By Brian Blackwell, Special to the Message   ALEXANDRIA – The flickering of candlelight recently filled the sanctuary of Cloverdale Baptist Church.[img_assist|nid=7808|title=Giving Comfort|desc=Hospice Chaplain Dennis Snoddy offers spiritual support and any encouragement he can to hospice patients and their loved ones.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=427]   One by one, candles were lit by passing the flame from one person to another, with such gospel hymns as Amazing Grace playing in the background.   The 20 people in attendance were attending an annual memorial service, one in which they remembered their loved ones who died under hospice care in 2011. Dennis Snoddy, pastor of Cloverdale Baptist Church and a hospice chaplain, said the evening provided another step in the healing process for those loved ones.   “This was a chance for them to get together and receive some encouragement,” said Snoddy, who delivered a short message at the service. “People really seem to be blessed to share about their loved ones and hear about others who experienced the same trials. It’s comforting to know that you’re not the only one who experienced … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor   [img_assist|nid=7811|title=Time to Awaken|desc=LBC Executive Director David E. Hankins speaks to messengers at the annual meeting at First Covington about Awaken.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=427]STATEWIDE – Louisiana has experienced hurricanes, oil spills, crime and hunger, but in 200 years of Baptist ministry across the state, there’s never been a spiritual awakening, says David E. Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.   “It’s time,” he says.   “We wanted to use the opportunity of bicentennial celebration and gratefulness, thanking God, to call Louisiana Southern Baptists – and any other Christian – to think about what God wants to do in us going forward in the future,” Hankins said during his address at the recent LBC annual meeting. “We thought nothing was more important than a spiritual awakening.”   God is the only one who can bring a spiritual awakening, but “We can prepare ourselves to receive it, and plead with our Heavenly Father to send it,” Hankins said. “We can plead with God to do what we can’t do.”   The LBC has launched a coordinated effort for Louisiana Southern Baptists to prepare … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor [img_assist|nid=7813|title=Going Strong|desc=Members of Tangipahoa Baptist Church say they are one big family. The church has a spirit of giving and cooperation, and is committed to advancing God’s Kingdom work in the state and across the globe. The Baptist church, apparently the first established in what is now Louisiana, is celebrating its 200th anniversary.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=427]TANGIPAHOA – Before there was a Louisiana, there was a Tangipahoa Baptist Church. Before there was a Louisiana Baptist Convention, there was a Tangipahoa Baptist Church. “Churches success should not be measured in memberships or finances, but in the lives and hearts changed by Christ,” said Pastor Greg Stewart. “Tangipahoa looks forward to continually charring out the Great Commission of Jesus until His return. Revelation 22:20 says, He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” As Louisiana and the Louisiana Baptist Convention prepare to celebrate their 200th anniversaries in 2012, the record shows Tangipahoa Baptist Church was accepted on Oct. 19, 1811, into the Mississippi Baptist Association, which then included territory … [Read more...]

By David E. Hankins, LBC Executive Director   One of my theology profs used to say to us, “Christmas is big stuff!” He was not making a comment about commerce, although merchants routinely make 60 percent plus of their annual sales during the Christmas season alone.   Neither was my professor making a comment about family, although millions of families across the world consider Christmas their favorite time of year. He was not making a comment about human kindness, although the Christmas season is noted for its widespread emphasis on peace and brotherhood and generosity.   In a sense, all of the above could earn Christmas the description “big stuff.” But the professor, in the hip-est way he knew how, was declaring that Christmas celebrates the most significant event in the history of the world. Everything that the God of the universe purposed in creation and everything that humankind needs for fulfillment centers in the event that began with the birth of the God-man Jesus and ended with his death on the cross and his resurrection from the tomb. This is the story of God and man.   The message of the Bible is the relationship between God the creator and man the creature. Some might argue … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Editor Louisiana Baptist Message   Public expressions of Christmas in America – as in the commemoration of Christ’s birth, not the “I’m dreaming of a white ...” or “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ...” variety – have become increasingly controversial.   Schools and other government venues have taken a dim view of any representation that calls attention to the reason for the season – Jesus Christ.   The environment at one West Coast elementary school was such that a mother wrote in a local newspaper that her son, reared in a Christian environment, felt guilty about celebrating Christmas.   A school district in California recently not only banned the use of the word “Christmas” by teachers, officials also made it taboo for instructors to wear any jewelry with a Christmas theme.   In Tillamook, Ore. –  a coastal community known throughout the Northwest for its cheese and ice cream – city officials once ordered the removal of a lighted nativity display from a drive-up coffee kiosk. The reason – the business property was leased out by the city.   The city manager told a local newspaper that he acted on a citizen’s complaint concerning the religious … [Read more...]

