By Ed Stetzer, LifeWay Research You’ve heard it suggested the United States is simply Europe on a 50 year delay. Supposedly most churches will be museums before our grandchildren reach adulthood. Though new numbers from Pew Research released this month point to a decline in American Protestants, no seri­ous scholar believes Chris­tianity in America is on a trajectory of extinction. And, as a Ph.D. researcher and practicing evangelical Chris­tian, I say to those who’ve read recent reports and come to that conclusion: “Not so fast.” You see, many in the U.S. who identify as Christian do so only su­perficially. These cultural Christians use the term but do not practice the faith. Now it seems many of them are giving up the Christian label, and those cultural or nominal Christians are becoming “nones,” people with no religious label. Christian nominalism is nothing new. As soon as any belief system is broadly held, people are motivated to adopt it, even with a low level of connection. Yet, much of the change in our religious identification is in nominal Christians no longer using the term and, instead, not identifying with any religion. In other words, the nominals are becoming the nones. I’ve seen this in my own family. … [Read more...]

By Dwayne Hastings, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission By mid-December, you may be gri­macing when you hear Andy Williams croon, It’s the most wonderful time of all, on the radio. By then you might be yearning to hear the strains of Auld Lang Syne. But before the Christ­mas whirlwind begins: Take a deep breath and pray for peace and hope to fill your heart. Most of us have problems with stress sometime during the year, but the Christmas season seems to bring out the worst in all of us. One-third of Americans live with extreme stress year-round and nearly half of Amer­icans (48 percent) believe that their stress has increased over the past five years, according to a survey released by the American Psychological Association in October. Most of those surveyed (75 percent) tagged money and work as contributing factors to the tension in their lives. Richard Swenson, a physician and author of several books on stress, in­cluding Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, says, “Stress is such a common term that we might tend to trivialize it, assuming it’s a convenient fiction for the weak who do not wish to do their best. “Such an attitude would be a … [Read more...]

By Lloyd A Harsch, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Throughout history, God has chosen the most unlikely of people for His service. One such person was Johann Gerhard Oncken. He was born out of wedlock in Germany on Jan. 31, 1800. His mother soon dropped out of the picture, leaving his upbringing to her Lutheran parents. At age 14, Oncken was apprenticed to a Scottish mer­chant. The merchant’s mother, a devout Pres­byterian, made sure that Oncken attended church regularly. It was in Scotland that Oncken first encountered a recent innovation in church life, Sunday Schools. As part of his job, Oncken trav­eled in Scotland, England, France, and Germany. On one such trip to London in 1820, he stayed at Mrs. Dallimore’s London Coffee House. This Congregational family’s devotions drew Oncken toward faith and after a sermon on Romans 8:1 at a Methodist church, he was converted. Oncken immediately began spreading his new-found faith, having as his first convert the black slave of an American merchant. During the next 50 years of Oncken’s amazing leadership, Ger­man Baptists grew from nothing to 31,194 adherents in 165 congrega­tions. There were an equal number of Baptists throughout Scandinavia, and Central … [Read more...]

