By Message Staff PINEVILLE – During the evening session of the 2018 Evangelism Conference, Brent Crowe urged hundreds of adults and youth to make sure redemption through Christ was part of the life story. “When Jesus calls us to tell a story in our life that has redemption as the theme and the redeemer Jesus as the central character, He not only bids us to tell the story but He provides us all the resources that are necessary so that theme will be true in our lives,” said Crowe, vice president of Student Leadership University in Orlando, Fla. “If redemption is not the theme of the story we are telling in our life, then our story is not worth telling.” Crowe spoke Jan. 22 to a packed crowd in the worship center at First Baptist Church, Pineville, while hundreds of youth watched from their home churches via a livestream broadcast during student night at ECON. At the invitation, three students came forward to declare Christ the Lord of lives, four repented to restore fellowship with Christ, two responded to the Holy Spirit's call to vocational ministry and one made an undisclosed spiritual commitment. Student night also featured the testimony of Kayla Sasser, a member of the youth group at Philadelphia Baptist Church, … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2018
HHS announces new division to protect conscience and religious freedom
First Pineville, city team up to assist with ECON parking
PINEVILLE – For those attending next week’s Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference at First Baptist Church, Pineville, parking will be somewhat limited. According to Stewart Holloway, pastor of First Baptist, Pineville, the elementary school and city hall have given up their spaces near the church parking lot so ECON participants can park there during the duration of the conference Monday, Jan. 22, and Tuesday, Jan. 23. Street parking also will be available. Once the parking is full, motorists will be directed to other areas in Pineville to park and take a shuttle bus to the church. Buses transporting participants to Monday’s Student Night and Tuesday’s Senior Adult Luncheon will be asked to drop off passengers in the parking lot at the Fellowship Hall entrance. … [Read more...]
Louisiana lawmakers urge Senate to fund America’s priorities, avoid government shutdown
By Ainsley Holyfield, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson WASHINGTON, D.D. - The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Jan. 18 to continue funding the federal government, maintain critical military operations and provide a long-term re-authorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that covers nearly 9 million children across the country and over 161,000 in Louisiana. Reps. Ralph Abraham, M.D. (La.-05), Garret Graves (La.-06), Clay Higgins (La.-03), Mike Johnson (La.-04) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.-01) released the following statement after voting in support of this legislation: “The House did its job yesterday and voted to fund our government, providing critical funding for our military and ensuring the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has long-term funding so our most vulnerable children can continue to receive the health care they need. Now, the only thing standing in the way of funding for our troops and our children are Senate Democrats playing dangerous political games. The time has come for Senate Democrats to decide if they are going to put shutting down the government to force immediate amnesty for illegal immigrants over providing health care for nearly 9 million … [Read more...]
Kennedy: We cannot allow religious liberty to be trampled
By U.S. Sen. John Kennedy WASHINGTON (LBM) - For me, the definition of marriage is pretty simple. It’s the union of a man and a woman. It’s what the Bible teaches us, and it’s what I believe. Air Force Col. Leland B. H. Bohannon also believes marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Unfortunately, he’s paying a heavy price for that belief. He lost his command position at Kirkland Air Force Base and a promotion. Our nation was founded by people fleeing religious persecution. They left their homes and crossed an ocean in search of religious tolerance. Now we’ve become a nation intolerant of religious tolerance. We’ve forgotten the principles that form the bedrock of our democracy. Here’s what happened to Col. Bohannon. Col. Bohannon was commander of the Air Force Inspection Agency at Kirkland Air Force Base. He holds the Bronze Star for his services in Afghanistan, making him an American hero. Last year, Col. Bohannon signed a series of certificates for a retiring master sergeant. One certificate troubled him. It was a certificate of spouse appreciation for the same sex spouse of the retiring master sergeant. Col. Bohannon is a religious man and a respectful man. The certificate – which wasn’t … [Read more...]
Patrick: Of unity and foregone conclusions
By Rick Patrick SYLACAUGA, Ala. (LBM) – As I challenge the prevailing narrative arising from the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, my remarks, though sincere and well-intentioned, will likely be misunderstood. This is regrettable and unavoidable. Just because something is difficult to say does not mean it should not be said. Perhaps my timing will be challenged. Could this not wait for another day? Yes, it could, but Barney Fife’s “nip it in the bud” philosophy is practically a core value of mine. Why allow a questionable notion to grow unchallenged for an extended period of time? Most accounts of the convention describe the beautiful feelings of unity and peace elicited by the withdrawal of J.D. Greear from the presidential race just prior to the second runoff ballot on that Wednesday morning in 2016. The election result was thus determined, not by the expressed will of the electorate, but by one candidate yielding to another. Candidates are free to run and free to withdraw, but in the aftermath of Greear’s resignation, I must have read a half dozen times that Greear is almost certain to become the SBC president in 2018. The theory is that his 2016 forfeiture was such a sign … [Read more...]
