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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Open handed

By Rebecca Holloway PINEVILLE, La. – For years, I have read and heard the statement, “We need to hold life/our family/our possessions with an open hand.” The idea is that we are not in control of our lives or anything else on this planet. God is in complete control of all things and has the power and right to change things on a moment’s notice. As believers, we are to keep our hands open in surrender, knowing that He knows what is best for us at any given time. Frankly, I have always hated that statement. Probably because I have control issues. But this whole principle has come back to bite me here lately. In recent days, I have realized how tightly I was holding on to all of these things – especially when it comes to my stuff. First, we moved into our dream house in August of last year. The night we moved in, I fell on my face in worship before God and praised Him for giving us our house. We had seen His hand in every single moment of the purchase of the new house and the sale of our old house. We knew this was His will for our family. We have tried to be very “open handed” with our home and have already used it several times for ministry. But in the space of the 10 months we’ve been in this house, I have heard of two … [Read more...]

Cindy Walker, FBC Minden, honored with WMU’s 2021 O’Brien Leadership Award

By Trennis Henderson, WMU National Correspondent NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMU)—Cindy Walker has led Girls in Action and Acteens mission groups at First Baptist Church of Minden, Louisiana, for a combined total of more than half a century. One of her encouragers over the years was Dellanna West O’Brien, a former national Woman’s Missionary Union executive director, who retired in 1999 and passed away in 2008. O’Brien was honored in 1998 with the establishment of the Dellanna West O’Brien Award for Women’s Leadership Development. The prestigious leadership award recognizes Baptist women who demonstrate the ability to foster leadership in women, display the potential to be leaders in their community and world and excel in missions education. Coming full circle in terms of honoring a longtime missions leader in whom O’Brien personally invested, Walker has been named the recipient of this year’s O’Brien Leadership Award. “Being honored with the Dellanna O'Brien Leadership Award is an unbelievable distinction,” Walker reflected. “Dellanna played an important role in my life as an encourager and someone whom I greatly admired. To be recognized as a recipient of this award is an amazing tribute that I will cherish always. “Working … [Read more...]