Page One News

Tebow Super Bowl ad generating much buzz

Pam Tebow speaks to her son Tim during Senior Day ceremonies at the University of Florida. They will appear in a Super Bowl ad.

By Michael Foust, Baptist Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BP) – Focus on the Family’s Super Bowl ad featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother Pam won’t air until Feb. 7, but it’s already created plenty of buzz and even controversy.

The subject of the ad won’t be known until it is aired – the Colorado organization is only saying the theme will be “celebrate family, celebrate life” – but several pro-choice groups are assuming it will focus on the issue of abortion and are urging CBS to pull the ad.
On the flip side, fans of the former Florida Gator quarterback as well as Christians who align with the conservative beliefs of Focus on the Family are excited about the ad, even if they, too, are in the dark as to the specific topic.

read more >>

Evangelism Conference draws tight focus

With uplifted arms, worshippers at the 2010 Evangelism Conference sing praises to God during opening session

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor

BATON ROUGE – Soaring music, impassioned preaching, and warm fellowship all were part of the Evangelism Conference 2010, orchestrated Jan. 25-26 at Istrouma Baptist Church by the Evangelism and Church Growth division of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

read more >>

Louisiana Baptists respond to Haiti's earthquake needs

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor

Louisiana Baptists are responding to Haitians with their pocketbooks, prayers and relief efforts in a big way.STATEWIDE – As of presstime, more than $58,000 in checks has been received by the Louisiana Baptist Convention for Haiti relief.

This doesn’t count the money given with a credit card on the LBC website, or the offerings taken up at the Evangelism Conference, or the money sent directly to the North American Mission Board, International Mission Board or Baptist Global Response – the international arm of Southern Baptists’ Disaster Relief ministry.

read more >>

Breaking News

Goldia Naylor leaves a golden legacy of faith

Goldia Naylor leaves a golden legacy of faith

By Keith Collier

FORT WORTH, Texas (SWBTS) -- Born exactly one year after the founding of the seminary her family would later serve and cherish, Goldia Dalton Naylor defined the wife¹s role as a co-laborer and helpmate. Goldia Naylor, wife of former pastor and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Robert E. Naylor, died Sunday, Jan. 31, at the age of 100.

read more >>

Plan of Salvation

Jesus Christ suffered also

Life is tough. Even those who put their faith and trust in Jesus have it hard.

read more >>

Experience your independence

A compelling movie of the 1980s was “The Mission” with Robert DeNiro as a slave trader who in an act of repentance put all his slave-trading gear into an overstuffed net that he dragged behind him

read more >>

Editorials

Debate over Tebow ad shows an obvious double-standard

Kelly Boggs, Editor Louisiana Baptist MessageBy Kelly Boggs, Editor Louisiana Baptist Message

The game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts is surely the most anticipated aspect of Super Bowl XLIV.

However, there is another element of Super Sunday that draws a significant amount of attention – commercials.Because the television audience for the Super Bowl is so huge (last year 148 million people tuned into to watch at least some portion of the game), ad space is not only coveted but is also expensive.

read more >>

In United States, it's sad but the blind are leading the blind

“And if a blind man guides a blind man,” Jesus said, “both will fall into a pit.” You need look no further than the United States Congress and the American populace to see a visual aid of the truth the Savior declared.

read more >>

A special club for non-cursers

He received more than 60,000 pieces of hate mail and profanity-laced e-mails daily filled his inbox. Teaming with the torrent of written abuse were scores of threatening voice messages.

read more >>

Insight

How big of a deal is it for you to miss church?

By Jim Law, Senior Pastor First Baptist Church Gonzales

Jim Law, Senior Pastor First Baptist Church GonzalesIs missing church sinful? If you have the flu, many would be grateful you stayed home. 

But I don’t think illness is the reason that absenteeism among Southern Baptists is so widespread.

