By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY   GLENMORA – The house, friends and family of Pastor Wayne Dunn helped build over the last 15 years burned nearly to the ground before dawn Sunday morning, Jan. 9.   Help has been pouring in ever since.   … [Read more...]

By Staff   Baton Rouge – On Saturday Jan. 22, pro-life citizens from across the state will gather for the first-ever Louisiana Life March, designed to commemorate the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states.   Based on bus rentals for the event and personal contacts with local area pastors, organizers anticipate more than 1,000 participants.   The Louisiana Baptist Convention joins a coalition of organizations to promote the event, including Louisiana Right to Life, Louisiana Family Forum, Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Life and Justice Committee, the Louisiana Knights of Columbus, and the Concerned Women for America.     … [Read more...]

By Michael Sharp   It was quite a famous object, to be sure.   … [Read more...]

By Alan James   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP) – Carved into the concrete floor of a one-room house in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, are the words "With God all things are possible."   … [Read more...]

By JAY JOHNSTON    Jay Johnston D.Min. is minister of missions at First Baptist Church of Covington. He has been to Haiti three times in the last year, most recently in December. The following are excerpts from his diary of the trip, which was cut short because of election-related violence.   PORT AU PRINCE – This last year, as I have prayed for the people and have seen firsthand the damage along with the determination of the Haitian people I have learned to take greater steps of faith, to stay focused on praying for a people group, and to testify of the work of Jesus Christ in Haiti.   [img_assist|nid=7011|title=Haiti Rebuilding|desc=Workers in Bonrepos, a village that was totally destroyed by the earthquake, pour a foundation for another cinder-block house. Bonrepos is one of three areas where Florida Baptists are giving leadership to rebuilding homes. The houses are 12x16 and cost $2,500 per home.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]It appears that God is using the people coming to the Florida House [owned by the Florida Baptist Convention, it is the main place where Southern Baptist volunteers stay in Haiti] to sharpen many of these young men in their Christian walk and I can testify their … [Read more...]

By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY   WOODWORTH – About 70 unmarried people met Jan. 7-8 at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center for what leaders anticipate will be the first of an annual statewide Singles Retreat.   Anthony Wilson of East Leesville Baptist Church participated because he was invited, he said.   … [Read more...]

By ARCHIE ENGLAND   How can I discover and do God’s will for my life?   The quest for knowing God’s will can be an consuming endeavor. It can be accompanied by agony, frustration, fitful prayer, and despair. Those seeking "God’s plan for their life" willingly (or woefully) make changes (careers, homes, churches, etc.) along this path of discovery. Is this what God wants from you during 2011?   Proverbs 29:18 pinpoints a particular tension that, when understood, directs Christians toward a better way of knowing and doing God’s will: "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained (KJV: ‘perish’; NLT: ‘run wild’), But happy is he who keeps the law" (NASU). That tension is between getting a "new" word from God versus "doing" the Word of God that we already know.   The first half of this verse informs us of what happens when people lack vision (synonymous with prophetic insight or revelation): They act unruly. Hearing newly-revealed insights or fresh words from God’s prophets provides a certain motivation to stay the course. Without it, people lose heart, becoming unrestrained, unruly, running wild, or even perishing – because they become disobedient to God. Life can be quite disastrous when the … [Read more...]

By STAFF   ALEXANDRIA – Three men with long histories in agricultural missions are to speak Jan. 29 at the Baptist Building.   Ron Baker, former Southern Baptist missionary to the Philippines, plans to speak on "The role of agricultural missions in helping people and reaching them for Christ."   Kerry Johnson, who ministers through the SBC’s International Mission Board among the Zapotec Indians of southern Mexico, is to talk about how self-help ag projects such as raising rabbits and other small animals provide opportunities for spreading the gospel.   … [Read more...]

By KELLY BOGGS PINEVILLE – The Louisiana College Board of Trustees received a donation check for $1 million Dec. 14, during a regular meeting of the school’s board of trustees, LC announced in a recent press release. The funds were given anonymously through the Louisiana Baptist Foundation and designated to create a school of divinity. The name of the school is to be the Caskey School of Divinity, to honor a Southern Baptist minister who worked and evangelized in Louisiana, LC President Joe Aguillard said. … [Read more...]

By STAFF   ALEXANDRIA – Despite financial pressures, churches across the Louisiana Baptist Convention gave more than $21.5 million to missions through the Cooperative Program in 2010.   The Cooperative Program is the Southern Baptist Convention’s method of supporting missions and ministries of state conventions and the SBC.   The business and information systems team for the Louisiana Baptist Convention in mid-January announced the totals for 2010 Cooperative Program giving. … [Read more...]