By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer AVONDALE, La. (LBM) – Marc Daniels was a Jewish-turned-atheist searching for biblical truth when he found his answer with the First Baptist Church, Avondale, during a return trip from his honeymoon. His wife, Kristen, had grown up in the church and frequently prayed for him to accept Christ. After hearing a Sunday school lesson about the Roman centurion who acknowledged Jesus was Lord, Daniels realized he needed to do the same on Aug. 29, 1992. The day not only changed his spiritual eter- nity but paved the way for his return to the church eight years later -- as pastor. “Jesus was astonished at the centurion and scolded the crowd for their lack of faith,” Daniels told the Baptist Message. “That connected with me. knowledge about the Bible, but knew I needed to make a decision to walk away or surrender to Christ. I opened the door to Jesus, and everything changed.” In 2021, Daniels was named a Louisiana Baptist Convention Exemplary Bi-vocational Pastor of the Year for his dedication to his church and secular job (professor of biology at William Carey University, Hattiesburg, Mississippi). CHOSEN Three years after he made the decision to fol- low Christ, Daniels was completing … [Read more...]