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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

LCU students earn multiple awards at annual NRB Convention

By Al Quartemont, LCU News GRAPEVINE, Texas (LCU News) – Students from the Louisiana Christian University Convergence Media and Theatre departments brought home two first-place finishes and one fourth-place finish at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Feb. 25. Competing against other member schools in the on-site contests, LCU finished first in the 12-hour news and 12-hour audio challenges. The school’s 24-hour film challenge team finished fourth. “We continue to be amazed by the level our students reach in these challenge competitions,” said Jeff Young, associate professor of media production at LCU. “It gives them the chance to experience deadline pressures and see how they stack up against students from other schools. It also allows them to see the bigger picture about the Christian media industry, and we see tremendous growth in all of them after this experience.” The news challenge team was made of junior Cayden Walls, senior Joseph Johnson and freshman Kayley McCarty. They were required to produce a same-day news story focused on the potential impact of the new Trump Administration on the Christian media industry. The audio challenge team, which … [Read more...]

Newly elected LCU president shares Kingdom vision

By Brian Blackwell, Message staff writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Shortly after his election as the 10th president of Louisiana Christian University Feb. 25, Mark Johnson shared his excitement about fostering partnerships with the community and for the Kingdom. “It's not about me,” Johnson shared with local news media after the conclusion of a press conference on campus. “It's about all of us. And I think that’s what makes me more excited – to bring people together and to get some excitement.” When he officially assumes his role June 1, Johnson said he will embark upon the P3 56 Tour, a series of 100 events in 100 days. Based on Proverbs 3:5-6, the effort will aim to engage the community and promote the university. “Here's my appeal to everyone in the community and in the area,” he said. “Become one of those 100 events. We want you to say, hey, come and meet our school. Come and meet our business. Come and meet our leaders. And we’re trying to generate the kind of buzz that we can fill up these 100 events with events not only on the campus but off the campus as well. “I believe in partnerships,” he said. “We grow with partnerships, and I think we can do something great when we pull that together.” Johnson stressed … [Read more...]

Mark Johnson elected 10th president of Louisiana Christian University.

By Staff, LCMedia PINEVILLE, Louisiana -- The Louisiana Christian University Board of Trustees has approved  Mark Johnson, the current director of the Doctor of Ministry program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, its 10th president, upon recommendation of the presidential search committee. “There have been countless hours of prayer, listening, seeking, reading resumes and other application materials, while asking God to guide this process and have His way,” said Tommy Kiker, chair of the search committee. “With this vote today, approving Mark Johnson as the 10th president in the history of Louisiana Christian University, we believe God has graciously and wonderfully answered those prayers and blessed this labor.” In May 2024, the board of trustees created a presidential search committee comprising four board members and two LCU faculty, assisted by a candidate search consultant. The committee was tasked with conducting its search independently and as transparently as possible while maintaining the confidentiality of the candidates being reviewed. The committee has carried out this mission without external influence, fully trusting God in the process, and maintaining a high level of integrity and confidence in their … [Read more...]

TWO OPINIONS about the Annual Meeting debate regarding culpability for abortions

NOTES (Feb. 24, 2025): The following LETTER TO THE EDITOR and the EDITOR’S RESPONSE originally were published on Feb. 17, 2025, under the title “POINT <== ==> COUNTERPOINT  ‘Abortion: Jail / Don’t Jail The Woman?’ ” In response to Dr. Pourciau’s objection to this wording, the new headline “TWO OPINIONS about the Annual Meeting debate regarding culpability for abortions” was substituted on Feb. 24, 2025. Also, the subheadings “WOMEN ARE CULPABLE FOR ABORTIONS” and “WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE JAILED” were removed, respectively, from the LETTER TO THE EDITOR and the EDITOR’S RESPONSE. The heading “Letter to the Editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message” was part of the letter that was received, and this heading was included when the letter originally was published. In the case of the response, the heading “Editor’s response” was added as a substitute description.  As was the case when first published, the LETTER TO THE EDITOR is published in its entirety as it was received. Except for the new heading, the EDITOR’S RESPONSE remains the same. Nothing was changed in the introductory paragraph. Finally, new artwork was attached so that readers would take a fresh look at the LETTER TO THE EDITOR and EDITOR’S … [Read more...]

EVANGELISM 101 (Part 2): Four soul-winning approaches

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Leading someone to saving knowledge in Christ is not a “one size fits all” spiritual effort. Just as Christ used different methods to heal the sick and afflicted, the Holy Spirit offers different methods for different con­texts to successfully share the Gospel with the lost. Remember, the Holy Spirit was active in cre­ation (Gen. 1:1), as well as during the times of the Old Testament (consider the anointing on Moses, Saul, David, Bezalel & Oholiab, Othniel, Samson, etc.) and New Testament (e.g. Peter at Pentecost, Paul while confronting the sorcerer Elymas). Most importantly, He is active today (John 14:15-18; 15:26-27; 16:5-15), specif­ically in salvation (John 16:8; Ephesians 1:13-14) and in holy living afterwards (Galatians 5:22-23). There may be hybrids of each, according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but the following soul-winning approach­es largely define how to engage unbelievers in the four contexts for evange­lism presented in God’s Word. CONFRONTATIONAL Many people visualize all evangelism as publicly confronting sinners (some­thing akin to “street cor­ner” preaching). However, the Holy Spirit designed this … [Read more...]