By Kelly Boggs, Editor   Yousef Nadarkhani, a Christian and a pastor in Iran, has been imprisoned since 2009. His crime according to Iranian clerics: converting to Christianity and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Muslims. His sentence is death by hanging, which could be carried out at any time.   The White House has condemned Iran’s plan to execute Nadarkhani and so has Speaker of the House John Boehner. However, conspicuously absent from the voices denouncing Iran are America’s death penalty opponents.   News stories about Nadarkhani’s plight are also few and far between.   Recently a cacophony of cries were being lifted by U.S. celebrities denouncing the State of Georgia’s planned execution of Troy Davis, who was convicted of murdering a Georgia police officer in August 1991. He was executed Sept. 21, 2011.   As Davis’ execution date drew near, news stories appeared in abundance offering countless reasons he should not be put to death. Celebrities like Alec Baldwin, Sean Diddy Combs, Kim Kardashian, Sandra Bernhard, etc., lent their voices to Davis’ cause.   Hundreds of thousands signed a petition calling on the State of Georgia to spare Davis’ life. … [Read more...]

By Mark Coppenger, Professor of Christian Apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary   Since  Sept. 11, 2011, we’ve all been in school, so to speak,  studying up on Islam.   But we’ve been to two different schools. In a nutshell, one says that Islam is a great religion with awesome accomplishments, now wounded by misfortune and embarrassed by extremists who’ve perverted its basically wholesome message.   The other says that Islam is a false and dangerous ideology, bad to the bone, flawed from its founding.   The first is led by the likes of Joseph Esposito and Karen Armstrong; the other by Robert Spencer and Mark Durie (and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bat Ye’or, Nonie Darwish and others).   Having “attended” both schools, I’m not convinced the first should be accredited and I’m urging folks to matriculate in the other.   Of course, both schools grant the other a point here and there (“Yes, that’s an unfortunate verse in the Quran”; “Yes, the Moorish Alhambra palace in Spain is impressive.”)   But the differences are substantial and critical. (And yes, the majority of Muslims aren’t aggressive and oppressive, but the majority of Baptists aren’t evangelistic … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, NOBTS Professor of New Testament and Greek   Question: When I read my Bible, some of the New Testament quotations of Old Testament books do not match exactly the wording that we have in our Old Testaments. Why is this?   Bill Warren responds: This insightful question obviously comes from a good Bible study practice of looking up the New Testament (NT) quotes in the Old Testament (OT). Keep up that type of study! As a beginning point, let’s remember that the OT was written almost totally in Hebrew and the NT in Greek, so right away we have to think about the impact of translating from Hebrew into Greek when considering the OT quotes in the NT.   Indeed, the vast majority of differences in the quotes are due exactly to these language issues. The NT writers primarily used the existing Greek translation of the OT for their writings instead of making their own translations. This makes sense when we think about it: There was no need to reinvent the wheel by making yet another translation when one was already available and acceptable.   This translation began most likely in Egypt in the 3rd century B.C. The reason for Greek was because of Alexander the Great’s impact, which … [Read more...]

By Michael Shepherd, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Louisiana College   Throughout the history of biblical interpretation, readers of the Bible have struggled to come to the text on its own terms.   Theologians want the Bible to address doctrinal issues.   Preachers want the Bible to speak to “practical” matters. Scientists, ethicists, et cetera all have an agenda for the Bible. They all claim to be “biblical” because they have found texts to prove the particular point they want to make.   But if the word “biblical” is to retain any distinctive meaning at all, it must describe something specific to the given shape of Scripture apart from the plethora of questions its readers bring to the table.   There are basically two types of readers of the Bible: (1) those who want to see what the Bible says about something and (2) those who want to see what the Bible says. It almost goes without saying that the first type represents the vast majority of Bible readers.   People have their own concerns, and they want the Bible to provide insight into what they consider to be important in life.   Relatively few readers reach the point where they are content to … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer   [img_assist|nid=7631|title=Mike Walker|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=72|height=100]WOODWORTH – ‘The guys in the pews’ can expect a little something different at this year’s annual Pastors’ Conference.   Mike Walker, pastor of East Bayou Baptist Church in Lafayette and president of the 2011 Pastors’ Conference, has decided to forego a lineup of ‘big-time’ speakers, and instead will bring in men who have shared similar experience as the ‘guys in the pews.’   