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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

This lawsuit on homosexuality should be closely watched

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor A Ugandan homosexual rights organization has filed a federal lawsuit against an American pastor claiming his biblical views on homosexuality have influenced many citizens in their country and resulted in crimes against humanity. Massachusetts pastor Scott Lively has been accused by the group Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) of inciting the persecution of homosexuals in Uganda. During a hearing, which took place in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Jan. 7, Lively was accused of “violating the law of nations” and “crimes against humanity” as well as conspiracy and various “civil rights” crimes. In the filing, SMUG listed a number of violent acts committed against homosexuals in Uganda that they claim Lively’s speeches against homosexuality have incited. The suit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, exemplary damages, attorneys’ fees, and a “declaratory judgment that the Defendant’s conduct is in violation of the law of nations” as well as “all such other and further relief that the court may deem just and proper.” SMUG is being represented in the United States by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). According to its website, CCR “is a … [Read more...]

The moral evacuation of the Boy Scouts of America

By R. Albert Mohler, President Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The announcement that the Boy Scouts of America may rescind its national policy prohibiting the participation of openly homosexual members and leaders fell like a thunderclap. The B.S.A. national board could well make the change in May. It should be noted the aforementioned board announced six months ago that no change would be made, citing the unanimous recommendation of a special study committee. Back then, the B.S.A. CEO said that the “vast majority” of Boy Scout parents supported the policy. That was then, but this is now. Just six months later, the B.S.A. board is prepared to capitulate to massive pressure from gay rights activists and their allies, some inside the board itself. The proposed policy amounts to a local option, with each Boy Scout unit deciding its own policy. As for the Boy Scouts of America, the national group says it will “under no circumstances” dictate a national policy on the question of homosexuality. This capitulation and the abandonment of the B.S.A.’s longstanding policy will, in the end, please no one. The new policy is a half-measure that amounts to cowardly moral evasion. No group can remain divided on a question of … [Read more...]

Let’s get real for Jesus Christ

By Andy Johnson, Pastor Cross Roads Baptist Church Farmerville, La. Reality shows are a dime a dozen these days. While I don’t watch too much television, I am a sucker for a good reality show. Note that I said a good reality show. Particularly interesting to me is the reality series “Amish Mafia” that airs on the Discovery Channel. The program focuses on the underground Amish church that seeks to do their Lord’s bidding by enforcement of the strict code of ethics and religious observations the Amish live by. Anyone caught stepping out of the lines of the traditional Amish way of life is confronted with words of warning or destructive actions. Some have even suffered financial loss after the mob boss, who goes by the alias of “Lebanon Levi,” speaks to the Amish church bishop concerning certain ungodly activities within the confines of the community. Levi has henchmen who assist when he imposes his will on those who would attempt to corrupt the community. More times than not they are the ones who confront the perpetrators in order to keep Levi’s image clean and to insure he remains in good standing with the church. One episode shows a non-Amish man setting up a produce stand on the side of the road. It seems there are … [Read more...]

If church is important to you, let’s make it important for everyone

By Perry Lassiter, semi-retired Pastor Ruston, La. One summer my mother hijacked me to accompany her to a wedding at a small country church. I knew no one involved and, at the time, hated any kind of ceremony. However, knowing I would one day be performing weddings, I paid attention. The bride came down the aisle radiant. Everyone seemed very happy. From somewhere came the thought, “Every wedding is the most important.” Whether or not the Lord whispered in my ear, I don’t know, but I do know it stuck. The thought of the importance of every wedding occurred to me again when Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in all the glory of a royal wedding. I thought of the young couples I’ve married over the years. Some were in small sanctuaries with only a handful present; others in auditoriums crowded with friends and relatives. No matter the setting, each couple just as happy as the royal bride and groom. Indeed, all events in small churches strike those involved as important and significant. And I had as much fun and received just as many blessings in smaller churches as I did at some larger ones. My most recent pastorate was an interim at a country church that averaged about 25 in weekly attendance. … [Read more...]

Leadership Lessons: Strength, Strategy, and Security

By Pete Charpentier, Caskey School of Divinity One of my favorite people in the Bible is Moses. As someone who has served in various ministry settings, I’ve seen some difficult days in ministry, but it appears Moses hardly ever had “a good day at the office!” Yet, Paul writes that whatever was written before was written for our instruction – Rom. 15:4a. So we can learn key leadership lessons from Moses’ struggles, especially as we look at Num. 11:10-30. In these verses we find Moses getting painfully honest with God.  As he faced the frustrations of leadership, he opened his troubled soul to the Lord. He wanted to know why God was bringing so many trials into his life (vs. 11). Next, Moses basically told God that he didn’t ask for all these troubles because he didn’t conceive and give birth to the Israelites (vs. 12a), and since he didn’t give birth to them, he wondered why he was bearing the weight of leading God’s people into the Promised Land (vs. 12b). Lastly, after confessing his inability to shoulder the load of leadership (vs. 14), Moses finished venting with a request to die (vs. 15)! Does anything here sound familiar to you? Have you been at this place before in your service to the Lord? Have you … [Read more...]

