By Bill Warren, NOBTS Question: What does the New Testament teach about the Lord’s Supper? Bill Warren responds: The Lord’s Supper is talked about in several NT passages, including detailed accounts in Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:17-25, Luke 22:14-23, and 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. The background is the Jewish cele-bration of the Passover event (Exodus 12-13) when they remembered how God had mightily delivered His people from slavery in Egypt as judgment fell on the Egyptians, but the Israelites within their houses with their doorposts marked by the blood of the Passover lambs were spared. When in Jerusalem, the Passover meal was ideally to be realized within the walls of the city, thus the arranging by Jesus of a place within the city for celebrating it, apparently in the house of a well-to-do follower or at least one sympathetic to his cause. The meal was to be held on the evening of the Passover (Nisan 14), with the lambs slaughtered the afternoon before. But in the NT period, the Essenes (a Jewish group living by the Dead Sea and likely connected with the Dead Sea Scrolls) had shifted their celebration to Nisan 10, in response partly to their perceptions of corruption in the Jewish religious leadership. Jesus and his … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Two by one: Thomas Walker (left) and Reginald Arvie, pastor two separate churches in Bayou Chicot, La., that both trace their founding to the historic Baptist preacher Joseph Willis, who established the first church west of the Mississippi River. Walker, pastor of the predominantly white Calvary Baptist Church, and Arvie, pastor of the mostly African American St. James Baptist Church, believe Willis founded their respective pastorates in November 1812. As friends, the two pastors are working for racial healing in the community. By Diana Chandler, Baptist Press BAYOU CHICOT, La. (BP) -- Two churches sit just up the road from one another in this unincorporated town so small there's no official population count. Both claim roots as old as Baptist evangelism west of the Mississippi River. Calvary Baptist Church, a white Southern Baptist church at 1059 Calvary Baptist Road, and the African American St. James Baptist Church at 3378 Highway 167 North, both trace their founding to Joseph Willis, a former slave of white and Cherokee heritage. Both congregations say they are the church Willis founded in 1812 in Bayou Chicot and are celebrating their bicentennials this … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Joseph Willis Institute Opening: Shown at the opening of the Joseph Willis Institute for Great Awakening Studies are (left to right) institute director Rod Masteller; Timothy Johnson, Louisiana College executive vice president; Charles Quarles, dean of the Louisiana College Caskey School of Divinity; evangelist Sammy Tippit; historian Randy Willis; David Hankins, Louisiana Baptist Convention executive director, and Joe Aguillard, President of Louisiana College.   By Diana Chandler, Baptist Press PINEVILLE, La. (BP) -- In the same year the Southern Baptist Convention has elected its first African American president, historians are hailing the work of a former slave who established the first Baptist church west of the Mississippi River. The church planter was Joseph Willis, born a mulatto slave in 1758 Bladen County, N.C., to Agerton Willis, a wealthy white English plantation owner. Joseph's mother was his father's own slave, reportedly Cherokee. When Willis first applied for Baptist ordination, he was denied because of his mixed heritage, "lest the cause of Christ should suffer reproach from the humble social position of his servant," William Paxton … [Read more...]

By Diana Chandler, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter Jr. is featured in a new series of videotaped appeals to churches to increase their giving to the Cooperative Program by 1 percentage point of their budgets. The appeals address state conventions individually and are designed for use at state-level meetings through next fiscal year. "Imagine if we take on the 1% Challenge that's given to us by Dr. Frank Page, that each of our churches would give an additional 1 percent [of their budgets] -- $100 million, imagine that," Luter said. "One percent would equal over $100 million to do the work that we've been challenged to do through the Great Commission by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Luter spoke both as SBC president and pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, pledging the congregation's participation in the 1% Challenge. To the Alaska Baptist Convention, which met Sept. 25-26 in Anchorage, for example, Luter said, "I want to send this out to all the pastors in Alaska just to thank you for the work that you're doing for the Kingdom of God. Guys, our DNA -- it's in us to do all that we can to impact the Kingdom of heaven and we can do this in … [Read more...]

