Waldrep to ‘serve up’ hope at senior adult luncheon
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer DECATUR, Ala. – Phil Waldrep, a long-time evangelist who has offered the hope of the Gospel to thousands of the lost, has a message of hope for the faithful who are experiencing life crises as parents and grandparents with prodigal children or grandchildren. “All is not lost,” Waldrep contends. He is the author of “Reaching Your Prodigal: What Did I Do Wrong? What Do I do Now?” Moreover, Waldrep told the Baptist Message believers should be excited, regardless of the circumstances. He said he will explain “why” to people at the Senior Adult Luncheon, Jan. 24, during the 2017 Louisiana Baptists Evangelism Conference (ECON) Jan. 23-24 at Temple Baptist Church in Ruston. He also will speak during one of the sessions scheduled during the two-day evangelism training event. “They will leave there with a skip in their step, knowing how vital they are and to be encouraged, not discouraged,” he said. “I am more encouraged today than ever before,” Waldrep said. “I think we live in an unprecedented age that we can share the Gospel. More than any time in our history people are asking basic questions of “Why am I here?”, “Where do I come from?” and “Where am I going? “As … [Read more...]
Sharing the Gospel made simple
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE – Sharing the Gospel with a stranger is as simple as starting a conversation about sweet tea and ending with an invitation to accept Christ. During a session of the Youth Evangelism Celebration, Nov. 21, keynote speaker Ed Newton shared with nearly 6,000 students a “conversational” method for witnessing to their friends and others. Newton said it is simply a matter of starting the conversation, finding something in common with that person, then looking for an opportunity to turn the discussion to Christ. He said something as simple as a comment about sweet tea can lead to a chance to share about Him. But, he underscored, the conversation must be authentic, and he said, you have to be intentional about asking some key questions, like: “What do you think it takes to go to Heaven?” “Do you mind if I tell you how the Bible answers this question?” and “Would you like to give your life to Jesus right now?” “Right there at that sweet tea fountain machine, you can lead somebody to Jesus Christ, calling on the name above all names, right there in that divine appointment,” said Newton, pastor of Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas. “Could we live life that way? … [Read more...]
Marching onward & upward for the pre-born & their moms
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Louisianans will have the opportunity to celebrate the lives of children in the womb and their mothers during marches scheduled during three consecutive weekends in some of the state’s larger metropolitan areas. Scheduled for Jan. 21 in Baton Rouge, Jan. 28 in Shreveport/Bossier City and Feb. 4 in Alexandria/Pineville, the Louisiana Life Marches are a chance for people of different denominations, ages, ethnicities and races to come together across lines that might normally separate them to unite in prayer and in the effort to push back on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in 1973. The theme for this year’s marches is “Protect Them Both.” According to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, preliminary numbers for 2015 show 9,311 abortions took place, an average of 26 per day. The total represents a 10 percent decrease from the 10,211 abortions performed in 2014. That figure also is the lowest number of abortions performed in the state since 2012, when 9,225 were reported. Louisiana Right to Life Executive Director Benjamin Clapper said he and other march organizers wanted to remind those in the state that the pro-life movement is … [Read more...]
Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio expose SBC rift caused by ERLC’s Moore
By Will Hall, Message editor ALEXANDRIA – In a surprise development, two prominent national news outlets have investigated the turmoil created by a Southern Baptist leader because of his relentless attacks against fellow evangelicals who chose to support Donald Trump during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. The Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio published separate election post-mortem investigations into the 45-year-old Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, who has made himself a high-visibility figure during the presidential campaign with his inflammatory social media posts and much-publicized editorials against evangelicals printed by the liberal New York Times and Washington Post. For his part, Moore posted an online article – the same day the Wall Street Journal article was released – titled “Election Year Thoughts at Christmastime,” giving his advice about how to “move forward” after a “divisive election.” Moreover, he appeared, at least at one point, to recast the imbroglio among Southern Baptists as a situation of others taking aim at him. “Over the last month, there have been some pointed conversations in my denominational family … [Read more...]
