By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor PARIS (LBM) -- Ironically, the deaths of 130 civilians as well as the related stepped up air attacks against Islamic State militants in Syria are both successes for ISIS. On the one hand its strategic objectives have been enhanced by the terror and chaos created within Western nations it considers enemies – France, Belgium, Germany and the United States among them. On the other hand, the severe military response ISIS has provoked fits into the bizarre end time prophecies that are prompting the group to be so barbaric in its atrocities against the countries it has incited. TERRORISM & THEOLOGY Paris was placed under curfew, the first since 1944, after gunmen and suicide bombers coordinated separate attacks targeting restaurants, a rock concert and a sports stadium Nov. 13, killing 130. France’s President Hollande also ordered the country’s borders sealed and lawmakers voted to extend a national state of emergency through at least February 2016. Brussels officials, meanwhile, declared a terror alert Nov. 22, closing schools and putting troops on patrol in the streets while conducting raids (21 arrests so far) to locate suspects connected to the Paris terrorism. The … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2015
Steven Maltempi introduced as LBC’s new youth strategist at YEC
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – A long-time student ministry specialist with strong ties to Baptist life in the state is the new youth strategist for Louisiana Baptists. Steven Maltempi assumes his new role on Dec. 1 and will be introduced during a youth ministers fellowship at next week’s Youth Evangelism Celebration in Lafayette. Most recently the lead associate of student and collegiate ministry for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Maltempi also served in a similar position at the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. While attending seminary, Maltempi said God placed in his heart a a calling for student ministry. Though he enjoyed serving in Texas, Maltempi said he is looking forward to what lies ahead in his home state of Louisiana. “As Louisiana Baptists we must have as our goal to evangelize, disciple, and involve students in ministry and missions,” he said. “When they graduate from high school they must be ready to minister at work or college. To prepare them we must capture their imaginations and passions for Christ. “Teenagers are a mission field and a mission force,” he continued. “Our focus must be evangelism; discipleship, much more than a transfer of knowledge; … [Read more...]
LCIW Revival brings freedom to 32 behind bars
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ST GABRIEL – Inmate Chelsea Daigle had decided to follow Christ during one of the revival services at Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women the day before when she went forward with a request. “I want to be baptized tonight,” she proudly exclaimed. For Janie Wise, those words represented a beautiful picture of Christ’s love and forgiveness, a freedom found in a place where many inmates spend many years behind bars. “The tears, joy and the women saying, ‘Thank you, Jesus,’ made this a special weekend,” said Wise, women’s missions and ministry strategist for Louisiana Baptists which co-sponsored the revival at the prison. “The women who followed through with baptism knew what they were doing. It was a step that said to their peers right there, I have decided to follow Jesus.” During four revival services from Oct. 3-4 at the maximum security prison about 10 miles east of Baton Rouge, 32 women made professions of faith and 28 of them were baptized. Approximately 160 volunteers from 28 Louisiana Baptist churches participated in the revival, which included a gift box distribution to the inmates, three worship services on Saturday, a worship service on Sunday and a … [Read more...]
Healing souls in Haiti: October mission trip allows team to minister to Haitians in need
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HAITI – Lane Howe and his interpreter had just entered the 8 x 10 foot home when they were offered the only food the 28-year-old Haitian woman named Garline had in her entire house – eight bananas. Though she owned very little and had lost 17 family members during a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the country on Jan. 12, 2010, Garline demonstrated she had all she needed – a relationship with Jesus Christ. The encounter forever etched in Howe’s mind a picture of Christ-likeness, and is a constant reminder of why he and 42 other Louisiana Baptists went to Haiti for a mid-October mission trip. “She had it all figured out and showed me it’s not about the material things that matter,” said Howe, a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria. “Here was someone who had lost 17 family members and still had some injuries visible from the earthquake, yet she showed me how we are supposed to live our lives – devoted to Christ and excited to have Him in us. “Just like she wanted to share all the food she had, we should be willing and excited to share what we have as Christ-followers,” he continued. “It’s our obligation because Haiti is in need. “How can they hear the Word … [Read more...]
Youth Evangelism Celebration all about moments
By Message Staff LAFAYETTE – The 2015 Youth Evangelism Celebration was all about making the most of the moment. “You have this moment,” Acton Bowen told the youth gathered inside the Cajundome for the opening session of YEC on Monday, Nov. 23. “This is the moment you have right now to say yes to Jesus.” A speaker and New York Times best-selling author who has served in the local church, led a city-wide student Bible study in Gadsden, Ala., and was the host of x|roads TV, Bowen was one of several people who were on stage during YEC. The largest gathering of Louisiana Baptists each year, YEC featured high-energy music, inspiring messages, fellowship and much more. The theme for this year’s YEC is Moments, based off Psalm 119:32. Throughout the two-day event, Bowen issued several challenges, including take up one's cross to follow Jesus. Basing his message off Mark 8:31-35, Bowen told the students and adult chaperons that too often in America to not be just a follower, but a fan of Christ. He said Jesus is looking for followers, especially when times get tough. "There is a huge difference between being a fan of Jesus and a follower of Jesus," he said. "In churches across America I am preaching to some of the greater … [Read more...]
