Archives for September 2017
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LC faculty study third evangelical book
By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE - For the third year running, Louisiana College faculty will study and discuss another book that underscores the importance of integrating faith and learning. Evangelical author Mark Noll’s book “Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind” follows the previous two: “Conceiving the Christian College” by Duane Litfin and “Renewing Minds” by David Dockery. Once a month, faculty gather in small, interdisciplinary groups to discuss Noll’s book with a view to gather information and inspiration regarding the integration of the Christian faith into the liberal arts courses they teach. “We are first grateful for our president, Dr. Rick Brewer, who initiated the study groups when he arrived in 2015,” said Phil Caples, vice president for the Integration of Faith and Learning. “The books and subsequent discussions have enriched our pedagogy and informed our content as we teach from a Christian worldview.” Caples believes Noll’s book is another building block for LC’s faculty. Noll observes: ... it has become conventional to think that belief in the Christian story opposes serious commitment to intellectual explorations of the world. There are no good reasons for this opinion. It rests on … [Read more...]
Louisiana students to hold prayer times during See You At The Pole
By Message Staff Prayer will be the emphasis early Wednesday morning, Sept. 27, when Louisiana students of all faiths, including Southern Baptists, join thousands of others across the country for this year’s annual See You At The Pole prayer time. Held the fourth Wednesday of every September around their school’s flagpoles, the students will assemble to pray for their friends, community and nation, as well as participate in a time of worship afterwards. According to the official See You At The Pole website, the effort is 100 percent student-initiated, student-organized and student-led. Started in 1990 with 10 students praying at their school in Texas, the grass roots movement has spread to thousands of campuses worldwide. This year’s theme is Fix Our Eyes, based on Hebrews 12:2 which states “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The Baptist Message would like to post pictures of your See You At The Pole activities on our Facebook page and publish a photo gallery later at our website, baptistmessage.com. Anyone with photos who would like to share what your students are … [Read more...]
Genesis Church offers family new beginning
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer DENHAM SPRINGS – Courtney Miley did not imagine she would ever enter the worship center of Genesis Church when she first met Pastor Jeff Smith while he was reaching out to families at the community soccer complex in 2014. She and her husband, Shaun, were believers, but had lapsed in their fellowship with the body of Christ. However, God providentially used the historic 1,000-year flood of August 2016 to draw her and him back to Him through her involvement with disaster relief efforts at the church plant. Moreover, their repentance and obedience resulted in a special gift neither expected. In August of this year, they witnessed the baptism of their four children, all who accepted Christ within a four-month period leading up to the special worship service. The Miley children were among 17 converts baptized that day from among 87 people who attended, both high marks during one service for the church plant. “It was very surreal to see each of them baptized in a place that we have worked so hard in the past year and seen so much change,” Courtney Miley told the Baptist Message. “For us, it was like God was confirming to us of His fullness and reaffirming that we had made the … [Read more...]
Isolated by Harvey, but never alone
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MOSS BLUFF – A Louisiana Baptist pastor is thanking Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams for helping to restore his house after two feet of water damaged his Moss Bluff home as a result of Hurricane Harvey. “I’ve never been the recipient of something like this in my life, ever,” Rick Edwards, pastor of Magnolia Baptist Church in Vinton, told the Baptist Message. “I don’t have words to describe the gratitude I feel right now. I am proud to be a Southern Baptist and humbled that these men from different churches gave up their time and resources to show love just like Jesus would have done if He had done it Himself. “They became His hands and feet to me and my wife, Mary,” he said. “They brightened our days while they were here.” RISING WATERS, CONCERNS The nearby Sabine River began rising Aug. 28, eventually overflowing its banks to surround and penetrate houses and businesses. Edwards watched helplessly from the second floor as water began to enter his home. He said just as the burdened grew heavy on his heart, God reminded him of the words in Psalm 46:10 to “Be still and know I am God.” These were his comfort during the eight days he was unable to leave his … [Read more...]
NOBTS Adrian Rogers center lifts expository preaching
By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – With a commitment to helping a new generation of preachers and pastors in the pulpit, the Adrian Rogers Center for Expository Preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary was dedicated in a Sept. 12 chapel service. In partnership with the late Adrian Rogers’ proclamation ministry Love Worth Finding, the NOBTS center will provide resources and present conferences and lectureships to encourage and equip students and pastors. The center’s inaugural “Empowering the Pulpit” preaching conference, Jan. 29-31, will feature leading expository preachers Jim Shaddix and Robert Smith Jr. The dedication took place on Rogers’ birthday; he died in 2005 at the age of 74. Chuck Kelley, NOBTS president in opening remarks, noted the significance of naming the center after Rogers, an NOBTS alumnus. “Adrian Rogers went on from [this] seminary to become one of the greatest pastors in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention, a defining pastor of his generation,” Kelley said. “We are very excited about starting something that will take new students to the heart of what made this man so impactful and so influential -- and this is his preaching ministry, a … [Read more...]
Louisiana College conference has religious liberty focus
By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE - Louisiana College’s second annual Values and Ethics Series addresses “Religious Liberty: A National Treasure” and features four significant keynoters. The event includes Warren Cole Smith, vice president, Colson Center for Christian Worldview; Gregory S. Baylor, Senior Counsel, Director of Center for Religious Schools at the Alliance Defending Freedom; Louisiana Senator Gerald R. Long, District 31; and Becket Gremmels, System Director of Ethics for St. Francis CHRISTUS Cabrini Health System. The Oct. 9 session begins at 6 p.m. in LC’s Martin Performing Arts Center, and is sponsored by St. Francis CHRISTUS Cabrini Health System. “Louisiana College joins the Church community in engaging the cultural issues of our day, and I am grateful for such evangelical leaders who will inform and inspire us just as we were last year at our conference that drew more than 300 people,” said LC President Rick Brewer. Brewer noted his “deep appreciation” for the sponsorship by the St. Francis CHRISTUS Cabrini Health System. “For two years running, Cabrini has been a strategic partner, tangibly supporting our mutual concerns and convictions about issues affecting our society.” Commenting on the … [Read more...]
E4 Conference emphasizes expositional preaching
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – In a world that is increasingly evil with each passing day, Steven Smith believes Christians must be on their knees, praying with boldness and persistence. “Prayer is asking that God’s goodness would be directed toward us until His will is made clear to us,” said Smith, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., during the E4 Preaching Conference Sept. 19. Smith said Christ presented a template of how to pray in Luke 11:1-13, with an emphasis on the Holy Spirit. “Why does He say the ultimate thing He gives us is the Holy Spirit?” Smith said. “Because the Holy Spirit is the presence of God in our lives. He’s saying God can’t give us anything better than God. It’s the greatest thing He can give.” In another message, Smith encouraged pastors not to fixate on the style of preaching or the right topic, but, instead, to allow Scripture to guide them. “We don’t have to explain God to anyone,” Smith said. “Just get people to Jesus, who gets them to the Father. “The Father and Jesus are invisible,” he continued. “How do we get people to see the invisible Christ who leads them to the invisible Father? Through the Word! “Is the way I am doing what I am … [Read more...]
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