By Jason Hiles, Professor of Christian Studies, Louisiana College   The words of the angel spoken to shepherds long ago continue to remind of the wonder and majesty of Christ’s birth among men. “Fear not,” he proclaimed, “for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11, ESV).   While we marvel at the grace of God in revealing such wonders to lowly shepherds, we must not lose sight of the fact that the angel’s words were recorded for our sake. The shepherds heard this message firsthand and traveled to see the Christ-child with their own eyes.   But what was written in former days in the Scriptures was written for our instruction (Romans 15:4) so that we too may learn of God’s mercy and rejoice in this good news.   At times it is difficult to rejoice in the good news of Christ’s coming. The cares and concerns of this world multiply rapidly during the holidays and press us on every side, making it virtually impossible to focus attention on the Savior who came in the form of a humble child.   His arrival was barely noticed on the first Christmas and is … [Read more...]

By Archie England, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at NOBTS   Question: What does the Old Testament say about genocide?   Archie England responds: God first created all things, then destroyed it all during Noah’s time. Genesis 6-9 details how the just Creator became a wrathful annihilator. The evil thoughts and deeds of humankind so displeased God that His holy nature demanded a just response: death to all sinners. The moment(s) for mercy had passed. The only grace to prevail was toward Noah, his family, and selected animals. Though Noah had found favor with God, he was not sinless. Sadly, within the eight people spared, the “leaven” of sin remained, re-emerging rapidly.   By a catastrophic flood, God indeed wiped out all life, except for what survived within the ark or below in the turbulent waters. From our human perspective, this is “genocide – the systematic and widespread extermination or attempted extermination of an entire national, racial, religious, or ethnic group” (American Heritage Dictionary).   God’s act of worldwide destruction, however, issued from His Holiness. No longer would God tolerate humanities’ appetite for iniquity. Genesis 15:16 alludes to such a view of … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Special to the Message [img_assist|nid=7820|title=Prison Revival|desc=Franklin Avenue Pastor Fred Luter, who delivered his message on a chilly Friday evening, reminded the inmates that they face a battle they must overcome on a daily basis.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=480]PINEVILLE – The potential for hope and change that exists inside the walls of J Levy Dabadie Correctional Center is incalculable, says Keith Manuel, evangelism associate in the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s evangelism and church growth team. Manuel, who visits many prisons throughout the state each year, says he knows the inmates have committed crimes from theft to capital murder. But he also realizes that with the message of the gospel, those men and women who may believe they have little hope could instead have a bright future through a life-changing decision to follow Christ. “I am praying for a great movement of God at Dabadie prison,” said Manuel of the prison where most sentences are two years in length. “If the message of the gospel penetrates their hearts and they return home with a growing relationship with Jesus, their homes are changed, their families are changed and their communities are changed – forever.” Recently … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message PINEVILLE – To meet the needs of an ever increasing student population, Louisiana College officials have broken  ground on a new apartment-style housing project on the campus. Located near the corner of Cross and College Drive, the $2.1 million complex will be the second structure that is part of a planned quadrangle of state-of-the art student apartments with a courtyard and study areas. Tudor Construction Company of Alexandria will be handling the construction. “The building will consist of a 45-unit, apartment-style living facility,” LC Board Chairman Marc Taylor said in a school press release. “The apartments under construction will help to relieve the overcrowding and will help the college in accommodating its rapidly growing student population.” With the College’s on- campus housing at maximum capacity, the school began the 2011 fall semester with 49 students housed in rented rooms at the Fulton Hotel in Alexandria. Louisiana College experienced another record enrollment (1,557 students) again this semester, having welcomed the largest first-time freshman and transfer classes (410 students) in the College’s 106- year history. In the first five years since Joe Aguillard was named President by … [Read more...]

By Pam Ford Davis, Special to the Message   [img_assist|nid=7823|title=Comfort Corner Community Center: A helping hand|desc=Donnie Linson is bivocational pastor of Goodwill Baptist Church in Oak Grove, which has as one of its ministries the Comfort Corner community center, a place where spiritual and physical nourishment, plus more, are freely offered to those with needs.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=476]OAK GROVE – Jeanne Donahue felt God’s prompting. She was encouraged by others to bring comfort and tangible assistance to the downhearted, who struggle to survive in an economically deprived area. God placed a dream in her heart, fanned the flames into a vision, and birthed the now debt-free Comfort Corner ministry in Northeast Louisiana.   Donahue has been an active member of Goodwill Baptist Church since 1984.   “God is teaching me how to hear Him, lean on Him and to surrender to His will in and through His ministry,” Donahue said.   Ask Donahue how such a complex outreach came about, and see her tear up as she recalls its beginnings in 1990: As a new decade arrived, the Lord began a new work in the rural community of Goodwill, La., some 20 miles east of … [Read more...]