By Gary Meyers, NOBTS Communications   NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The executive committee of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's trustees has unanimously approved the location of a new student apartment building.   "This opens up housing space for us in the most in-demand housing unit we have, which is the two-bedroom apartment," NOBTS President Chuck Kelley said regarding the Dec. 6 action that clears the final hurdle for the project. "We are thrilled about it. It will give more families a chance to be here and experience seminary and the life of the community."   The new building, which will include eight two-bedroom apartments for student families, will be built on Providence Place in an open space near the intersection of Mirabeau Street. The location is near many of the other family housing units and the main seminary recreational areas.   "It's a great location," Kelley said. "It is right at the heart of everything on campus. It is within walking distance for all classes."   In October, the full board approved the construction of a new $1.7 million building but did not settle on a location. At the time, seminary officials identified two potential locations for the … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer   STATEWIDE – Numbers don’t lie, but they don’t always tell the whole story.   The Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Missions and Ministry Division’s goal of $1.8 million for the 2011 Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering fell $79,000 short. While most would consider this to be disheartening, such, though, isn’t the case. Instead, the leaders in the division are excited – extremely excited.   So, what gives?   “It is a huge victory … a great year … because we scored the highest total ever for the GBO, and to God be the glory,” Mission and Ministry Director John Hebert said. “This kind of blessing [the $1.721 million] is testimony from our churches they are strongly supporting missions in Louisiana.   “It is an affirmation from churches across the state they want to see our work – education, training, special mission projects, churches planted and built and people being brought to Christ throughout this state – continue,” Hebert said. “This is not just a success for the mission and ministry team but for our Louisiana Baptist churches.”   Hebert heaps credit for the success of this year’s Georgia Barnette Offering on teamwork … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor   BATON ROUGE – The goal is that Louisiana become an abortion-free state. Even better, that it lead and become the first state in the nation to become abortion-free.[img_assist|nid=7852|title=Remembering the babies|desc=Gene Mills, executive director of the Louisiana Family Forum, rings a ship’s bell eight times symbolizing the 8,000 children aborted in Louisiana on average each year. Mills spoke during the 2011 Louisiana Life March, with ceremonies at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=396]   Life March 2012 is a step – many thousands of steps – in that direction. It marks the anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 that permitted wide-scale abortion across the United States.   Last year, more than 3,000 people marched on the state capitol in Baton Rouge to affirm life. It was the first such event in Louisiana, although a “Heartbeat Rally” took place in the fall in the 1980s and 90s.   “We decided to hold the Louisiana Life March because there was a need to unite the pro-life people of Louisiana, across denominational lines, around the goal of an abortion-free Louisiana,” said Benjamin … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor Thirty-nine years ago the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Roe v. Wade. The justices decided 7-2 that the practice of abortion in America was a right protected by the Constitution and thus legal throughout the United States. The date was Jan. 22, 1973. The specific date of the Roe decision deserves to be remembered as a day of infamy along with other tragic events such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Roe ruling also deserves to be compared to the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide. All are despicable atrocities. Those who track the numbers report that more than 50 million preborn babies have had their lives snuffed out as a direct result of the Roe decision. Think about the death toll and then compare it with the 2,400 who were killed at Pearl Harbor and the 3,000 who lost their lives on Sept. 11. Ponder the number of 50 million dead preborn children and contrast that staggering number with the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, 1 million of whom were children. Also consider the Rwandan genocide, which took place in the spring of 1994, where between 800,000 and 1 million Tutsis were brutally slaughtered by their fellow countrymen, the … [Read more...]

By Keith Manuel, LBC Evangelism Associate   Louisiana Baptists are uniting to pray, plead and prepare for a movement of God.   As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Baptist work in our state, our theme is Awaken.   When thinking about revival, there is a distinct difference between the words ‘contrive’ and ‘contrite.’ While no convention theme can bring revival, God’s people must not be remiss in begging Him for an outpouring of His Spirit.   If you attended the convention meeting in Covington, you heard that more than 160 people professed faith in Christ during the events of Crossover. Then during the solemn assembly, you saw God move in a powerful way.   Men and women flooded the altar and aisles of First Baptist Church, Covington, with tears and prayers asking God to bring revival both personally and collectively.   A week later, teenagers from all over Louisiana descended on the Rapides Coliseum begging God to renew their hearts and their passion for Him. The result was the largest number of spiritual decisions ever made at the Youth Evangelism Celebration.   Could the sparks of revival fire be igniting and if so, what will we see?   We … [Read more...]