Agricultural Missions Fellowship seeking harvest of new members
WEST MONROE – Jeff Palmer, executive director of Baptist Global Response, a non-profit Southern Baptist organization that provides hunger and disaster relief and assists in development projects worldwide, will headline the 2018 Louisiana Baptist Agricultural Missions Fellowship annual meeting. Scheduled to kick off 9:30 a.m., Jan. 27, at Bethel Baptist Church, West Monroe, the meeting also will include a discussion by Guilherme Prezotti, a program officer for Heifer International in Little Rock, Ark. Other planned activities include worship and a luncheon. The Agricultural Development Foundation will hold its winter meeting that afternoon. The fellowship is the parent organization of the Louisiana Baptist Agricultural Missions Fellowship. “We are looking forward to gathering with other agriculturally mission-minded colleagues and friends for this annual event,” David Morrison, president of the Louisiana Baptist Agricultural Missions Fellowship, said in a statement via email to the Baptist Message. “The two excellent speakers we are blessed to have will enhance everyone’s interest in helping those who are chronically poor and hungry. The highlight of every annual meeting is being able to consider project proposals … [Read more...]
ABRAHAM: Abortion is a national tragedy that we must end
By Ralph Abraham, U.S. Rep. WASHINGTON (LBM) – Thousands of Americans across the country will band together in solidarity in the coming days to protest abortion. The pro-life movement is one that I’m proud to support, and one with Central Louisiana roots. This year’s March for Life events will be the first since the death of pro-life advocate Norma McCorvey, who was born in Simmesport in Avoyelles Parish. You might know her better as Jane Roe, as in the Roe of Roe v. Wade. Norma wasn’t always on our side. She sued the state of Texas for abortion rights and, unfortunately, the Supreme Court ruled in her favor, granting abortion protections nationwide. But the effects of that decision changed Norma as she eventually came to see what we already know: Abortion violates the sanctity of life and has damaging effects on the women involved in the procedure. While speaking in Alexandria in 2003, Norma described her experience working in an abortion clinic as “horrible” and said, “I saw the looks in the eyes of those girls. They weren’t the same as when they first came in. There was no life in those eyes. They were angry, but didn’t know why. They were angry with themselves.” Since the Roe v. Wade ruling, more than 59 million … [Read more...]
IMB: more money, more losses
By Will Hall, Message Editor RICHMOND, Va. (LBM) – Donations through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for the first quarter of the new fiscal year, Oct.-Dec. 2017, were $600,027 ahead of receipts for the same time period last year, a 4.1 percent increase, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention reported Jan. 16 via press release. Meanwhile, the overseas missionary force declined in 2017, dropping from 3,596 to 3,562, according to data collected from the IMB website Fast Facts page and a limited release Field Personnel Count summary. MIXED RESULTS The IMB reported a total of $15,221,629 had been collected from all sources “so far for the 2017-2018 campaign,” which runs October through September. Previous campaigns were based on a June through May calendar. IMB also reported it has received $23,304,153 in Cooperative Program funding for the 2017-18 fiscal year, which likewise started Oct. 1. This amount is $225,349 ahead of last year at this time, about one percent more. The combined increases total $825,376 more for the work of the IMB. In contrast to the financial blessings it is receiving, the IMB continues to lose more missionaries than it appoints annually. The net loss of 34 … [Read more...]
Attorney General Jeff Landry, Louis Charrier to speak at Life March South
By Message Staff BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Louisiana Baptist church planter Louis Charrier will be among the speakers at the Louisiana Life March South in Baton Rouge Saturday, Jan. 20. The Life March South is the first of three similar events being held across Louisiana on three consecutive weekends. The event includes a pro-life march from the State Capitol to the Levee Green on River Road, where a program of prayers, speakers and music will be held at the Levee Stage. The Life March will begin at 10 a.m. Participants will gather a few minutes before 10 in the grassy area in front of the State Capitol, then proceed on Fourth Street to North Boulevard and then toward the riverfront. A life ministry mobilization area at the Levee Green will be manned by area pregnancy centers and organizations, and participants can visit the tables before or after the program. The program will also feature personal testimonies from other pro-life advocates, along with music. … [Read more...]
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