By Will Hall, Message executive editor NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM) – As early as April, lawsuits have been stacking up against the Southern Baptist Convention, then, in large part, due to the Executive Committee having waived attorney-client privilege in response to a messenger’s 2021 motion pertaining to the handling of sexual abuse allegations and survivors. Now, lawsuits are being filed and claimants are being sought in national ads launched by legal firms after the release of the controversial “Report of the Independent Investigation” by Guidepost Solutions, and the subsequent adoption of recommendations from the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force by messengers at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting. LAWSUITS MOUNT In an April 12 report by The Pathway, the news service of Missouri Baptists, Rolland Slade, pastor of Meridian Baptist Church in El Cajon, California, and the then-chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, announced that as of April 1 there were 23 lawsuits against the SBC related to sex abuse issues, with 19 cases in North Carolina and 4 in Virginia. After the release of the Guidepost report, however, scores of law firms began running ads online and elsewhere seeking clients to join class action cases. One ad read: … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM)—Louisianan Christians and social conservatives can celebrate several sweet victories won during the 2022 Regular Session of the legislature, but several developments likely will leave a bitter taste. PIVOTAL ISSUES Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed H.B. 953 which would have improved R.S. 13:5233, the state’s Preservation of Religious Freedom Act, by preventing the state from putting a greater burden on houses of worship than it enforces on any secular business, service, or assembly. In a letter to House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, Edwards said that the bill “would go far beyond” the lawful protections of religious liberty deemed constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, adding that “a regulation would fail under this bill if it treats any business or entity differently than religious organizations, not just comparable entities. This would lead to unfair, and, in the case of emergencies, a potential danger to the public.” Rep. Alan Seabaugh, a member of Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport and the sponsor of the legislation, rejected the governor’s rationale, saying such logic had already been rejected by the Louisiana Supreme Court in a case that … [Read more...]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (LBM) – Messengers to the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting enjoyed fellowship and inspiring worship, but also conducted a great deal of  important business, June 14-15, in Anaheim, California. ELECTIONS Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Texas, was elected SBC president, winning a runoff vote against Florida Pastor Tom Ascol by a margin of 1,229 votes, 3,401 votes (60.87 percent) to 2,172 (38.88 percent). In the first round of voting, Barber received 3,258 votes, or 47.58 percent compared to Ascol’s (pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral, Fla.), 2,332 votes, or 34.06 percent; Frank Cox’s (pastor, North Metro Baptist Church, Lawrenceville, Ga.), 887 votes, or 12.95 percent; and Robin Hadaway’s (professor, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo.), 340 votes, or 4.97 percent. In other elections, messengers elected Victor Chayasirisobhon (pastor, Faith Fellowship Church, LaPalma, California) first vice-president; Alex Sands (pastor, Kingdom Life Church in Simpsonville, South Caorlina) second vice-president; Don Currence (administrative pastor, First Baptist Church, Ozark, Missouri), registration secretary; and Nathan Finn (provost, North … [Read more...]