Neither do I think that absenteeism can be explained by providential hindrances. According to a 2007 Lifeway Research study, Southern Baptists have some 16 million on the denominational role, however only 6.1 million show up for church on any given Sunday.

When you look at the numbers, it would take a lot of “oxen in the ditch” to explain a 10 million person discrepancy. 

read more >>

In reaching the world, it's not either/or

By Rob Zinn, Pastor Immanuel Baptist Church Highland, California

Rob Zinn Pastor Immanuel Baptist Church Highland, CaliforniaWe are a people who have been called by God to go into the world with the Gospel.

We are a people with a command to make disciples, baptize them and teach them.

Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that “you will receive power ... and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That is a big task, and unlike some today who want to go to only one or the other, we must understand it’s not either/or. It’s both/and.How do we accomplish such a large task?

read more >>

Brit Hume was right

By Kelly Boggs, Editor Baptist Message

Kelly Boggs Editor Louisiana Baptist MessageDuring a segment on Fox News Sunday that aired on Jan. 3, Brit Hume suggested that Tiger Woods consider Christianity to help the golfing great recover from his recent personal crisis involving revelations of adultery.

Several left-leaning pundits went absolutely apoplectic over the former anchor’s brief bit of advice. Following is Hume’s response to the Tiger Woods situation:

“Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether or not he can recover as a person I think is a very open question, and it’s a tragic situation for him. I think he’s lost his family, it’s not clear to me if he’ll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal – the extent to which he can recover – seems to me to depend upon his faith. He’s said to be a Buddhist; I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger turn to the Christian faith and you make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.’”

read more >>

Letters to the Editor

We need to stand together on common ground

I am honored to serve as chairman of the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Moral and Social Concerns Committee.  I am encouraged each time I meet with this committee.

read more >>

La. state senator appreciates prayer

I want to thank Pastor Louis Husser for his letter encouraging more prayer and participation at our capitol in Baton Rouge.

read more >>

State Baptists urged to come to Baton Rouge

Recently the Moral and Social Concerns Committee of the LBC met in Alexandria. During the working lunch time we launched a new effort to make a spiritual connection and have a direct impact on what takes place at the State Capitol.

read more >>

Theological Thought

Two ways of looking at God's world

By Jason Hiles, Professor of Christian Studies Louisiana College

Jason Hiles Professor of Christian Studies Louisiana CollegeContrary to popular misconceptions, the gospel message encompasses much more than an answer to the question, “How do you get saved?”

While the gospel certainly answers that question, it also bears implications for the whole world and all who live in it.

read more >>

Questions We've Pondered

By Archie England, PH.D. NOBTS Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew

Archie England PH D NOBTS Professor of Old Testament and HebrewQUESTION: Broken by sin, are we? When believers choose to sin rather than to obey, ill effects occur. David’s sin with Bathsheba will help us answer this question (cf., 2 Samuel 11; Psalms 6; 32; and 51).

ARCHIE ENGLAND RESPONDS: One more peek . . . , yet King David should just have turned away from that first glimpse of a beauty bathing on the roof top (2 Samuel 11:2). Instead, he lingered. Smitten by lust, David inquired about “her” (11:3) only to discover that Bathsheba was another man’s wife. Undeterred, David had her “invited” to the King’s House (actually, they “took her”). Once there, his lust resulted in adultery: “he lay with her” (11:4), and she became pregnant. Covering up the affair further consumed David, to the point that he devised a sinister plot to have Uriah killed in battle. Joab complied but at the cost of the lives of other valiant men. David’s list of sin here is ghastly: adultery, deception, and murder.

read more >>

Here's a brief overview of hymnody

By Ed Steel, Professor of Music, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Ed Steele Professor of Music in Leavell College at New Orleans Baptist Theological SeminaryIn the past several months I have been asked what I thought about the state of church music and where things are going. [I am in debt to Dr. Harry Eskew and his wonderful text, Sing with Understanding, for so much of my experience in the area. Much of what I would like to share come from that text and I would encourage those interested to make it a personal library “must have.”] In terms of where we are in music and worship in our churches today, the following outline might serve as a map much like you would find in a shopping mall that reads “you are here.”

