By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter ADDIS – When Elizabeth Hill was asked why she and her husband George were baptized at The Church at Addis by Pastor Thomas Shepard, her face broke into big smile. “God brought us here,” Elizabeth Hill, 53, said, following the Feb. 21 service. “This is like a First Century church.” Her husband of 16 years, George Hill, 79, a lifelong Presbyterian and a well-known, retired businessman, agreed. He opened his worn Bible to Acts 2:47, and read aloud, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ Well, that’s what’s going on right here. If not daily at least weekly.” Hill pointed to the front of the sanctuary where Shepard and several members were visiting with a young married couple who’d come forward to join and a young woman seeking baptism. “This is a dynamic church and I want to be a part of it,” Hill said. Shepard said they’ve baptized around 300 people, mostly adult Catholics, and he baptizes someone nearly every Sunday. “We have a massive amount of adult Catholics baptized,” Shepard said. “We‘re saturated with Catholics in this area.” “I was raised a Catholic so coming from that background I’m able to convey the message in a way that they … [Read more...]
State DR teams offer a helping hand, love of Christ to storm victims
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA – As he visited with homeowners affected by a powerful tornado that badly damaged more than 200 homes in LaPlace, Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief director, was reminded again of why Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief exists – to show the love of Christ in a tragic situation. Among those he met was Pat Murphy, a single woman living alone in the LaPlace area. When McMillan arrived on the scene, Murphy’s two sisters were being assisted by a disaster relief team in removing debris from her yard. “She moved to LaPlace after Hurricane Katrina where she lost her home in New Orleans,” McMillan said. “She wept as the team prayed with her and her sisters.” Murphy was served by a large team of Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from throughout the state. Hours after a series of tornadoes touched down in a number of southeast Louisiana communities, the disaster relief teams were on standby, ready for activation. At least 12 tornadoes touched down in the state Feb. 23, the National Weather Service confirmed. Convent, LaPlace, Paincourtville and Livingston Parish sustained the most significant damage with winds of 111-135 miles per hour … [Read more...]
LBCH will unveil first new cottage in 40 years April 22
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MONROE – Under construction for the last seven months, a new cottage -- the first in 40 years -- is ready to be unveiled according to Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home President and CEO Perry Hancock. Designed to provide trastional living for women and their children as they prepare for independent living, the cottage is scheduled to be dedicated April 22 at 10:30 a.m. Hancock informed trustees as the Home’s spring board meeting. The HomePlace Cottages, which are located at Martin Village, provide homeless women and their children housing for up to one year at no cost to the residents. While there, the women receive training for a high school equivalency degree and are given life and employment skills training through the Christian Women’s Job Corps. Two more cottages are planned for the near future as additional funds become available. Proceeds from the Brenda Hall Abney Golf Classic, sponsored by Roy O. Martin Lumber Company in Alexandria, is the major funding source for the cottages. Hancock said he had received numerous comments about the positive impact the HomePlace ministry has made on the women. “Many of our churches are providing support for the women,” … [Read more...]
Speaker encouraged by students’ response at Collegiate Conference
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Despite news reports and surveys saying the Millennial generation is not committed to the church, Michael Wood came away encouraged by this generation of students attending the recent Collegiate Evangelism Conference. “I’m so encouraged hearing from so many of you who have put your yes on the table,” Wood told a crowd of around 700, mostly college students from Baptist Collegiate Ministries throughout the state. “Whatever it is, the answer is yes. Wherever it takes me, the answer is yes.” Wood, who is pastor at First Baptist Church in West Monroe, challenged the students throughout the two-day conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria to make a difference for Christ in the near and far places. Citing Nehemiah 2:8, Wood said the prophet Nehemiah was presented with a mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He said Nehemiah realized what his mission was after four months of praying and fasting and thus approached the king to seek permission and funding to carry out the task. “Rebuilt walls stand on the foundation of God’s presence and power,” Wood said. “And they are framed with a clear mission.” Likewise, students are tasked with a similar … [Read more...]
Louisiana Notables
ON THE MOVE Matt Duff resigns as Worship leader at Vidalia First Baptist Church. Taylor Freeland is new as pastor at Tillou Baptist Church, Bastrop. Bill Haley is new as music minister at Clark Springs Baptist Church, Eros. Charles Dupree resigned as pastor at New Chapel Hill Baptist Church, West Monroe. HOMECOMING Cotile Baptist Church, Boyce: 34th Annual Homecoming, March 13, 11 a.m. Speaker: Braden Martin. Paul’s Journey will be in concert at 1:30 p.m. A love offering will be taken. The church is located at 8735 Hwy 1200, Boyce, LA. Pastor: Johnny Miller. Calvary Baptist Church, Slidell: 55th anniversary, March 13, 11 a.m. There will be a luncheon after the services. Pastor: Arron McGuffee. Trinity Baptist Church, Oak Grove: 54th anniversary, March 13. This will also begin our Spring Revival, March 13-16, Sunday, 10:15 a.m.; Sunday evening, 6 p.m., and Monday-Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Evangelist: Bill Robertson. Music: Ben Waites will provide music Sunday morning while Richard Ainsworth will direct music Sunday evening through Wednesday. Pastor: Rayburn McLarrin. REVIVAL Cotile Baptist Church, Boyce: Revival, March 10-12, 7 p.m. Speaker: Braden Martin. Pastor: Johnny Miller. First Baptist Church, … [Read more...]