By Message staff PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Christian University has named former Wildcat basketball player Anna Phillips as its new head women’s basketball coach. “I am going to show up every day and give this team and school everything that I have,” Phillips said in a new conference June 16. “Louisiana Christian University basketball is part of who I am today. And I’m looking forward to building towards a championship as well as transforming lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ while making sure each student athlete succeeds on and off the court.” Phillips helped lead then-Louisiana College to a 41-34 record and qualify for the American Southwest Conference Tournament twice when she played for the program (2013-2016). After graduation, she joined the team as its academic and community service coordinator, and operated team camps. After LC, Phillips was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas (2017-2018) and head women’s basketball coach at Grace Christian School in Alexandria (2018-2019). Most recently, Phillips was head coach of Winnfield High School, her alma mater. During her time there, she led Winnfield to the 2A state playoffs during the three seasons she … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message staff writer GDANSK, Poland (LBM) – A Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief team recently saw a “spiritual breakthrough” with Ukrainian refugees during a week of ministry in Poland. Members of First Baptist Church, DeRidder, and Trinity Baptist Church, Lake Charles, worked out of First Baptist Church, Gdansk, May 8- 16. While there, the team treated the women to pedicures and took the refugees on an outing downtown. The team’s kindness and love saw the refugees experience Christ-filled joy. “Near the end of the trip we took the women and children out to enjoy ice cream and a Ferris wheel ride in downtown, which finally brought some smiles to their faces,” said Dan Batchelor, a member of FBC DeRidder. “The site coordinator at the church told us this was the first time that the refugees at the church began to smile and experience joy since disaster relief teams began taking teams here. We didn’t see any of the women or children accept Christ, but we saw the ice break which can lead to a spiritual harvest down the road.” Since late March, Louisiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Mississippi each have sent one team per month to serve in Gdansk on a rotating basis. However, Louisiana Baptists Disaster … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE, La. (LCUNews) -- Nine Louisiana Christian University students and two faculty members spent two weeks in England seeing firsthand the world in which C.S. Lewis walked. Anna Albury, The Bahamas, Madalyn Starns, Amite, Hannah Miller, Iowa, Louisiana, Jade Harmon, Lafayette, Joshua Poole, Lithia, Florida, Leanna Lanford, Pineville, Mackenzie Strickland, Monroe, Marisa Mercer, Winnfield and Emma Ellis, Krotz Springs joined professors Justin Langford, dean of the School of Missions and Ministries, and Sarah Payne, director of the C.S. Lewis Honors Program and a chemistry professor, on the 14-day trip. Students, several who were part of HN304 Honors Colloquium travel course, toured London, Oxford, Stonehenge and Bath. HN 304 is a travel course option that all honors students can take, and the location varies every year. “This was the inaugural trip to London and Oxford which, I believe, was delayed a couple years due to COVID restrictions,” Langford said. “The London trip will be the regular international trip offered every three years.” The colloquium travel courses are on a three-year rotation (national, local, international), said Payne. “A trip to Boston in May 2023 is in the works,” Payne said. “There … [Read more...]

By Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) - Louisiana Baptist college students gathered on June 3 to finalize details before embarking for GOLA summer missions in the state and beyond. Now, in its 14th year, GOLA (Go Louisiana) VBS is an emphasis by the Louisiana Baptist collegiate ministry that allows college students to serve on teams who spend the summer sharing God’s love through what is the largest evangelistic outreach – Vacation Bible School -- of the year for many congregations. Churches in which the teams conduct a VBS normally have low baptisms and would have trouble coordinating such an event without the help of the GOLA VBS team. Two teams that will comprise five college students on each will serve at churches around the state, June 4-July 16. Another team of six students will conduct VBS in Wyoming, June 9-July 31, while another team of students will serve in Costa Rica, June 21-28. One student will serve as a church staff apprentice in Louisiana. Additionally, the state’s 15 BCMs will provide many more to serve as interns, camp personnel, church staff and international mission board missionaries. GOLA strategist Ashley Jones said students who serve on GOLA teams are a blessing to both students and … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. - I, like many of you, read the report from Guidepost and experienced an array of emotions. We must do better. We must be better. Those affected by sexual abuse deserve better and certainly, our devotion to our Lord demands better. As promised during our Annual Meeting last November, we will seek to listen to, and support, those  who have suffered abuse. In addition, we will be proactive in implementing strategies that endeavor to eliminate all incidents of sexual abuse among our churches. During our May Executive Board meeting, I updated our trustees on what’s been done since our November gathering. We will continue to review the report from the SATF and discern what recommendations can and should be adopted among our convention of churches. I urge Louisiana Baptists to pray this moment brings us to a place of acknowledgment of sin which leads to repentance that makes way for the fruit of repentance. For about a year now, we have been calling people to introspection, consecration, intercession, and decision through the personal revival guide, Change Me. Today, more than ever, we need to be praying, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test and know my concerns. See if there is any … [Read more...]