By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor MELDER – If there’s a kind of “God glow” shimmering at Pine Ridge Baptist Church, it might be because of the unselfish ministries of fewer than a dozen women. The group – open to any woman in the church or community – meets twice a month, for about two hours Thursday mornings. The second Thursday of the month starts with an hour-long Bible study; the fourth Thursday starts with a missions meeting, with the women reading “parts” from Missions Mosaic magazine, a WMU publication. The second hour is reserved for missions projects. [img_assist|nid=6392|title=Pine Ridge women make hand-tied prayer quilts|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67] “These women are a blessing to Pine Ridge Baptist Church,” said Jason Townley, pastor since 1993. “They are committed to doing missions and to keeping missions before the church.” These are women of varying ages that span a half-century or more. What they have in common is that they genuinely care about each other, and they choose to work together. When one woman has an idea for a ministry, the others join her in it. Cookies, for example. For the second year in a row, the Pine Ridge women filled platters with three dozen homemade … [Read more...]

BATON ROUGE – Nearly 51 million babies in the United States were legally aborted between the years 1973 and 2008, according to government statistics. The number aborted in the United States has held steady at about 1.2 million in 2005, ’06, ’07 and ’08. In 2008, Louisiana Right to Life, Louisiana Students for Life and the Knights of Columbus came together to bring those statistics down by training a new generation of pro-life “Joshua’s.” The result was the first-ever, weekendlong, Louisiana Camp Joshua (LCJ) in Baton Rouge in 2008 to train high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to be pro-life leaders. “After witnessing and being a part of this weekend, watching the students bond, and hearing some of the discussions from the small groups, I am convinced our future is bright,” said Vince Whittington, Louisiana Camp Joshua chairman. “I believe that we still have a long way to go in the pro-life movement, but this generation of young men and women are going to be the ones to get it done.” After 35 students participated in LCJ’s first year, and about 90 its second year, Louisiana Camp Joshua this year added a second location in Lake Charles. The Baton Rouge and Lake Charles camps together trained 150 new students to take … [Read more...]

By Karen Willoughby, Managing Editor GULF COAST of Louisiana – The oil spill resulting from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20 has curtailed a third of the fishing waters in the entire Gulf of Mexico. It’s a mess. Oil is being seen on Alabama, Mississippi and Florida beaches as well as on the beaches and in the fragile marshlands of Louisiana. The cutting tool being used in a try to cap the leak is stuck in surrounding equipment nearly a mile under the water’s surface. Tensions are high, and Southern Baptists are on track with Disaster Relief chaplains. “This is not overwhelming-crushing-moment crisis; it’s prolonged,” said Pastor Craig Ratliff of Celebration Arabi Church in St. Bernard Parish. “You wake up tomorrow and wonder if it’s going to be worse than today.” Over the first seven weeks of the disaster, the well leaked perhaps 45 million gallons of heavy crude oil, the government estimated – perhaps 20,000 barrels a day. It’s the United States’ worst environmental disaster ever, and there is no end in sight. Most everyone remains in a tension-filled wait-and-see mode even as they scramble to do what they can, with various governmental agencies vying for control and everyone concerned … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA – For prisoners and volunteers alike, this year’s annual Angola Prison Revival proved to be a life-changing experience. Thurman Bell believes it changed his life. Pastor E.J. Scott knows it changed his. Together the pair joined 175 other volunteers who participated May 21-22 in the annual evangelistic event at what was once called “the worst prison in America” – Angola State Penitentiary. While it is still a very dangerous place, the prison has definitely undergone a transformation under the skillful guidance of Warden Burl Cain. “Warden Cain has played a huge role in helping revival come to the prison,” LBC Evangelism Church Growth Director Wayne Jenkins said. “There is no question God has placed him there to throw open the doors.” Jenkins said there were 144 decisions during the two-day revival. There’s no question God played a role in bringing Bell to the prison for the first time. “I’m not going to lie; I was nervous, especially, when I went through the main gate and it closed behind me,” Bell said. “The reality set in when I saw a prisoner shuffling past me with his arms and legs shackled. “But a calmness came over me when I realized I was there to … [Read more...]

Steve Horn, Pastor First Baptist Lafayette Much has been written and no doubt will continue to be written about the final report to be presented to the SBC in Orlando from the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (GCRTF). One can read the strengths and weaknesses of the recommendations from far more knowledgeable and more prominent Southern Baptists than this author. [img_assist|nid=6397|title=Steve Horn Pastor First Baptist Lafayette|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=72|height=100]However, I believe that I do have a unique perspective as a “younger” pastor – if I still qualify as young being a few months shy of forty years old. If one believes the rhetoric in some circles, the younger generation of Southern Baptist leaders has little to no use for the cooperative work of the Southern Baptist Convention, at least to the degree that they see the value in leading their churches to give sacrificially and aggressively to the Cooperative Program. Unfortunate phrases like “bloated bureaucracy” have been used to describe the work of some of our denominational entities in general and specifically the work of state conventions. As a member of the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention for the last five years … [Read more...]

The messengers assembled at the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting held in Louisville, Ky., voted overwhelmingly to approve the motion to allow SBC president, Johnny Hunt, to appoint a task force to assist Southern Baptists to become more intentional and more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission. [img_assist|nid=6399|title=Kenneth S. Hemphill SBC Strategist Empowering Kingdom Growth|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=76|height=100]On the positive side, the enthusiastic response to this motion tells us that the heart of Southern Baptist people is to link arms in taking the Gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. Further, it demonstrates the willingness of Southern Baptists to rigorously evaluate everything they do in the light of Kingdom priorities. On the negative side for me was the vast exodus of people from the hall after the vote was taken. This was a negative because the centerpiece of Tuesday night’s schedule was the report of the International Mission Board and most of the messengers had “left the building.” One would have thought that those who were enthusiastic about a Great Commission Resurgence would have made this report a first priority. (By the way, the … [Read more...]