By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor   WOODWORTH – During their recent workweek at Tall Timbers, Campers on Mission members voted to host the 2012 Campers on Mission national rally.   Louisiana-based Mission Service Corps self-funded missionaries, and Baptist Builders, all volunteers, will be asked to help with the logistics of the rally, set for July 16-20, 2012, at the city-owned Rayne RV Campground in Rayne.   Mission Service Corps and Baptist Builders from across the nation will be invited to participate in the national volunteers rally.   [img_assist|nid=7123|title=COM National Rally|desc=More than 300 Campers on Mission representing 27 state COM Chapters met at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in Du Quoin, Ill., last June. The 307 participants joined together to celebrate the work of COM volunteers, to share together in worship, and to participate in classes where they honed their skills for ministry and evangelism. Louisiana’s COM has voted to host the 2012 national rally.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=427]“We’re going to promote the national rally as a partnership and invite the others in,” said Jeff Woodrich, COM strategist as part of his responsibilities as Baptist … [Read more...]

By Erich Bridges, Baptist Press   RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – Thomas (Tom) D. Elliff, longtime Oklahoma pastor, Southern Baptist Convention leader and former missionary, is the unanimous recommendation of a 15-member trustee search committee to be the next president of International Mission Board.   [img_assist|nid=7126|title=Elliff nominated|desc=Tom Eliff|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]The nomination of Elliff – who served as a missionary to Zimbabwe with his wife, Jeannie, in the early 1980s – will be presented to the full board of trustees for consideration and a possible vote when they meet March 15-16 in Dallas.   If elected, Elliff would succeed Jerry Rankin as leader of the mission board, which coordinates the work of more than 5,000 Southern Baptist missionaries worldwide. Rankin retired as IMB president July 31, 2010, after 17 years at the helm. Veteran missionary and Executive Vice President Clyde Meador currently serves as interim president.   IMB Trustee Chairman Jimmy Pritchard, who has led the presidential search committee throughout its selection process, announced the nomination Feb. 17. He said Elliff emerged as the committee’s clear and unanimous choice in … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willougby, Managing Editor   RAYVILLE – How did Randy Pierce get from the jungles of Honduras to the barren desert lands of central Asia?   One relationship at a time.   Pierce was in the air conditioning business in 1997 when he was recruited by Southern Baptist Pastor Tom Smith (now retired) of Macedonia Missions Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit construction ministry based in Rayville,  to help build a church in Honduras.   Pierce, a member of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Rayville, developed a friendship over the next three years with Honduran Pastor Dario Delarca, who was his interpreter. Delarca spoke often about his vision for starting churches in remote areas of Honduras, but didn’t have the money even for gas to get there.   “God just touched my heart about it,” Pierce said. “I knew I could help. I got my first set of ‘Jesus film’ equipment, and he and I began taking it out into the remote villages.”   Since then, the organization Pierce started in 2000 – Extreme Missionary Adventures, better known as XMA – has planted 32 churches in Honduras and are now in other parts of Central America and the world.   Each of the hundred or more one-week … [Read more...]

By Erin Roach and Mark Kelly, Baptist Press   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Executive Committee members, Southern Baptist Convention entity heads and other guests gathered in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 21 to inaugurate Frank Page as the SBC Executive Committee's sixth president. [img_assist|nid=7129|title=Frank Page|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=73|height=100]Page officially assumed the position Oct. 1 after serving 30 years as a pastor and in various denominational roles, including SBC president. Guests were led in worship in the Van Ness Auditorium at LifeWay Christian Resources by Travis Cottrell, and several of Page's colleagues spoke and prayed for him. ROGER SPRADLIN Roger Spradlin, chairman of the Executive Committee, presented Page and his wife Dayle with a certificate of inauguration, listing his many accomplishments within the Southern Baptist Convention through the years. "Frank has a pastor's heart," Spradlin said. "He served as a pastor for many, many years. He loves pastors. He understands pastors. He has a deep commitment to help pastors in their tasks in the local church." Page also has the heart of an evangelist, said Spradlin, pastor of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, Calif. "Frank … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor   What is more preferable than being a child born into a poor home? According to Rep. Gwen Moore the alternative is being aborted – killed in your mother’s womb.   Children in poor homes, particularly single-parent homes, are subjected to “eating Ramen noodles” and “mayonnaise sandwiches,” Moore said during a debate in the House of Representatives over a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood of federal tax dollars.   The Democrat from Wisconsin also strongly implied that aborting an “unplanned” child is preferred because poor children must endure substandard education and grow up with the stigma of being poor. The House debate was televised Feb. 17 on C-SPAN.   Rep. Moore’s support of continued federal funding for Planned Parenthood focused on abortion because the organization is the largest provider of abortions in the United States. Moore, no doubt, is very aware of this fact.   Interesting was Rep. Moore’s support of Planned Parenthood’s abortion services. Her argument was essentially that women, especially poor single women, should be able to abort their children because children born into an economically challenged home will experience a … [Read more...]

By Wayne Taylor, Executive Director Louisiana Baptist Foundation   This year you have a few extra days to file your federal and state income taxes.   The deadline to file your 2010 federal income taxes is Monday, April 18, 2011; your Louisiana income taxes are due Monday, May 16, 2011.   The United States Congress waited later than usual (mid-December 2010) to pass some changes to the federal tax laws.   Most of these changes are temporary, with some tax laws only good for 2011, others extend through 2012 and a few laws are retroactive to 2010.   Unless you have a simple tax return with no deductions, you may need a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or tax software to ensure you get the maximum deductions and pay the least tax.   The already ridiculous tax system, coupled with Congress delaying and deferring revenue decisions until the last minute and passing taxes that are retroactive and temporary, is one reason the U.S. economy has yet to recover.   Due to indecision on the part of Congress, people who would take the risk to start and run a business are not able to plan ahead and evaluate to see if they can make a profit. If the rules of the tax game … [Read more...]