By Rex Butler, Professor of Church History and Patristics at NOBTS In his book on contemporary martyrs, Faith that Endures, Ronald Boyd-MacMillan observed, “It is the devil, the demonic hatred that is behind all anti-Christian violence.” The devil is “waging his cosmic battle of spite against Jesus Christ.” The early Christians who faced persecution held that same view: that their ultimate enemy was not the Roman government or the mob but Satan. One account of persecution in the second century reported that “with all his strength, Satan fell upon us, giving us a foretaste of the future, unrestrained activity against us. The enemy used every means to goad his own subjects against the servants of God.” (The Letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne as preserved in Eusebius, Church History 5.1.5). In the summer of 177 A.D., persecution broke out against Christians in Lyons and Vienne in Gaul, a Roman region in modern-day southern France. This persecution was not instigated by an emperor’s edict, although the governor of the province oversaw the imprisonments, tortures, and executions, but the residents of these towns rose up in mob violence against their Christian neighbors. This hatred was fanned by false accusations of such … [Read more...]

By Archie England, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at NOBTS   Question: My question to begin this New Year comes from a well-known text, Genesis 6, in which God instructs Noah to “make an ark.” How could Noah build an ocean-worthy vessel 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall? What technology existed to fell trees, mill lumber, shape and bore beams and joints, as well as caulk and trim watertight seams? Also, how did Noah “discover” the more specific details of beam sizes (2x12s or 6x6s, etc.), from the general details of Genesis 6:14-16? Finally, how long did this take?   Archie England responds: Genesis 5:32 informs us that Noah was 500 years and had three sons; Gen 7:6,11 states that Noah entered the ark on the 17th day of the 2nd month of his 600th year. This suggests that the ark was built within this 100-year period of Noah’s life. That’s the easy answer.  Sawing, drilling, hauling, and lifting technologies for that ancient age are unknown to us: accomplishments of later periods – the Tower of Babel, the  pyramids, the Sphynx, and other such wonders – do suggest that these ancients were far more “advanced” than we “moderns” are inclined to think. Nevertheless, Gen 4:20-22 indicates … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Editor   PINEVILLE – Information released recently on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) website indicated that the accrediting organization’s Commission on Colleges (COC) has placed Louisiana College on warning status.[img_assist|nid=7858|title=SACS|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=98|height=100]   As part of a regularly scheduled decennial review required of all accredited colleges, SACS determined on December 15 that its COC has modified the official status of LC to: “accredited by the Commission on Colleges; however, the institution was denied reaffirmation of accreditation and placed on warning for twelve months following its comprehensive decennial review.”  The warning status will be reevaluated in December 2012.   Information on the SACS website indicates the warning status is “the less serious of the two sanctions” (the other being probation) and is usually “levied in the earlier stages of institutional review.”   “Louisiana College is fully, 100 percent accredited, and will remain so,” LC president Joe Aguillard, affirmed in a press release. “A ‘warning’ is not a level of accreditation. This is simply a direction from our Commission on … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message   PINEVILLE – Louisiana College was recently honored by U.S. News & World Report with the selection as one of the publication’s “Best Regional Colleges,” according to a news release on the LC website.   The recognition appeared in the September 2011 issue of U.S. News & World Report. LC was selected number 38 in the “Regional College South Rankings” according to the national publication’s web site.   “This is quite an honor for us. The fact that U.S. News & World Report included Louisiana College in its selection of ‘Best Regional Colleges,’ signals that our constant efforts towards business excellence are paying off. We are proud to be included in this recognition,” the news release said.   Following the publication of LC’s selection for U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Regional Colleges” list, American Registry seconded the honor and added Louisiana College to the “Registry of Business Excellence(TM).”     … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Special to the Message   [img_assist|nid=7861|title=Games at PreTeen Invasion|desc=Youth from 90 churches participated in games led by Oklahoma City, Okla.-based Kids Celebration, listed to high-energy music by Nashville, Tenn., recording artist Yancy, saw a performace by illusionist Drew Worsham of Pullman, Wash., and listed to a stirring message by Landon Dowden at the second annual PreTeen Invasion at Louisiana College.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]PINEVILLE – Landon Dowden has great hope for the next generation.   The senior pastor of the Church at Trace Crossings in Tupelo, Miss., and formerly pastor of CrossPoint Church in Baton Rouge, Dowden has traveled throughout the world spreading the gospel in such countries as the Bahamas, Chile, Germany and Mexico. He said he believes pre-teens are destined to do the same but it must start in their middle-school hallways and at home.   “Some people will challenge you to be a doctor, pro sports star or lawyer, and there’s nothing wrong with those,” Dowden told about 1,300 youngsters and adults during the recent PreTeen Invasion at Louisiana College. “Can I challenge you to do something really significant? Go where … [Read more...]