‘Tis the season for soul-winning for SBC president
By Will Hall, Message Editor MEMPHIS, Tenn. – While Christmas means a lot of things to a lot of people, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention sees it as an opportunity to put the exclamation point in “Jesus is the reason for the season!” by soul-winning, and this year that means 400 new believers are professing “Jesus is Lord!” because of a Christmas program. Steve Gaines, pastor of the historic Bellevue Baptist Church in the Cordova area of Memphis, Tenn., is quick to credit others, with special praise for the tradition of soul-winning at his congregation to the leadership of former long-time pastor Adrian Rogers, as well as the vision for the presentation of the “Singing Christmas Tree” to former music minister James Whitmire. Still, under Gaines’ leadership this flagship congregation continues to use every opportunity, especially Christmas, to reach others for Christ, and the evidence is in the results. During 2015, the church averaged more than 7,000 in worship attendance and witnessed almost 600 baptisms – that is a per capita average of one baptism resulting for every 12 people who are active attenders (or 12:1). For the Southern Baptist Convention, the ratio is about 19:1 for established churches and … [Read more...]
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS: Return home ‘a miracle’ after tragic losses
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WELSH – Judy Bertrand felt the sting of tragedy twice in August. After 49 years of marriage, her husband Joe passed away, having lost a lengthy battle with cancer. Next, floodwaters deluged her house near Welsh, destroying most of her possessions and forcing Bertrand out for what she thought would be a long while. Home for Christmas seemed unlikely for 2016. But those prospects greatly improved when an army of Louisiana Baptists and other volunteers converged in late August to rebuild what nature had destroyed. Now, unwrapping presents under the tree is just a matter of her avoiding Santa’s naughty list. Bertrand calls what transpired “a Christmas miracle.” “It was surreal,” she said. “I felt like God was taking care of me. How else do you get that kind of help? From day one they were a blessing to me.” After meeting Bertrand during a meeting at the First Baptist Church in Welsh, one disaster relief volunteer felt led by the Holy Spirit to spearhead the rebuild effort. “The Lord just tells you to do things some time, so I put my arm around her at the church and told Mrs. Bertrand we would rebuild her house,” said Reggy Saxon, the project manager who is a … [Read more...]
Revival & awakening last long past crusade’s end
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAKE ARTHUR – The four-day revival may have ended in late November, but for the congregation of First Baptist Church in Lake Arthur a season of spiritual awakening has only just begun. The revival drew around 175 each service, with 23 making first-time salvation decisions in all. Four people were baptized during the revival itself, with many more expected to do so before the end of the year. It was the culmination of months of prayer by the congregation capped with 24 hours of continuous prayer by a sequence of members just prior to the revival. “People let go of their pride and gave their lives to the Lord,” said Jered Thomas, pastor of First Baptist Lake Arthur. “We had fire beginning to burn in the hearts of our people. “They are pressing on,” he continued. “Revival has just begun. It starts now, today, with each person. They are ready to continue on. We will continue to grow, invite and get those to come.” Bill Britt, an evangelist and native of Haughton, preached each night and Broken Vessels of Deridder performed music. “The biggest thing Bill Britt got across to those coming to the revival was gaining a relationship with the Lord,” he said. “From the beginning to … [Read more...]
The most startling news ever
By Joe McKeever, Special To The Message We interrupt this program to bring you the following news…. “I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people! Today in the City of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” We return you now to your regularly scheduled program. Wonder how Heaven decided who would deliver the news of Jesus’ birth that night? Was there a competition among the angels? Did they draw straws? Was the announcer chosen by merit? Did anyone say, “Gabriel got to tell Mary and Joseph; it’s my turn?” What were the requirements? A good speaking voice? Fluency in Aramaic? And was the announcing angel disappointed when Heaven’s light was switched on and the audience for this event-for-the-ages was revealed to be a few rag-tag shepherds? Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite eat your hearts out! This was the best announcing job of all time. Let’s break this wonderful announcement down into its ten components… Do not be afraid. Angels always prefaced their announcements with these words. We smile at that because it makes complete sense. We get … [Read more...]
LC announces alum’s $100,000 challenge, grants, new programs
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – Louisiana College President Rick Brewer announced Dec. 1 the school’s plans to start three new programs, and shared details about a matching gift opportunity for alums, saying Louisiana College has much to be thankful for heading into the Christmas season. During the press conference held in the Granberry Conference Center, Brewer told the crowd about the development of programs for students to attain a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Social Work. The school also hopes to offer an online RN to MSN program, which will enroll registered nurses practicing with an associate degree in nursing or hospital diploma. These new programs could accept students as early as next fall, pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges. “Our academic leaders in this room have been working on these for several months and we’ve identified a need in our region and are trusting that these programs will help us meet that need,” Brewer said. He also explained that two of the proposed degrees will receive funding thanks to a Healthcare Occupations Program Grant from the … [Read more...]
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