Louisiana church’s poverty game raises $30,000 for hunger

Submitted by philip on Wed, 01/02/2013 - 13:39 Sweetwaters, South Africa, is a community whose population has been decimated by HIV/AIDS. Tabitha Ministries in Sweetwaters uses resources from the World Hunger Fund, channeled through Baptist Global Response, to provide food parcels to more than 6,000 orphaned children living in child-headed households. By Mark H Hunter, Regional Reporter AMITE (BP) – Instead of preaching a sermon for World Hunger Sunday Oct. 14, pastor Mike Foster divided his congregation in Amite, into three groups and played the Poverty Bean Game. The game, which demonstrates the disparity of wealth between developed countries like the United States and Third World countries like Haiti, convicted members of First Baptist Church to put nearly $30,000 in the offering basket – more than three times the usual Sunday morning offering, Foster said. "It was amazing – it just confirmed that God is great!" Foster said. "It really opened our eyes to see there is a world out there that needs help. It was more than we’ve ever taken up for the World Hunger Fund." The World Hunger Fund (www.worldhungerfund.com) is the channel Southern Baptist churches use to provide financial resources for … [Read more...]

Big ministry in Big Apple: Sandy ends busy 2012 for Louisiana Disaster Relief volunteers

Submitted by Brian Blackwell on Wed, 01/02/2013 - 13:55 Sailboats lay stacked up like cordwood after being swept ashore by the fierce wind and storm surge from Hurricane Sandy on Staten Island in New York. By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers exhibited the spirit of Christmas recently when they gave back to those affected in one of the hardest-hit areas by Hurricane Sandy. No stranger to receiving assistance from others during disasters, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers spent most of November and some of December – including the week just before Christmas – helping those in need in Northeast communities not accustomed to direct impact of major hurricanes. According to the North American Mission Board, volunteers from 32 state and regional Southern Baptist conventions sent crews to areas. Those volunteers prepared more than 1.6 million meals and assisted more than 1,200 homeowners with clean-up and recovery efforts through early December. "In some respects, it was a bigger disaster than Hurricane Katrina because of the high population density that was affected," said Louisiana Baptist disaster relief coordinator … [Read more...]

Sandy Hook a tragedy to be sure, but what about abortion?

Submitted by Brian Blackwell on Wed, 01/02/2013 - 13:58 While I believe that the shooting in Newtown, Conn., that took the lives of 26 people – 20 of them precious children – was a horrible senseless tragedy, I believe the lives of 3,562 preborn children perishing at the hands of an abortionist because their mothers do not want to be inconvenienced is also a horrible, senseless tragedy. By Kelly Boggs, Editor On Friday morning, Dec. 14, a gunman shot his way into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and gunned down 20 precious children and four adults before taking his own like. Earlier that same day, the shooter fired several shots into his mother, killing her while she slept in her home. The death toll of Friday’s murderous rampage that shocked the nation was 26. In the ensuing days memorials were held all over the country. People wept and wondered how someone could be so calloused as to murder children in cold blood. People have expressed disbelief, dismay and outrage over the tragedy that transpired in Connecticut. Everyone agrees something must be done so the horror at Sandy Hook is never repeated. Some policy makers believe the answer lies in restricting access to guns. … [Read more...]

Do you know how much I really, really hate typos?

By Art Toalston, Editor, Baptist Press I hate typos. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them. Working in the media, I’m horrified when I see a typo on our website, especially in something I’ve written or edited. I’d rather stub my toe. Typos make me look stupid. They make me drop everything and urgently fix them. You probably hate something with a passion. Go for it, I’m prone to say. I hate typos so much that I don’t care if I’m blatantly repetitive: I hate my typos. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them. The other morning, the horror of a typo popped into my prayer time. And then, to my shame, God helped me to realize something. I apparently hate typos more than I hate sin. Yet what can be more tragic than sin? Not only does it make people look stupid, it ruins their lives and, if unchecked, ushers them into hell. Sin of one sort or another is the primary cause of human misery. It tears families apart. It leaves teenagers on the verge of a hopeless life. It leaves the elderly in acute fear of death. It leaves all of us in an inner torment of guilt, regret and brokenness. Whether it’s self-centeredness, pride, greed, lust, inebriation or a myriad of other sins, the person suffering from … [Read more...]

It is time for us to speak up for those who have no voice

By Nathan Rush, Pastor, First Baptist Houma We have all grieved with a deep sadness over the tragedy at an elementary school in Connecticut. A single gunman murdered 26 other people, 20 of them children aged 7 and under. The numbers are staggering, in what is now the second deadliest school shooting on American soil. Across the nation, hearts are broken – and well they should be! But, there are some other numbers we, as God’s people, should consider. How about 55,763,976? That is the number of abortions performed in the United States since 1973. Here is how that breaks down: one child every 24 seconds, 2.4 every minute, 144 every hour, 3,456 every day, 24,192 every week, 106,380 every month, and 1,261,440 every year. Do you feel distressed yet? But, wait, there’s more! Let us put this into modern perspective. As of May 4, 2010, the Vietnam Wall contained 58,272 names and stretched 246’9." A similar memorial containing the names of abortion victims would stretch more than 111 miles. There really is very little way for most of us to fathom such a thing. We have become almost numb to unspeakable tragedies and their human cost. Since 1973, abortions have totaled more than nine times the number of Jews murdered in the … [Read more...]