To the Editor After reading the front page report titled “Committee seeks more visible presence at legislature” in the April 29 issue of the Baptist Message, I am almost forced to remind the committee to follow Our Lord’s injunction to “render unto Caesar (in this case the State) that which is Caesar’s and unto God the things that are Gods” There are laws on the books about non-support, and if we can identify people who are violating the law when they are gambling, why not bring them to court to enforce the non-support laws? It seems to me that the LBC should not be, in effect, lobbying the legislature as an organization. We believe, I was taught, that salvation is personal and that the purpose of the Church is to preach the Gospel. We need to redouble our efforts to do just that and confine our political efforts to the election of godly men and women. Joe Cole Fort Necessity, La. … [Read more...]

By Russell D. Moore, Vice President Southern Seminary Louisville, Kentucky As I type this, I am looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. You could have seen a similar sight out the window of the hospital where I was born, just a few miles down the road here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. [img_assist|nid=6320|title=Russell D. Moore Vice President Southern Seminary Louisville, Kentucky|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=70|height=100]Now, though, those waters I grew up with, gently lapping against the sand, are threatening to bring with them millions of gallons of oil, spewing up from an exploded rig out in the Gulf. Five years after Hurricane Katrina leveled this hometown of mine, it is bracing for the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States. Some conservatives, and some conservative evangelicals, act as though “environmentalism” is by definition “liberal” or even just downright silly. Witness a lot of the evangelical rhetoric across social media on Earth Day a while back: mostly Al Gore jokes and wisecracks about cutting down trees or eating endangered species as a means of celebration. Do some environmentalists reject the dignity of humanity? Yes. Do some replace the reverence for creation with … [Read more...]

By Rogers S. Oldham, Executive Editor SBC Life A drop of rain. A seed of corn. A thin red cent. None, by itself, seems significant. But collectively — and cooperatively — a drop joining with other drops of rain becomes a deluge. The grains of corn feed an army. The thin red cent funds a movement. [img_assist|nid=6322|title=Roger S. Oldham, Executive Editor SBC Life|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=70|height=100]The Cooperative Program is like that. The gifts I give out of obedience to my Lord join with other gifts to provide a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus, spiritual food for the hungry soul, and support for sending laborers to the ends of the earth. The church I served in Northwest Tennessee for twenty-one years was a “10 percent and more” Cooperative Program church. This means that at any given time at least ten cents out of every dollar contributed to the church budget was forwarded by the church to the Cooperative Program. The state where I lived became a “40 percent state.” This means of the ten cents of each dollar my church contributed to the Cooperative Program, six cents remained in Tennessee while four cents (40 percent) were forwarded to the SBC. Once the Southern Baptist Convention received … [Read more...]

MILESTONES – compiled by Joanne Brechtel COMINGS & GOINGS Patrick Willis resigns as pastor, St. Clair Baptist, Boyce. AVAILABLE B.N. Nichols available for interim pastor and supply; call 318.481.1863. ANNIVERSARIES KOLIN – Carmel Baptist: 100th Anniversary 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 16; covered dish dinner; Fred Alexander, music; Don Gauthier, pastor; VIVIAN – Mt. Gilead Baptist: 150th Anniversary and Homecoming 10 a.m. Sunday, June 6; Wayne DuBose, speaker; Saundra Atchley and The Dierksen Singers; covered dish luncheon; old fashioned gospel singing with Carolyn and Jack Duke. HOMECOMINGS COUSHATTA – Mt. Zion Baptist: 11 a.m. Sunday, May 16; dinner on the grounds; David Hanna, speaker; Randy Tisdale, pastor. COTTON VALLEY – Unity Baptist: 9:45 a.m. Sunday, May 16; dinner on the grounds; Randy Lee, speaker; Lavelle Spiller, pastor. GROUNDBREAKINGS FT. JESUP - First Baptist: Groundbreaking ceremony for new sanctuary 12:30 a.m. Sunday, May 16; George Treutlein, pastor. REVIVALS GEORGETOWN - Georgetown Baptist: 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, May 16; 7 p.m. Monday, May 17 through Wednesda, May 19; Jim Moss, evangelist; Wayne Clark, music; Carl Griffith, pastor. COUSHATTA – Martin Baptist: 10:45 … [Read more...]