NOBTS preaching prof leading Evangelical Homiletics society
By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary preaching professor Dennis Phelps is serving as the 2015-2016 president of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. EHS promotes the exchange of ideas related to instruction in biblical preaching, academic publication in homiletics and the effective communication of the Gospel from a biblical-theological standpoint. Phelps joined the NOBTS faculty in 2006 and occupies the J.D. Grey Chair of Preaching. He has 19 years in theological education, including 10 at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and more than 21 years in pastoral ministry. In addition to his teaching duties, Phelps also leads the alumni relations office at NOBTS. Phelps is a frequent guest presenter at preaching conferences, including a pastors’ preaching and evangelism conference in Belarus, and has appeared regularly at the E-4 Preaching Conference, a collaborative expository preaching conference hosted by the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Seminary and Louisiana College. EHS will mark its 20-year anniversary when it convenes in October at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Phelps assumed EHS’ … [Read more...]
IMB exodus: 1,132 missionaries & staff take ‘voluntary’ pink slips
By Will Hall, Baptist Message Editor ALEXANDRIA (Baptist Message) – Southern Baptists’ overseas mission forces will be reduced to levels not seen since 1993 with the departure of about 22 percent of its personnel, including 983 missionaries leaving the field and 149 severing ties from various stateside assignments. International Mission Board President David Platt announced the 1,132 terminations Feb. 24, stressing the “voluntary” nature of most of the departures. However, 30 communicators with approximately 500 years of IMB service among them, which included bringing IMB communications into the Internet age, were fired in January. Platt said in a Baptist Press report the team was “way behind in developing the digital mindset” and “struggled to form new methods for reaching a changing audience.” Yet the group included award-winning writers and photographers who are featured speakers at national conferences for their expertise. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES Platt declared in September 2015 his goal of 600-800 terminations, including personnel “here and overseas,” saying such were needed in order to balance IMB’s books after the agency had spent $210 million more than it received from 2010-2014. He rejected the notion … [Read more...]
Louisiana DR Teams help communities begin cleaning up after tornado outbreak
By Staff, Baptist Message LIVINGSTON – A Louisiana Baptist chainsaw team spent most of their Thursday cutting up trees around homes and removing debris left behind from a tornado that caused massive destruction earlier in the week in Livingston Parish. The team comprised of volunteers from Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association and Baptist Association of Southeast Louisiana worked on five homes three miles northeast of Livingston. David Brown, associational missions coordinator for Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association and a member of the association’s disaster relief team, said the team expects to remain in the area through at least Saturday before possibly moving onto other locations in the parish. Ben Fussell, a member of the Baptist Associations of Southeast Louisiana chainsaw team, said the homeowners they came in contact expressed gratitude. “Everywhere we went we heard ‘thanks for coming, thanks for helping, thanks for working, thanks for caring,’” said Fussell, a member of First Baptist Church in Franklinton. Teams from the National Weather Service out of Slidell spent much of Thursday investigating the damage from the tornadoes and by Thursday evening confirmed that at least 12 tornadoes had set down in … [Read more...]
Louisiana 5th Circuit ruling allows admitting privileges law to take effect
NEW ORLEANS - A unanimous three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency stay of the district court's opinion that struck down the state's admitting privileges law. The panel accepted all of the state's arguments that the district court did not follow 5th Circuit precedent; ignored the state's rebutted evidence that more than 90 percent of Louisiana women would still be within 150 miles of a provider; and ignored the secretary's determination that Dr. Doe 2's privileges at Tulane were sufficient. The 5th Circuit in its ruling states that this is a legitimate means to protection for women’s health and safety by granting Louisiana a stay today. It is likely, by granting of this stay, that this law will be ruled constitutional. Louisiana Rep. Katrina Jackson, who authored the legislation, said: "This stay by a unanimous three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit is a victory for the health and safety of women who are harmed by abortion. I am very pleased the Legislature's interest in protecting both women and unborn children is being respected by this court." Dorinda Bordlee, chief counsel of the Bioethics Defense Fund who drafted model legislation for the bill, said: "There is no constitutional right … [Read more...]
GIVE A GIFT
The Louisiana Baptist Foundation exists to encourage and assist individuals with gifts that support the work and ministry of churches, institutions and organizations affiliated with the Louisiana and Southern Baptist Conventions. “Give A Gift” was developed, with the cooperation of the Baptist Message, to illustrate how the LBF assists Baptists with gifts to Baptist ministries. A submission form for Give A Gift is available in each issue of the Message. A link to an on-line form is also available below. Each month the Foundation will draw a name, at random, from the submissions received through the on-line form and submissions received by mail. The person whose name is selected will have the opportunity to direct a $1000.00 gift from the Foundation to the Louisiana Baptist church, ministry or organization they choose. The name of the ministry receiving the gift will be published in the following issue of the Message. The rules: Completely fill out the form found in the Message (or CLICK lbfinfo.org/give_a_gift/ to fill out the online form.) Mail to: GIVE A GIFT, c/o Louisiana Baptist Foundation, P.O. Box 311, Alexandria, La 71309 A name will be drawn at random from the month’s submissions on the last … [Read more...]
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