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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Terry Tanner has no ‘reservations’ about leap of faith

Submitted by philip on Mon, 09/24/2012 - 01:00 Terry Tanner   By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor Terry Tanner FOREST HILL – After 25 years of working in various Louisiana Baptist ministries, Terry Tanner quit her job last January to be able to concentrate full time on missions with Native Americans. It was a financial step of faith – she’s already spent her savings and retirement – but one Tanner believed God wanted her to make. “I just kept feeling the urge to go, but I had never even been on a mission trip,” said Tanner, a member of Pisgah Baptist Church in Forest Hill, where Josh Adams is pastor. “The door opened through Gary Hahler. I was friends with him on Facebook; he was a former teacher of mine. He said Pine Ridge [S.D.] was like a third-world country.” Hahler wrote that when he was an area missionary in western South Dakota, where Oglala Sioux live on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Tanner went there during her vacation from work the summer of 2011. “A month after the mission to Pine Ridge, I took time off without pay to go to the Lac du Flambeau and Menominee reservations in Wisconsin,” Tanner said. “After that, I just knew He was calling me to do it full-time. I resigned in … [Read more...]

Children’s Home expands ministry to children across Louisiana

  By Marc Eichelberger, LBCH Communications MONROE – “Where are the children who need us and how can we meet their needs?” This question expresses the heart and vision of the leadership of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home & Family Ministries. In May, Children’s Home trustees voted to expand the current network of foster care and adoption ministries across the state. The first strategic steps have been taken to reach greater numbers of Louisiana children who need love, care, and a positive Christian witness. Alice’ McCullin Harper and Courtney Eichelberger have been added to the Children’s Home ministry team. Alice’ and Courtney will serve as full-time Louisiana Baptist Foster & Adoption Network regional social workers. Alice will cover the central Louisiana region and work out of Alexandria/Pineville. Courtney will cover the south Louisiana region and work out of Baton Rouge. Other social workers will be added in the future to provide complete statewide coverage. Alice’ completed her Master of Social Work degree from Louisiana State University. She has extensive experience working with children in clinical, non-profit, and faith-based settings. Alice’ has served as a Children’s Ministry Intern at Calvary … [Read more...]

Churches host fall fundraisers, cook offs

By Staff, Baptist Message NEW ORLEANS/SHREVEPORT – Global Fest 2012, the annual fundraising effort for Global Maritime Ministries in New Orleans and Reserve, La., is to take place Sept. 28 at First Baptist New Orleans, and Oct. 13 at Calvary Baptist Shreveport. “As a nonprofit, we must raise all the support needed to meet our financial obligations,” said Executive Director Philip Vandercook. “This includes ministry resources such as the seafarers’ centers and vans. It also includes Bibles, insurance, chaplains’ salaries, utilities and all the other resources needed to keep the ministry going on a daily basis.” In the first seven months of this year, Global Maritime Ministries visited 60 ships, talked with 9,239 seafarers from 989 countries and 145 port workers, brought 3,115 seafarers to the GMM center, led in 228 evangelistic conversations and listened as seven people made professions of faith. HOUMA –  “After one of our older church members heard about supporting Chick-fil-A, he treated all of our Wednesday night crowd to a meal,” said Angela Walling, church secretary at Christ Baptist Church. About 30 people got “whatever they wanted,” on Sept. 5, Walling said, as a gift from long-time member Mecklen Taylor. … [Read more...]

Louisiana Milestones

By Staff, Baptist Message ARRIVALS/DEPARTURES n Dore Langley, new as pastor of Cornerstone Baptist in Jennings. n Donnell Sevario, resigned as minister of Youth at Carroll Baptist in Walker. Pastor: Lonnie Cook. n Lane Wascom, resigned as minister of music at Northside Baptist Denham Spring. Pastor: Merelin McCon. n Chad (Wife Courtney) Reister, new as minister of youth and education at Gloster Baptist from SEBTS in Wake Forest, N.C. Pastor: Ron McLellan. n Jason Lupo, resigned as pastor from Lamar Baptist in Delhi to become pastor of Mt. Paran Baptist in Shongaloo. n Donnie Lee, new as Minister of Music at Southside Baptist in Denham Springs. Pastor: Don Hoy. n Jeff (wife Grace) Markey, new as music and worship associate at First Baptist Covington. Pastor: Waylon Bailey. Needed/Giving n Northside Baptist Church in Denham Springs seeks a bivocational part-time Minister of Muisc. Send resume to Northside Baptist Church, 200 Cockerham Road, Denham Springs LA 70726; northsidebap@bellsouth.net or 225.664.3161. Pastor: Merelin McCon. n Superior Avenue Baptist in Bogalusa seeks part-time youth minister. Send resumes to Superior Avenue Baptist Church, 439 Superior Avenue, Bogalusa LA 70427 or email: … [Read more...]

Freed Iranian Pastor: Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani greets his family in Iran as he leaves prison after 1,062 days, 33 days shy of 3 years.

