As far as John Avant is concerned, the world has no hope - unless God acts
to change things, unless he moves to bring revival to the land.

But that will only happen if people pray, he added.

Avant made his stance clear from the outset of his address
at the recent Great Commission Prayer Conference at First Baptist Church of
Lafayette.

Two Louisiana Baptist bodies have selected 85 persons as nominees
to serve on state convention boards

and committees.

The Louisiana Baptist Convention Committee on Nominations and
Committee on Committees agreed on their lists of nominees during meetings earlier
this fall. The 85 nominees will be presented to messengers at the 2000 Louisiana
Baptist Convention on November 14-15 in Alexandria. Nominees must be approved
by messengers before they are eligible to serve as board trustees or committee
members. (Two vacancies still must be filled prior to the annual meeting.)

Just six days after American voters engage in the business
of electing a new president, Louisiana Baptists

will gather in Alexandria to decide their own key items.

The annual Louisiana Baptist Convention is set for November
14-15 at the Riverfront Convention Center in Alexandria. As always, its schedule
features fellowship, inspiration - and plenty of business.

Louisiana Baptist Convention leaders once more are asking
churches to help make the messenger registration pro-

cess run efficiently at next month’s annual state meeting.

Louisiana Baptist churches already have been mailed a letter
requesting verification of the number of messengers they are allowed to send
to the annual meeting. The letter included a response card that is to be returned
by October 22.

Winners of the recent Louisiana Baptist Golf Fellowship Fall Tournament have
been announced.

The annual two-day fall tournament was held last month at Cypress
Bend Golf Course and Resort in Many.

A seven-performance Louisiana Baptist showcase of "Experiencing God
... the Musical" is set to begin this week.

The first presentation of the new musical in the statewide
tour is set for October 12 at First Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. The performance
is free and set to begin at 7 p.m.

Apair of Louisianians are scheduled to be honored during upcoming Founder’s
Day ceremonies at Louisiana College in Pineville.

A Founder’s Day chapel service is set for October 12 at
10:50 a.m. at the school, established in 1906.

In the service, a pair of persons will receive Trustees’
Distinguished Service Awards, given for exceptional service to the church, outstanding
achievements in the arts and exemplary service to philanthropy toward Louisiana
College.

Southern Baptists are in the midst of an "identity
crisis" that threatens the future of their cooperative efforts, Dean
Doster warned.

"Southern Baptists have an identity crisis, ..."
said Doster, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. "Southern
Baptists are in the midst of changing how we do our cooperative missions work.
We are changing the definition of cooperative giving. The Cooperative Program,
as we have known it, is changing."

Louisiana Baptist Convention leaders discussed the future last week
- and signaled continued commitment to missions by proposing a record state
Cooperative Program budget for the upcoming year.

Board members also approved a study committee to look at future
budgeting in light of ongoing increases in fixed costs.

If preachers want to see the power of God in their ministries, they will
have to be passionate and certain about the message - and live a life of holiness
to God. Stephen Olford insisted recently.

A co-worker sticks her head into a neighboring cubicle. "Want to grab
a bite to eat?" she asks a fellow worker. "I’m starving."

The reply is immediate - "You bet. I’m so hungry
I could eat a side of beef."

And off they go, seeking nourishment.

Chances are, they will not have to look far - it seems
restaurants are on every corner. Finding one usually is not difficult. Most
often, the difficulty is in choosing one.

Of course, some people are not so lucky.

In November, messengers to the annual Louisiana Baptist convention
will be asked to vote on several changes to denominational documents.

As required by bylaws, those changes are presented in this
issue of the Baptist Message - and in next week’s issue as well. The
changes relate to the charter of the LBC Execuitve Board, the LBC Constitution
and the LBC Bylaws.

Declaring their unity, Louisiana College trustees voted last
week to take initial steps toward launching a $34 million capital campaign
and constructing additional living accommodations for on-campus students.

"There have been repeated expressions of unity on this
board," Chair Gil Arthur noted near the end of the upbeat scheduled meeting.
"That’s a continuation of things that have happened the last few years
and a sign of greater things to come as well."

One could say Louisiana College got off to a good start
in the 2000 fall semester - but that would be a little like saying
the Summer Olympic Games are just another junior high track meet.

It would be a bit of an understatement.

The Baptist Message recently joined the Internet community with the establishment
of its own website at BaptistMessage.com.

 "Our new website is up and operational," said Lynn P. Clayton,
editor of the state Baptist newspaper. "We are delighted to offer this
new service to our readers who are literally around the world."