By Will Hall, Baptist Message  executive editor DALLAS (LBM)—Rod Masteller, 75, retired 13-year pastor of Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, passed away in Dallas, Texas, Dec. 13, due to complications from COVID-19. Masteller was a pastor for nearly 50 years, leading a number of congregations in Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and he served in several denominational roles at the state and national levels. REFLECTIONS Those who knew him said his leadership and service were shaped by his deep love of God’s Word as well as his passion for pouring himself into the discipleship of others. He also was known for his deep unending love of family. Rodney Gage, pastor of ReThink Life Church, Orlando, Florida, said that family was near and dear to his father-in-law. “He loved his daughters, his sons-in-law and his grandchildren,” Gage said. “He had saved for years to fulfill his dream to take his entire family on an all-expense paid trip to Israel. He wanted it to serve as a legacy trip to mark our lives forever by walking where Jesus walked. He fulfilled that dream in November of 2019.  It was truly the trip of a lifetime we will never forget.” “His life, ministry and love for others were … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – There are a number of firsts celebrated in Scripture. Cornelius, the centurion who served as a commander in the Italian Regiment of the Roman military, generally is acknowledged as the first Gentile convert to Christianity (Acts 10: 44-45) [although some argue the Ethiopian eunuch is deserving of that recognition] – fulfilling the promise of salvation to the whole world prophesied in Isaiah 49:6. He was a God-fearer and did good deeds. But when he heard the Gospel from Peter, he believed in Jesus, not in religion or works, and was saved. Lydia, the seller of purple cloth in Philippi (Acts 16:14-15) is considered the first convert in Europe. Paul found her being an obedient Jew, honoring the Sabbath at a place of prayer by the river. She, too, hearing the Good News “opened her heart” to Jesus; and, Paul, Luke, Timothy and Silas judged her to be a true believer! The church at Antioch was the first group of disciples to be called Christians (Acts 11:26), and it was this congregation who commissioned Paul for his first missionary journey that helped expand the Church to the ends of the world. But, think about the first person on earth to worship the … [Read more...]