Submitted by philip on Mon, 09/24/2012 - 01:00 Freed Iranian Pastor: Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani greets his family in Iran as he leaves prison after 1,062 days, 33 days shy of 3 years. By Staff, Baptist PressFreed Iranian Pastor: Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani greets his family in Iran as he leaves prison after 1,062 days, 33 days shy of 3 years.TEHRAN (BP) – Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been acquitted of apostasy and released, ending a saga that drew international attention and saw him spend more than 1,000 days in jail in the face of a death sentence – simply for being a Christian. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported Saturday (Sept. 8) that Nadarkhani, in jail since 2009, was acquitted of apostasy – that is, converting from Islam to Christianity – but found guilty of evangelizing Muslims. CSW said Nadarkhani was sentenced to three years in prison for the latter charge but was released due to time already served. Nadarkhani said he never was a Muslim.A picture of a freed Nadarkhani, greeting his family, soon made its way across the Internet and was Tweeted by Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which has championed Nadarkhani’s case.Nadarkhani’s … [Read more...]

myMISSION: WMU offers new organization for women

  By Staff, WMU Communications BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – National WMU now offers a new organization for young adult women called        myMISSION. “Young women are such a force for Christ,” said Jean Roberson, ministry consultant for national WMU. “They combine their desire for a deep, authentic faith and a passion for reaching those who are suffering in this world. We hope myMISSION can be that place where faith and practice meet.” In 2007, WMU created the Web site myMISSIONfulfilled.com as an approach to provide missions discipleship resources to the next generation of young women. Now WMU is putting more resources behind it to fully support it as an official organization. This organization is primarily web-based and serves as a way to connect young women to each other through Bible studies, community events and missions projects. The Web site, myMISSIONfulfilled.com, is the main resource for the organization. This site contains six interactive blogs from women in different stages of life within the young adult age-range. It also features articles on topics ranging from prayer and social justice to time, money and relationships and offers get started kit for churches, communities or campuses interested in beginning myMISSION … [Read more...]

Roy Fish honored by family, students, friends at memorial service

Submitted by philip on Mon, 09/24/2012 - 01:00   By Keith Collier, SWBTS Communications Roy Fish FORT WORTH, Texas – Faculty, former students, denominational leaders, and pastors from across the nation joined Sept. 14 with the family of Roy Fish to celebrate the life of the distinguished professor of evangelism emeritus at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Fish, 82, passed away peacefully the morning of Sept. 10. The memorial service was held on the seminary’s campus. “Without hyperbole, I can truthfully say I never met a man greater than Roy Fish,” said Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis, Tenn., in his eulogy. Gaines served as Fish’s grader for seven years while earning a master’s and doctorate from Southwestern. “He loved all the right things in the right way. He loved Jesus first; he loved his family second; he loved his ministry after that. He loved students, he loved this school, and he loved the Southern Baptist Convention. He turned down job positions where he could make more money than he made as a seminary professor, but the wealth he turned down is not worthy to be compared to the riches he poured into students decade after decade. Nor is it … [Read more...]

Brazil Mission Trip: 4,500 decisions for Jesus Christ

Submitted by philip on Wed, 08/01/2012 - 01:00 Street Witnessing: Street witnessing teams, sports/prison teams, in-home visiting teams and others lead to people making professions of faith in Jesus.   By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor MONTES CLAROS, Minas Gerias, Brazil – Two women pawing through the garbage late one night found more than something to eat, said Gene Jenkins of Greenwell Springs Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. Jenkins, brother of LBC Evangelism/Church Growth Director Wayne Jenkins, was one of 145 people to participate in this year’s Brazil mission trip. Gene Jenkins was standing outside the hotel the mission team was staying at about 11 p.m. when he saw the women searching for food. “I asked them about God, and they said they were searching for Him, too, but they hadn’t found Him,” Jenkins said. “They both found Him that night, and they came back the next day to say thank you.” An apparently homeless man hovered each night around the hotel, but skittered away when anyone tried to talk with him, until the night Jenkins got his attention. (Jenkins has a variety of hand tricks and small toys he uses to draw a crowd.) Jenkins led the disheveled man to the Lord too. Praising … [Read more...]

Clarification on LC law school accreditation story

  By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor PINEVILLE – Some clarification is needed for a report that appeared in the July 19 issue of the Baptist Message with the headline “LC denied first attempt at accreditation for law school.” The report in question indicated Louisiana College had been denied in its first attempt to gain accreditation for the juris doctorate degree to be offered at the school’s Pressler School of Law. A more precise report would have been that LC had been denied its first attempt to gain a Level V status with the SACS.  A more accurate headline would have been “LC denied first attempt at Level V accreditation.” A more precise report would have had the first two paragraphs reading as follows: In its initial attempt to gain recognition at Level V, which would allow Louisiana College to offer terminal degrees, LC was denied by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, according to a recent report on the SACS website. LC sought to move from a Level III accrediting status to Level V in order to offer degrees at the doctoral level.  The first of those degrees will be the juris doctorate and will be offered at the college’s Pressler School of Law, located in Shreveport, which … [Read more...]

New LGBT minor is a major sore sport for the University of Louisiana-Lafayette

Submitted by philip on Wed, 08/01/2012 - 01:00 Political Correctness   By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor It was recently revealed that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette began offering a Minor in Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender Studies during the spring semester. The new course of study was outed by Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum via an e-mail to supporters. One of the purposes of the LGBT Minor, according to the ULL website (as of July 24), is as follows: “Through their studies, students will be challenged to investigate cultural traditions that have shaped our current understanding of sexuality and gender, permitting them to confront these traditions and generate new theoretical and ideological paradigms.” According to the ULL website the new course of study is “Louisiana’s first opportunity to obtain a minor in LGBT Studies.” As might be expected, many folks throughout conservative Louisiana are less than enthused about ULL’s new minor. Chief among those objecting has been U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia. In a Letter to the Editor recently published in the Lafayette Advertiser, the congressman criticized the minor for failing to provide an academic … [Read more...]