ALEXANDRIA – As 2016 comes to a close, remember IRA accounts can be used to support local churches and ministries. At the end of 2015, Congress made the IRA Charitable Rollover a permanent part of the tax code so individuals who are 70 ½ years of age and above can make distributions from either traditional or Roth IRA’s directly to the donor’s selected charitable organization(s) without being included as taxable income to the donor. The rollover provision particularly benefits those who do not itemize on their federal income tax return and those who do not need the income from the minimum required distribution (MRD). The basic facts regarding the IRA Charitable Rollover: -- Donor must be at least 70 1/2 years of age. -- Donations of up to $100,000 from an IRA made directly to charitable organizations are not included in taxable income. -- Donations count toward donor’s Minimum Required Distribution. For more information refer to www.LBFinfo.org or contact your CPA or tax advisor. … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2016
LA Baptist Foundation continues Give-a-Gift
ALEXANDRIA – The Louisiana Baptist Foundation is continuing to use Give-A-Gift to illustrate how the Foundation assists individuals with gifts that benefit Baptist churches and ministries. Each month in 2016 the Louisiana Baptist Foundation is giving away $1,000 and you decide where it goes. In each issue of the Baptist Message and online at www.baptistmessage.com/give-a-gift a submission form is available to participate. Once a month, a name will be randomly drawn from those who submit a form. The person, randomly selected, will have the opportunity to direct a $1,000 gift to the Louisiana Baptist church, ministry or organization they choose. Since March, the Foundation has distributed $7,000 to 6 churches and the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home. For more information go online to BaptistMessage.com/give-a-gift/ or call the Foundation at 877.523.4636. … [Read more...]
Insight: The role of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation
By Jerry Love, Director of Planned Giving ALEXANDRIA – Recently I was visiting with a friend whom I’ve known for a number of years. He is retired from a full time church staff position but still actively involved in ministry. He asked me a question that caught me by surprise, given his involvement in Baptist life. “What does the Louisiana Baptist Foundation do?” As I attempted to give him a quick explanation, I wondered how many others understood the work of the Foundation. As an agency of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, the Foundation encourages and assists with gifts that benefit Louisiana Baptist churches, and Baptist institutions that are affiliated with the LBC or the Southern Baptist Convention. The church or organization is selected by the donor. Sounds pretty straightforward but giving can be complicated. The LBF typically does not receive gifts for its own benefit. The beneficiary of gifts directed to the Foundation, whether a “pass-through” gift or an endowment managed by the Foundation, is a church or Baptist purpose selected by the donor. There are many ways to give, some as simple as writing a check while other gifts can be fairly complicated. The Louisiana Baptist Foundation can help a donor … [Read more...]
Louisiana Notables
ON THE MOVE Kirk, wife Natalie, Maxey is the new pastor at Bentley Baptist Church. Trey McGuire is the new associate pastor at Freedom Church, Bossier City. Scott Teutsch is the new pastor at Plain Dealing Baptist Church, Plain Dealing. Randy (wife Chelby) Ziegler is the new youth minister at Barksdale Baptist Church, Bossier City. Silas (wife Lauren) Cross is the new pastor at Simpson Baptist Church, Simpson. Dustin Walters is the new youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, Slidell. Maudie Manzano is the new worship minister at Calvary Baptist Church, Slidell. Thomas Simmons is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, Gramercy. HOMECOMING Emmanuel Baptist Church, Arcadia: Homecoming, Nov. 6, 10:30 a.m. with lunch to follow after the service. Speaker: Don Woodard. Pastor: Bob Jameson. Calvary Baptist Church, Shreveport: 90th Homecoming, Nov. 13, 10:50 a.m. Speaker: John Lary. Former music director Price Harris and former Pastor Step Martin also will have spots in the service. Music: Calvary’s adult and children’s choir. Lunch, which will also serve as the Church’s Thanksgiving dinner, will follow the service. At the conclusion of the meal 90 food baskets will be delivered to families in the … [Read more...]
Pitkin community witnesses Holy Spirit-filled tent revival
By Message Staff PITKIN – The Holy Spirit is moving in the small rural community of Pitkin. More than 250 people gathered for the beginning of a tent revival Sunday, Oct. 16 and throughout most of the week, the crowds did not diminish but grew. The focus of the revival according to a Louisiana Baptist pastor was apathy – a problem facing many Christians today. Branden Martin hoped by the end of the revival those who made a decision to face this problem will commit to a change that he believes could transform Pitkin and surrounding areas. “To me, apathy is one of the major plagues in our churches today,” said Martin, organizer of the revival and pastor of Westport Friendship Baptist Church in Pitkin. “We get in this attitude about church and it becomes routine. We are cold and stagnant as churches as a whole. “Church has to be a place that’s alive when the world walks in,” he continued. “With apathy and any other characteristic in our life that isn’t Godly, it starts with us individually. It has to start with one person. The cure for apathy, the remedy for spiritual awakening, is not in the big steps. It’s not about doing something big. It’s about the small steps of everyday living.” The revival began Sunday, Oct. … [Read more...]
FRANKLIN GRAHAM: Which road will you travel?
By Franklin Graham The Bible says we are all traveling on one of two roads. Jesus described them in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” That’s a sobering thought. I’ve always thought of the wide road as a large, broad interstate-type highway running through a valley. And I pictured the narrow road as a tiny, winding, rough road—kind of like some of the ones we have in the mountains where I live. My mother told me she had a different vision, and I think hers is probably right on target. She said the narrow road is right in the middle of the wide road, but going in the opposite direction. When you think about it, that’s a pretty good description isn’t it? The world is heading full speed down the wide road toward destruction. But those who follow Jesus Christ in obedience and faith are going in the opposite direction. We face difficulties and obstacles—we will be ridiculed, mocked, and even hated. And we’re going to be in the minority, living as a “peculiar” people and operating by a different set of standards that are … [Read more...]
Evangelicals divided about celebrating Halloween
STARNES: If teens could vote, Trump wins by landslide
BARNA: Religious beliefs have greatest influence on voting
Ancient Hebrew papyrus seized from looters
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