Youth Evangelism Celebration kicks off today
By Message Staff LAFAYETTE - The annual Youth Evangelism Celebration kicks off tonight. The largest gathering of Louisiana Baptists each year, YEC is scheduled for Nov. 23-24 and will feature high-energy music, inspiring messages, fellowship and much more. Due to on-going renovations at the Rapides Coliseum in Alexandria, and an unknown date of completion, the Cajundome will be the home for YEC through 2017. The theme for this year’s YEC is Moments, based off Psalm 119:32. You can follow the event through the Baptist Message's Facebook and Twitter updates. Send any photos to brian@baptistmessage.com and we'll post them on our Facebook page and in our photo gallery once YEC has ended. … [Read more...]
Egyptian church, destroyed by terrorists, rebuilt by Egyptian army
By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner CAIRO (Christian Examiner) – A Coptic Christian Church in Minya, Egypt, burned down by the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the Arab Spring riots, has been rebuilt by the Egyptian military, the Egyptian news source Watani has reported. Parishioners gathered at the church of Amir Tadros, or St. Theodore, to celebrate the church's reopening Nov. 14. It was one of 100 Christian churches, houses and Christian establishments firebombed in the country during riots there in 2013, shortly after the Muslim Brotherhood took power – and then lost it after failing to provide essential civil services and wreaking havoc on the nation's non-Muslim minority communities. Muhammad Morsi, who led the Muslim Brotherhood, was recently charged with torturing his political opponents, but he also has been found guilty of helping more than 100 militant Islamists escape from prison during the 2011 revolts that ushered him into power. For that crime, Morsi has been sentenced to death. Morsi deposed then President Hosni Mubarak, a long-time ally of the United States and a peacemaker with Israel. In August 2013, the Algemeiner, a Middle East news source, said its Investigative Project on Terrorism had … [Read more...]
Indonesian churches closed, burned, demolished by Muslim extremists
By Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner ACEH SINGKIL, Indonesia (Christian Examiner) – After Muslim hard-liners burned churches in Aceh Singkil on the island of Sumatra, over 8,000 people fled religious violence that has been building in Aceh province since a 2006 law discriminated against religious minorities. The religious harmony law requires signatures of the religious majority, which is Islam in Indonesia, before a church may be built. Conflicts about church permits, which few possess, have escalated into discrimination involving mobs burning and looting in violence that has killed at least one person, according to World Watch Monitor. Erde Burutu, a pastor of Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church, which was burned in October, said temporarily displaced Christians who are returning to Aceh are afraid. "There is no guarantee of safety from the state," he told WWM. "For us, safety goes beyond the physical; it means that we can have our church back and exercise our freedom to worship." After burning the Indonesian Christian Church on Oct. 13, the mob circulated a message that read: "We will not stop hunting Christians and burning churches. Christians are Allah's enemies!" Since the 2006 law was passed, thousands … [Read more...]
Obama is importing Muslims, deporting Christians
By Todd Starnes, Christian Examiner The nation was forced to endure yet more pious prattling from President Obama this week who spent time berating Americans who are worried about Islamic jihadists hell-bent on blowing us all to kingdom come. “When individuals say that we should have a religious test and that only Christians – proven Christians should be admitted – that’s offensive and contrary to American values, the president said – just one day after he called such behavior un-American. What’s offensive and contrary to American values is refusing to properly investigate those wanting to come to our nation – especially those coming from regions that are hotbeds of Islamic extremism. “Those of us who fear that Islamic radicals might be lurking among the refugees have been called every name in the book: bigots, Islamophobes and un-American. But the cold hard reality is that Protestants, Catholics and Jews aren't the ones beheading people,” said Obama. But the president says such prudence only further enflames the Islamic jihadists. “ISIL seeks to exploit the idea that there is a war between Islam and the West,” he said. “When you starting seeing individuals in positions of responsibility suggesting that … [Read more...]
T-shirt sales at NOBTS raise funds for IMB
By Marc Ira Hooks NEW ORLEANS (BP) - "When I first heard the news I felt bad, but my heart did not break," Keith Taylor, a Ph.D. student in preaching, said of the 600-800 International Mission Board missionaries preparing to leave their place of service due to budget shortfalls. "I was not broken for these folks who had given their lives for the work of spreading the Gospel around the world. And now their part of that work was coming to an end." Taylor's attitude changed, however, after a chapel message by NOBTS professor Blake Newsom several weeks ago. "It was not even a missions’ message," Taylor said. "It was about stewardship." Taylor and others challenged by Newsom's message created a T-shirt emblazoned with "Not On Our Watch -– Support The International Mission Board" to be sold on campus. After only four days of sales, more than $1,200 was raised for the IMB's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. The T-shirts reflect a rhetorical answer to the question: "Are we okay with the fact that Jesus told us we are to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest field, and on our watch we are bringing workers in from the fields?" IMB President Platt expressed his appreciation for the Not On Our Watch theme during his … [Read more...]
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