The simplest way to see where we are is to start with imagining the “song of the church through the ages” as though it were a big river, birthed from the Old Testament Psalms, New Testament canticles surrounding the birth of Christ, and the Pauline fragments.

read more >>

Focus

The Sanctity of Human Life

By Jami Becher, Baptist Press

Dawn Pate is director of the Osceola Pregnancy Center, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Kissimmee, Fla.KISSIMMEE, Fla. (BP) – At the age of 17, Dawn was in crisis.

She was pregnant and alone. She couldn’t tell her friends – the gossip and humiliation at school would be unbearable. She couldn’t tell her parents – they would be so hurt and disappointed.

She was a teen facing an adult decision all alone. Is it any wonder she made the wrong choice?Fortunately, Dawn wrestled with her decision a little too long and when she visited a Florida abortion clinic, it was too late to end her pregnancy.

read more >>

Profile

Staying Fit For the Lord

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Anyone who has ever played organized sports, been a part of a team, or wished they could right a lifelong regret, should definitely read the Mike Flynt story. Better yet, they should meet the man.

Flynt’s story – simply put – is inspiring.

read more >>

70 Years Ago Love bug bites at the Baptist Children's Home

By JoAnn Carrigan, Special to the Message

BATON ROUGE – Ruby Louise Hilton was born on Dec. 14, 1919, the eldest of five siblings. Jesse Thomas (JT) Halley was born on July 30, 1916, one of four siblings. Jesse married Ruby on Oct. 29, 1939. This is their story – a “happy-ever-after” love story.

Looking back on her life, Ruby says with confidence, “I can see how the Lord had His hand in our lives from the very beginning.”

read more >>

LOUISIANA NATIVE SPREADS THE GOSPEL THROUGH MUSIC

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer

MONTEREY – Brad Mount’s goal is to use his exceptional singing and musical talents to reach as many people as he can to further the kingdom of God.

And he’s very good at what he does.

Drawn more to the country-style of Gospel music, Mount, a gifted singer and musician, uses a number of well-loved Gospel favorites, hymns, in addition to original songs he’s written to reach people’s hearts and souls.

read more >>

Family Life

MARRIAGE on ICE

By Gary Chapman, Homelife Magazine

Although some people enjoy winter sports, I don’t know any couples who enjoy winter marriages.

Winter marriages are characterized by coldness, harshness, and bitterness. The dreams of spring are covered with layers of ice, and the forecast calls for freezing rain.

read more >>

The Counseling Connection

By Michele Louviere, Director of Counseling Celebration Church Metairie

Michele Louviere, Director of Counseling Celebration Church, MetairieQuestion: I recently became a mother. Since I grew up in a dysfunctional family, I really am unsure about what a healthy family looks like. Can you describe the difference between an unhealthy family and a healthy family?

Michele Louviere responds: Of course, the perfect family does not exist. All families have some problems or dysfunctions, but certainly, striving for a healthy family is a great gift for your new baby.

read more >>

Teaching Children to Tame Their Tongue

By Cindy Leach, courtesy of ParentLife

Teaching children to tame their tongue“May the words of my mouth ... be acceptable to You”
 (Psalm 19:14).

If you have children, you probably have given them the warning “Stop saying that!” Did you know that God’s Word teaches that the tongue is something to be tamed? James 3:8 says, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” It is true that such a tiny little body part has great power. So how do you teach your child to keep his tongue under control? Here is some help for three big tongue problems.

Problem 1:

Lying

When a child feels backed into a corner, what will he do? Tell a lie. Lying is a normal childhood problem. You want your child to use his imagination and be creative, but lying should never be acceptable. So how do you tell the difference between a vivid imagination and telling a lie? Look at what motivated your child. Is he using his imagination in play or being silly? Children who tell lies have a different motive. Some motives include avoiding punishment, impressing others, for shock value, or to hurt someone.