The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Fill my Heart’ and comes from Nehemiah 2:12 “… what my God had put in my heart to do …”   The conference, which will be held in First Covington’s auditiorium, will begin Sunday evening and will finish up at 2:30 p.m. Monday, so the auditorium can be prepped for the LBC Annual Meeting.   Speakers will address topics such as, fill my heart for church planting; fill my heart for the rural area; fill my heart for the city; fill my heart for Louisiana; fill my heart for the nation, and fill my heart for the world.   “I wanted to get speakers who have first-hand experience with each of these topics,” Walker said. “I think each speaker … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=7655|title=2011 Annual Meeting|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=458] … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, Director of Planned Giving, Louisiana Baptist Foundation   BATON ROUGE – She married late in life and moved from her home in Mississippi to Baton Rouge with her husband. [img_assist|nid=7657|title=Air WACs|desc=Women aircraft mechanics work on a World War II dive bomber at Clarksdale, Miss., during July 1943.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=536]   She lived in the same house for almost 50 years. She walked to the nearby grocery store on Plank Road for her basic provisions.   Because she never learned to drive, her husband or friends drove her where she needed to go. And she loved working for the Lord in her local church.   If that was all there was to know about Monnie Mosley then it could be said that she lived a fairly average existence. But this strong, independent lady saw more than the average number of years in her life, 96 years to be exact, during which she touched many lives.   “Miss Monnie,” as she was affectionately known to the staff of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation, was born into a farming family in northern Mississippi in June of 1909. As a child she played with the children of sharecroppers who farmed the family land, no matter the color … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, Director of Planned Giving, Louisiana Baptist Foundation   Giving USA, a research foundation that publishes data and trends about charitable giving, recently released its annual report on philanthropy for the year 2010. The good news is that charitable giving increased by just over 2 percent this last year.   The not so good news is the 2 percent increase follows two of the worst annual declines in giving since the early 1970s.   Churches and ministry organizations still have gaping holes in their budgets beccause of decreased giving in 2008 and 2009.   A quote attributed to former president Jimmy Carter goes something like this: “When it comes to giving, some people will stop at nothing.” We can ponder the ironic humor of the statement but in this day and time it has become more reality than pun.   Too many people are not able to give, whether tithe or additional offerings, to their church or favorite ministry. While current giving in the U.S. likely will be stagnant until this recession ends, don’t let the economic difficulties give you an excuse to “stop at nothing.” PLAN to give, even if it is deferred to a later date.   Here are some ideas to … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=7660|title=Groundbreaking|desc=Victory Baptist Mission of Walker, La., held its groundbreaking service Saturday, Oct., on the 14-acre site located on North Corbin Road. In addition to the groundbreaking, the church burned the note on the paid-out, 14-acre site. The 10-year loan was paid out in two years. Victory Mission has partnered with Jeff Woodrich, Mission Church Builder/Strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention to build the 11,800 square foot building with donated labor. Judson Baptist Church and Walker Baptist Church are also partnering with Victory by helping to house and feed volunteers. The foundation is scheduled to be poured in October and construction will start on Jan. 2. 60 Volunteers from Tennessee will arrive in Walker on Jan. 1 to start the construction process by giving one week of their time. The next team will be from Mississippi and teams from Livingston Parish and throughout Louisiana will continue coming until the church is built. Anyone who would like to help build for the glory of God is welcome. Contact Cecil Dyess at 225.572.2134 or Steve Hayes, the on site coordinator, at 225.235.7807 to help.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=393] … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message   Arrivals/Departures   John Reid: new as pastor of Calvary Slidell.   Kent Newell: new as pastor of Ebenezer Hammond.   Jim Hill: new as pastor of Victory Hammond.   Larry Kropog: new as pastor of First Tickfaw.   Ramon Rodriguez: new as pastor of Natalbany Hispanic and Grace Hispanic Folsom.   Mark Goree: new as associate pastor of Immanuel Hammond.   Scooter Kellum: new as youth pastor of Woodland Springfield.   Bob (wife Tina) Lonadier: new as pastor at Horseshoe Mer Rouge.   Jeremy (wife Sumer) Palmer: new as missions director at Eastwood Haughton.   Tim (wife Darlene) Puckitt: new as music minister at Princeton.   John Vasser: new as intentional interim at Mansfield Road.   Bill Green: new as pastor at Emmanuel Vivian.   Cliff Estes: retired as pastor Sept. 11 from Waller.   Ryan Chandler: resigned as music minister from Waller.   Carolle Green: new as interim education minister at First Shreveport.   Richard Shreve: new as interim pastor at Sardis Farmerville.   Thomas Bethke: resigned as youth minister … [Read more...]