By Frank Michael McCormack, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter preached during New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's Sept. 20 chapel service, his first speaking engagement there of his historic presidency. "My life has been turned upside down since this election on June 19," Luter said. "I never realized this position of Southern Baptist Convention president would bring so much notoriety." Luter said he has received phone calls from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, a call from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's camp, personal letters from former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and a proclamation from Texas Governor Rick Perry. "Then a month ago, my wife and I got the greatest joy of our life. We sat for 45 minutes in the home, at the kitchen table, of Dr. Billy Graham," he said. Reflecting on all the experiences of the past three months, Luter, pastor of New Orleans' Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, asked for prayer. "I'm just asking for your prayers for me," he said. "It's been a great joy, and I thank God that He's allowed this historical time to happen in my life, the life of our city and the life of our … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Recovery: Louisiana State University forensic anthropologists and volunteers from Texas Baptist Men (background) process displaced caskets and human remains in Braithwaite, La., the result of recent flooding caused by Hurricane Isaac in Plaquemines Parish. Photo by Ronald Threadgill   By Mickey Noah, Baptist Press BRAITHWAITE, La. (BP) -- Jerry Jones, mass feeding coordinator for Texas Baptist Men, knows how to run a large-scale food operation during disaster responses. But he was taken aback by a request for TBM volunteers to go to Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish to recover runaway caskets. Along the Louisiana Gulf Coast -- from Braithwaite to New Orleans -- it's common local practice to bury loved ones in above-ground crypts because of the area's high water table. But after above-ground tombs in English Turn and Promised Land cemeteries near Braithwaite and another nearby cemetery were inundated by Hurricane Isaac's flood surge, dozens of caskets -- some new, some decades old -- simply popped out of the ground. Some flooded-out mausoleums contained as many as four coffins. "Our initial job was to collect and help load caskets on trucks to be taken … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 James Dobson Honored: Louisiana College President Joe Aguillard (left), during a special chapel service as part of the annual celebration of LC’s founding, presents Dr. James Dobson with the Louisiana College Trustees’ Distinguished Service Award. Dobson is founder of the Focus on the Family ministry, and author of 26 books on the family,   By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – James Dobson’s message was a simple but poignant one: Don’t focus on your trophies – accomplishments – but rather your impact on the Kingdom of God. “I have learned if you live long enough life will eventually trash your trophies,” said the founder of Focus on the Family and author of 26 books. “If it’s not done for Jesus Christ, eventually your trophies won’t matter, much less be remembered.” Dobson, Edwin Meese III, and Alan Sears were presented with the Louisiana College Trustees’ Distinguished Service Award during a special chapel service in Guinn Auditorium as part of the annual celebration of LC’s founding on Oct. 3, 1906. Meese was the 75th Attorney General of the United States in President Ronald Reagan’s administration, and Alan Sears is CEO of Alliance … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer HAMMOND – Jerusalem Baptist Church in Hammond will soon be getting a check from the Louisiana Department of Revenue for $3,500, and it is all because they filled out some important paperwork and provided the right documentation. Can it really be that easy? Well, it may not be all that easy, but, yes, churches throughout Louisiana can get money back from the state. The church is getting a refund on the assessment it has paid for the past three year to the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s FAIR Plan. In Jerusalem’s case it is getting back the maximum refund: three years. When hurricanes Katrina and Rita barged ashore in 2005, they left a wake of destruction with which we are all very familiar. However, in addition to leveling towns and inundating communities with flood water, it dealt a huge blow to insurance companies all through the state. Many insurers have since pulled out of the state altogether and those carriers that remain are restricting which customers they’ll accept and are changing how they are willing to insure. Allstate, for example, is no longer writing wind and hurricane coverage and State Farm has all but stopped accepting new … [Read more...]

By Philip Caples, Louisiana College's Caskey School of DivinityRecently I read an article about a pastor of another denomination who had been serving his church for a number of years.On one occasion, he ministered to a couple in his congregation who had experienced the sudden loss of jobs that hampered their spiritual journey and crushed their financial security. The pastor counseled them through this difficult time to discover about a month later that some church leaders had a meeting to discuss complaints about his leadership role. Without his knowledge, they voted to relieve him of his duties at the church. The pastor petitioned the leaders of the church to disclose the reason for his termination, and they shared that some irresolvable difficulties had arisen.This story generated a variety of competing emotions. On the one hand, my heart went out to the countless people and their families who were affected through this decision. On the other hand, my heart was broken for the Kingdom. Stories like this one are becoming more frequent as forced terminations continue to escalate.Also, the story suggests an increasing awareness of difficulties surfacing in Baptist life. How should a pastor deal with these difficulties as they impact … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Ice Delivery: A volunteer from First Baptist Church Norco delivers ice and water to homes flooded following the passage of Hurricane Isaac.   By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NORCO – Four months pregnant, with a toddler son at her side, Amy Lingawi realized her house had flooded during Hurricane Isaac when she saw pictures posted online by her neighborhood association. Husband Shawn Lingawi stayed behind as part of his company’s emergency response team and couldn’t check on the couple’s home for days. In Houston, Amy Lingawi could only wait. “It was hard. I worried about our neighbors and our pets,” the young mother said. “I couldn’t even talk to my husband.” Most of the young family’s possessions were ruined when water entered the home. Members and volunteers at First Norco, where a base camp for volunteers and an emergency command center has been set up to serve the St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes, are ministering to the young family. More than 7,000 homes flooded in the area. Disaster relief began at First Norco when Pastor Ken Tew returned home two days after the storm. He knew immediately where to start. “When people are in … [Read more...]