Solution: Do not let lying get a foothold in your child’s life. When your child succeeds with a small lie, he is likely to try lying about bigger things. Start early by emphasizing daily the importance of telling the truth. When you catch your child in a lie, ask: “Why did you feel you needed to tell a lie?” Listen to discover what motivated your child to lie.

read more >>

Missions and Ministries

New Mexico awakening moving Southern Baptists

By Daniel Clymer, Special to the Message

The moving of the waters is a beautiful thing, when it is caused by the new birth of a believer in Jesus Christ. All across New Mexico, baptistries are being filled and the water is being stirred by those who gave their lives to Jesus during last fall’s Native American evangelistic events.

“Jesus, Hope For All Nations!” revivals and evangelistic events have brought new hope to 89 Native people who made professions of faith and have brought more than 150 people to a closer relationship and commitment to God through rededications.

read more >>

Ag Missions Fellowship plans its annual meeting

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor

KENTWOOD – Two leaders with Baptist Global Response and other speakers are to share their eMissionary Jim Wagoner and Pastor Gaspar are shown using agriculture as a tool for evangelism in Oaxaca, Mexico.xpertise during the 2010 annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Agricultural Missions Fellowship.

The gathering of people interested in agricultural missions is set to start at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, in the fellowship hall at First Baptist Church in Kentwood, about 35 miles north of Hammond on Interstate-55, and about 15 miles south of McComb, Miss. It is to conclude before 3 p.m.

“We will have a world-class group of speakers, including Jeffrey Palmer, Executive Director of Baptist Global Response, who is stationed in Singapore,” said W. Nelson Philpot, Ph.D., president of the Ag Missions Fellowship. “In addition, Dr. Jim Brown, Vice President-Director of BGR for the Americas, will also be on the program, plus several others who will both inform and inspire us.”

read more >>

Disaster Relief training deadline looms

ROBERT – An annual Disaster Relief Training Roundtable is set for Jan. 22-23 at Camp Living Waters. Registration deadline is set for Jan. 8.

For those who miss the deadline, a similar event is to take place Feb. 19-20 at Temple Baptist in Ruston.

read more >>

Louisiana Churches

CP Reaches 'more souls,' says young pastor

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor

Andy Johnson Pastor Cross Roads Baptist Church FarmervilleFARMERVILLE (BP) – When Cross Roads Baptist Church realized they had more income than budgetary needs last fall, it didn’t take long to decide how to spend it.

They upped their giving to missions through the Cooperative Program from 10 percent to 12 percent.

Cross Roads Baptist Church is a congregation of 100 in Farmerville Louisiana“The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:2 that stewards are to be found faithful,” said Andy Johnson, pastor of the Farmerville, La. congregation. “Rather than roll those finances over into a CD or put them away in a rainy day or a building fund, we decided that they would be put to better use for the Kingdom’s sake in the Cooperative Program.

“The CP missionary force is, in my opinion, one of the most important arsenals that we as Christians have today,” the 30-year-old Johnson said of the national and international outreach supported by 45,000 Southern Baptist churches. The missionaries “are on the front lines ... think of it as a military operation: You wouldn’t send the military into battle without making doubly sure that they were properly funded, armed and taken care of, would you?”

read more >>

Celebration's GLOBAL FOCUS draws people

By Diana Chandler, Regional Reporter

Celebration Church has a global focus with a number of members serving abroadMETAIRIE – International Missionaries Walter and Purnima Bowen say they felt a comfort at Celebration Church that reassured them their Hindu and Muslim friends would be welcomed there with an agape love.