QUESTION: Ephesians 5:20 says that we are to give “thanks to God always for everything.” What does this mean since I can’t walk around all day doing this and am not always thankful for some things since they are very horrible and damaging? NOBTS PROF. BILL WARREN RESPONDS: Ephesians 5:20 speaks of a worship context, with the giving of thanks to God being a hallmark of Christian worship. We express gratitude for the salvation that God has freely given us in Christ in our words and by how we live our lives, so worship centered around giving thanks to God should be natural for Christians. The opposite of giving thanks is ungratefulness, a cardinal social sin still today even as it was for the Greco-Roman culture. When a benefit is bestowed, the normal reaction is to show gratitude for the gift. To not show gratitude is a social insult to the giver. So for the Christian, giving thanks to God for His gracious gift of salvation in Christ is simply the honorable and right thing to do. To not do so would be to insult God, fail to appreciate the importance and sacrificial nature of His gift, and a horrible trait to develop internally since such an attitude causes alienation from others as well as from God. That is why giving … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/19/2012 - 13:45 Gary Frazier – a speaker and end-times author from Dallas, Texas – gave four reasons he believes those alive today are the final generation alive before Christ returns. By Baptist Message staff WEST MONROE – “The stuff we face in this life, it may be over our heads but it’s under God’s feet,” said SBC President Fred Luter, during the Louisiana Pastors Conference at First West. Luter said he learned that as a result of Hurricane Katrina, when his home and the church he pastors – Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans – as well as the homes of most of his congregation, were under several feet of water for three weeks after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Citing Habakkuk 3:17-19, Luter said Christians should realize three things about facing difficult times: Life is full of fears; Life is full of frustrations; Life should be full of faith. “The reason you can make it through the trial is trust and confidence in God,” Luter said. “If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it.” The two-day Pastor’s Conference featured sermons and testimonies by pastors selected to speak because they had overcome tribulation. “Overcome,” from  John 16:33, … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/19/2012 - 13:47 During a recent presentation at Kingsville Baptist Church Henrry Calazacon (in white shirt) and his wife Diana (striped skirt) shared their testimony and Ecuadorian culture. Joining the couple at the presentation were (from left) Lydia Garza, Pastor Bart Walker of Kingsville Baptist, Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields and David Garza, a Hispanic pastor in Pineville who served as Calazacon’s interpreter. By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director BALL – Henrry Calazacon arrived in Central Louisiana recently with a message of thanksgiving and hope nearly 2,500 miles from the rainforest in Ecuador. “So whatever language we speak, as long as we live in Christ, that points us to the way we should live,” Calazacon said during a presentation at Kingsville Baptist Church through interpreter David Garza, a Hispanic pastor in Pineville who with his wife Lydia worked as a missionary from 2001-2008 in Ecuador. “Our mission is to come and share the good news of Christ who saves us from the sins we have. That is the most important decision anyone came make in this life.” Calazacon and his wife, Diana, were at Kingsville Baptist to share their testimony and culture … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/19/2012 - 13:55 LBC Executive Director David Hankins told messengers during the annual meeting that in honor of 200 years of Baptist ministry in Louisiana, a GBO goal of $2 million has been set to meet mission needs in this state. WEST MONROE – As the North American Mission Board redi­rects resources to new work states and church plant­ing, southern states, includ­ing Louisiana, are faced with the challenge of meeting their own growing missions op­portunities. “Louisiana Baptists are happy for those resources to be re-routed to areas outside of Louisiana that do not have a strong Gospel witness,” LBC Executive Director Da­vid Hankins told messengers during the annual meeting in West Monroe. “I told Dr. Ezell that Louisiana Baptists will rise to the oc­casion so that mis­sion opportunities in our state will not go unattended.” Hankins noted that the Georgia Barnette State Mis­sions Offering is the way to ensure that Louisiana Baptists can walk through the doors of opportunity God is opening across the state. “Last year, even in a flat economy, Louisiana Baptists gave a record offering of $1.7 million to state missions,” said Hankins. “This year in honor of 200 years of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/19/2012 - 13:58 Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers pray at the Baptist Building parking lot before leaving for New York on Nov. 3. The state’s chainsaw, mud-out and shower units have joined other Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams, ministering to those in the Northeast affected by Hurricane Sandy. By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief crews often hear of the impact they make on-site but a caravan of its vehicles was the catalyst for a life-changing spiritual decision recently. Angela Young, a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, said she was overwhelmed and moved to tears when she saw the Louisiana Disaster Relief vehicles traveling in early November to help with Hurricane Sandy efforts in New York. A professing Christian since 2005, Young said she stopped attending church shortly after making a decision for Christ because of the negative behavior of people who attended worship services in her area. Now, Young said, her faith in Christians has been restored. “It is hard to describe the feeling that overwhelmed me to tears but I felt closer to God than I had in a very long time because I saw your mission group,” Young … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/19/2012 - 14:00 Calvary Baptist Church of Bayou Chicot, today with a rural Ville Platte address, is the oldest continuously-serving Baptist church in Louisiana. Thomas Walker is pastor. VILLE PLATTE – When Joseph Willis crossed the Mississippi River at Natchez in 1799 to enter the untamed land known today as Louisiana, it was to find a place to settle where he, born of what then was socially unacceptable “mixed blood,” could make a home for his wife and five children. He found that place and people who accepted him in the forest near what today is Chicot State Park. Willis had come to know God in the Second Great Awakening that swept across the populated United States in the early 1790s, and like others touched by the hand of God in that revival, Willis was compelled to speak of Christ to everyone he met. A Bible study he started in 1803 or earlier grew into a church when he finally was allowed (because of his parentage) to be ordained in 1812. That church – Calvary Baptist Church of Bayou Chicot, which today has a Ville Platte address – celebrated Nov. 2-4 its 200th anniversary of continuous service to and for God. LBC Executive Director David Hankins was … [Read more...]

Arrivals/Departures Bubba (wife Linda) Talbert, new as music minister at Shreve City Baptist in Shreveport. Danny Campbell, new as young adult minister at Belle Park Baptist in Haughton. Brent Shoalmire resigned as pastor of Northwoods Baptist in Shreveport. Trey Lewis, new as associate pastor of Calvary Baptist in Shreveport, from Kingston Road. Church events/ac tivities Hebron Baptist Denham Springs: Fulton and Judy McGraw in concert at 6 p.m. Nov. 25. Emmanuel Baptist Oakdale began a partnership with the Italians of the United Kingdom, their chosen UUPG – unreached, unengaged people group – with an initial mission trip Nov. 10-17. Pastor: Nick Hodges. First Minden: Parade of Nations at 10:45 a.m. Dec. 2. Seasonal Events First Pineville: Lighting of the Green at 6 p.m. Nov. 25 in the worship center. Hebron Baptist Denham Springs: Hebron’s Holiday Helper Child Care with free gift wrapping, 2-6 p.m. Nov. 25 and noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 9. Thompson Road Baptist in Slidell plans a trip Dec. 2-7 to work in the Operation Christmas Child processing center in Boone, N.C. They have space for a few more. Cost: $135. Call Pastor Randy Boyett: 985.690.6077 if interested. Christmas … [Read more...]