continue to teach and stand against it with all my heart! We are all made "in the image of God!" (Genesis 1:27) Fellow Christians and Americans, we need to see others as Christ does, as we are all created in His image and for His service. Louisiana College is a Christ-centered institution, and we not only pray for those directly affected by his death, but for citizens who have been wrongfully persecuted, judged, or harmed----because of their race. The Bible calls upon the righteous to speak. Christians can no longer be silent in the face of racial injustice. Christians have been given "the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18) Therefore, we can no longer simply give lip service to or simply offer piecemeal solutions to the racial issues that continue to plague our nation. Americans must stand together across racial, political, and cultural lines and recognize our common humanity. Reconciliation will happen when the true church of Jesus unites and loves one another and the world the way Jesus showed us. -Rick … [Read more...]
Fred Luter: ‘Another deadly virus’
By Fred Luter It’s hard to believe that this is the twelfth week since we have been able to come together as brothers and sisters in Christ to worship the Lord, and it’s all because of the COVID-19 virus affecting our nation. It is contagious, lethal and deadly. But as contagious, as lethal, and as deadly as COVID-19 has been, last week another virus was exposed in our nation, just as contagious and lethal. The virus of racism is alive and well in black communities all across America, leading to the senseless, sad, and shocking deaths of African-Americans all across our nation. We saw it in Minneapolis last week when a white police officer kneeled on the neck of George Floyd in front of three other police officers as he suffered, facedown in the street in full view of a gathering crowd, shouting, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Will Smith said it best when he said this week, “Racism isn’t getting worse in America. It has always been bad; however, the only thing different now is that it’s being filmed.” Jim Lewis, one of our members and a prolific author, said it this way when I talked to him: “Being a black man in America is dangerous and deadly.” He’s right. Because of racism, black lives are being taken … [Read more...]
Horn calls Louisiana Baptists to focused prayer on Thursday
By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists' Executive Director Steve Horn is asking members of the Louisiana Baptist family of congregations to devote Thursday to focused prayer and fasting for God’s intervention in the current challenges facing the country. Horn said he is not trying to organize an event. Instead, he said Louisiana Baptists are a praying people and his call to prayer is meant to organize what they already are doing but with united hearts and minds as a faith community. The basis for his call to prayer, he shared, is Nehemiah 1:4 - When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. “I realize that this is short notice, but the present circumstances of our nation demand an immediate prayer and fasting response,” Horn told the Baptist Message. “Because of the short notice, I am requesting everyone help get the word to churches through social media and associational e-newsletters.” … [Read more...]
Governor’s Phase Two opens church gatherings to 50 percent capacity
By Message Staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Nearly three weeks after the state entered Phase One of reopening the economy, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday that churches and many other businesses in the state may increase their percentage use of seating when a new order is issued Friday. Under the new guidance from the state fire marshal, Department of Health and Governor’s Office, congregations will be allowed to fill up to 50 percent of a worship center’s capacity, compared to a limit of 25 percent under the current order that ends after Thursday. Louisianans will be under the new order June 5 through June 25. “We are seeing signs of progress,” Edwards said about the fight against the pandemic during his Monday news conference. “Louisiana is headed in the right direction. “We still have work to do,” he continued. “We still have some restrictions that have to be in place. We are not going to be fully back to normal for some time and certainly not likely until we have a vaccine that is safe, effective, mass produced and then administered to some significant percentage of the population. But we are moving in the right direction.” Other businesses that now can open, with the same maximum occupancy limit of 50 … [Read more...]
Can you see the light?
By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) - For over two months now, my oldest son, my mom, and I have spent most Friday mornings at my mom’s clearing overgrown brush. What was planted as a fruit orchard in an open pasture almost thirty years ago has grown into a wilderness of every kind of vine and tree imaginable. How did the orchard get that way? For one, my dad seldom pruned anything. He liked to plant things and watch them grow. Therefore, the fruit trees and grapevines grew too big. That l...ed to the second problem: procrastination. As other trees started to come up among the fruit trees, even though I mowed the area through high school and college, I was not allowed to cut those trees. “We’ll cut them later.” Well, we never did. Daddy said “later” until he died thirteen years ago. When I moved here, mom said, “Sometime we need to cut those trees.” I too said, “Later.” Now, here we are another twelve years later! Guess what? The little trees aren’t so little anymore and now there are a lot more! We have worked hard cutting down trees, pulling vines, and hauling brush to our now three massive piles. We are nowhere near through. However, when we stopped on Friday, we rejoiced because we could see all the way through … [Read more...]