She, the daughter of a Kolkata, India, Christian minister and he, an Arkansan whose mother has served as a missionary to Johannesburg, South Africa, visited many area churches while students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in the months before Hurricane Katrina.“If Christians don’t accept me and I’m a Christian, how are they going to accept someone I bring who is not a Christian?” She posed. “When we first came to Celebration that wasn’t the case. We felt comfortable enough to say we can bring our non-Christian friends here and they can be accepted.

read more >>

The Great Commission comes full circle with Japanese team in New Orleans

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter

Judi Folds, wife of Tokyo Baptist Pastor Dennis Folds, leads a Bible study at Bethel Colony for recovering addicts.NEW ORLEANS – Dennis and Judi Folds left Louisiana 30 years ago to follow the Great Commission and take the Gospel to a distant land. A team of Japanese Baptists – the fruit of the Folds’ ministry in Tokyo – recently came to New Orleans on the same mission.

The 12-member team from Tokyo Baptist Church partnered with five members from First Baptist Church, Minden, and one from First Baptist, Homer, to share the Gospel in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. As a result, three area residents came to faith in Christ.

“[The Tokyo team] has been a blessing to work with,” said Bill Crider, First Minden’s minister to senior adults/missions. “And the people here have been very receptive.”
Tokyo Baptist Church, founded by Cooperative Program-supported missionaries and American military personnel stationed there in 1959, averages 1,400 in five weekend services, with 50 nationalities in attendance. Services take place in English.

read more >>

Landscapes and Milestones

Milestones

Compiled by Joanne Brechtel

COMINGS AND GOINGS
Jay Avance resigns Bluff Creek Baptist, Clinton as pastor.

NEEDED
Pastors at Boulevard Baptist, Lake Charles; First Baptist, Cameron; First Baptist, Iowa; New Hope Baptist, DeQuincy; Sale Street Baptist, Lake Charles; Woodlawn Baptist, Iowa.

Pastors at Brownville Baptist, West Monroe; College Place Baptist, Monroe; Fairbanks Baptist, Fairbanks.

Donated van at Bethel Metropolitan Baptist, Lake Charles; call 337.478.0139 or email jlfran3998@aol.com.

Full-time pastor at First Baptist, Folsom; send resumes to Folsom FBC, PO Box 106, Folsom LA 70437; Attn: Pastor Search Committee or email fbcfolsomsearch@bellsouth.net.

read more >>

Landscapes

MONROE – Alan Miller, pastor of First Baptist, is leading the church to prayerwalk for an hour in downtown Monroe on Saturday, Feb. 6, asking God to bless and prosper the city.

“We, in downtown Monroe’s First Baptist Church, want to be a part of the spiritual and economic revival in our city,” Miller said. “We believe that the first step is to pray. We are coming together to walk the sidewalks of downtown Monroe and ask God to bless and prosper our city.”

read more >>

Constitution service of Thompson Road Baptist Church in Slidell

Thompson Road Baptist Church in Slidell observed its Constitution service on Sunday January 17.Thompson Road Baptist Church in Slidell observed its Constitution service on Sunday, Jan. 17. It was a mission of Calvary Baptist in Slidell for many years. The church met in a double-wide trailer and struggled to survive for awhile.

Calvary sent a staff member named Randy Boyette to make one last attempt and it worked.

The group grew to 50 in the double-wide and then working with the LBC Missions and Ministry office, Church Site Corp., and Baptist Mission Builders, was able to build a facility in West Slidell. With the constitution service they move from mission church status to full membership in North Shore Baptist Association.

read more >>

News of the LBC

Louisiana College's School of Nursing holds a "Spirituality in Health Care" Symposium

By Quinn Lavespere, Special to the Message

LC Professor and International Coordinator of Nursing David Sharp spoke on Approaching Spirituality in client care.The Louisiana College School of Nursing held a symposium on “Spirituality In Health Care” on Thursday, Jan. 21, in the Granberry Conference Center.

LC Professor of Nursing and Dean of School of Nursing and Allied Health, Kimberly Sharp, said that the main goal of the symposium was to teach nursing students and others working in health care about spirituality and how to address the spiritual needs of clients.Sharp said that a full digest of the symposium’s events will be made available through a weblink on the LC nursing website after the symposium is over.

read more >>

LBC hosting VBS preview, statewide training

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor

VBS Theme: Saddle Ridge RanchALEXANDRIA –  A horse ranch in northern Colorado was the location of the four videos taken for LifeWay’s 2010 Vacation Bible School curriculum: Saddle Ridge Ranch.

Participants at a recent preview of the curriculum, resources, songs (with motions) and games, which took place at the Baptist Building, said they were looking forward to an exciting VBS that was to include some Louisiana Lagniappe.

read more >>

Louisiana Baptist Builders to establish Jelks Fund

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor

John Ed Jelks with Jeff Woodrich at Jelks retirement celebration and Baptist Builders Appreciation DinnerLIVONIA – The John Ed Jelks Fund is to be established this year at the Louisiana Baptist Foundation as a Donor Advisor Fund to provide financial support for Mission Service Corps missionaries serving as construction project coordinators with the Louisiana Baptist Mission Builders.

read more >>

News of the SBC

Strategically-selected medical teams to lead Haiti response

By Barbara Denman, Baptist Press

Southern Baptist missionaries work at the Good Samaritan Clinic in Jimani Dominican Republic to treat Haitian earthquake victimsHIALEAH, Fla. (BP) – The joint Southern Baptist response to the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake will launch in the coming week with four “strategically-selected” medical teams, leaders of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network decided Jan. 26 at the Florida Urban Impact Center in Hialeah, Fla.

Plans to respond to Haiti’s urgent, intermediate and long-term needs were addressed at the meeting by assessment teams that had just returned from the quake-ravaged nation along with representatives from the Florida Baptist Convention, North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, Baptist Global Response and other Southern Baptist disaster relief representatives.

read more >>

Disaster relief still needed in American Samoa

By Mickey Noah, Baptist Press

North American Mission Board missionary Ronda Corn and village resident, survivors of the recent tsunami, survey damages.PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (BP) – Southern Baptist disaster relief work continues on American Samoa, seven weeks after an earthquake – measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale – struck the South Pacific island, triggering a deadly tsunami that killed 31 people, including six Southern Baptists.

read more >>

Annie Armstrong offering reaches $56.5 million

By Mike Ebert, Baptist Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. (BP) – Southern Baptists gave $56.5 million in 2009 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions.

The amount was 2.7 percent (or $1.5 million) off the previous year’s giving mark and $8.5 million below the stated goal of $65 million.

read more >>

Web Only

BUCKETS OF HOPE OFFER OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERY BAPTIST TO PROVIDE HANDS-ON HELP TO HAITIANS

BUCKETS OF HOPE OFFER OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERY BAPTIST TO PROVIDE HANDS-ON HELP TO HAITIANS

read more >>

Drop-off sites for Haiti supplies

Drop-off sites for Haiti supplies

 Southeastern Louisiana:

 Bush:

Hebron Baptist Church

79614 Hwy. 41

985-886-3109

 Covington

Dawsey’s Hardware             

78481 Highway 437              

Ph: 985-892-1640

      985-892-6138

      985-630-2378

Hammond

116 Robinhood Dr.

Ph. 985-630-7459

      985-630-2378

Central Louisiana:

Olla
First Baptist Church of Olla

3153 Elm Street

Office 318-495-5506

Fax 318-495-3140

Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

E-Mail: ofbc@ollafirstbaptistchurch.org

Pastor: Johnnie Phillips Cell 318-992-3641

Northeast Louisiana

Shreveport/Marshall, Texas, area

Church of the Living Waters

325 Stevens St.

Tatum, Texas

Ph: 903-678-2455

      903-678-1375

      903-754-1059

read more >>

Haiti Needs List

From Louisiana to Haiti

Hebron Baptist Church is one of a growing list of drop-off sites for anyone who would like to give to the Haiti Relief effort. 

read more >>