By Joanne Brechtel Administrative Editor ARCADIA – The Rolling Hills Ministries grand opening event took place April 16.Bids have been opened for a new Ruston Thrift Store and construction could begin as early as June. TROUT – Ron Nation,pastor of Ebenezer Baptist, and Lucas LaCour, pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist, recently completed a mission trip to Malawi, Africa, in May. ALEXANDRIA – Calvary Baptist’s “Missions Out of this World” event took place onMay 5. A Preschoolers Missions Recognition Service took place in April. SHREVEPORT – Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association reports that World Changers is expecting 200 young people in the area the last week of July and churches are being asked to serve in meeting their needs while the World Changers serve in the community. A Women’s Prison Ministry is in the process of starting again in the Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association. The association is sponsoring Churches busy with spring mission projects a special ministries camp at Camp Bethany Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15. Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association reports that 40 association churches prayerwalked during the week before Easter. MANY – First Baptist furnished 200 dozen cookies to nursing home … [Read more...]

By Joanne Brechtel Administrative Editor ARCADIA – The RollingHills Ministries grand openingevent took place April 16.Bids have been opened for a new Ruston Thrift Store and construction could begin as early as June. TROUT – Ron Nation,pastor of Ebenezer Baptist, and Lucas LaCour, pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist, recently completed a mission trip to Malawi, Africa, in May. ALEXANDRIA – Calvary Baptist’s “Missions Out of this World” event took place onMay 5. A Preschoolers Missions Recognition Service took place in April.SHREVEPORT – Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association reports that World Changers is expecting 200 young people in the area the last week of July and churches are being asked to serve in meeting their needs while the World Changers serve in the community. A Women’s Prison Ministry is in the process of starting again in the Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association. The association is sponsoring Churches busy with spring mission projects a special ministries camp at Camp Bethany Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15. Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association reports that 40 association churches prayerwalked during the week before Easter. MANY – First Baptist furnished 200 dozen cookies to nursing home … [Read more...]

THE COUNSELING CONNECTION By Michele Louviere, Director of Counseling Celebration Church, Metairie Question: We have just discovered that our child has been sexually abused. We are devastated! What can we do to help our child? Michele Louviere responds: Sexual abuse is an epidemic in our society.By the time that a young woman turns 18, one out of four will have experienced some form of abuse, and one out of seven boys will be abused. Although there are many forms of abuse, as well as length and frequency, even one episode of abuse can lead to lifelong consequences.Because of the seriousness of abuse, parents need to know how to handle this situation. To begin with, it actually is a good thing that the abuse has been discovered while the child is still young. For most survivors, they carry the secret and shame of their abuse alone never telling anyone. So, knowing about the abuse takes away the power of the secret. Secondly, if the child has told you about the abuse, then you are able to begin the process of healing as a child instead of what normally happens – victims usually report abuse after experiencing a life of difficulty. Third, the most important part of helping your child is to make sure that your … [Read more...]

By Ginger Plowman, LifeWay Communications OPELIKA, Ala. (BP) – Do you ever get the feeling that your children aren’t listening to your instructions? You have just offered an ocean of wise counsel but your little sailor seems to be floating in an entirely different sea. You recognize the warning signs: glazed-over eyes, a robotic nod of the head during inappropriate segments of the conversation, an occasional “uh, huh,” and that irritating sigh of impatience that says, “How much longer is this woman going to talk?” Teaching children to listen to advice and accept instruction is of vital importance for their character development. Solomon reiterates the wisdom of heeding instruction in Proverbs 19:20, Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. All parents desire their childrento listen and to heed their instructions,yet many parents are frustrated by their children’s lack of attentiveness. The problem often lies not in the child’s inability to listen but in the parent’s inability effectively to communicate. In order to talk so your child will listen, consider the following guidelines: Understand the art of communicating. As parents, we often think that if we are able to … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – With the substance of changes varying for each respective  component of its February progress report, the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force issued a “draft” final report, posted May 3 at www.pray4gcr.com, containing seven recommendations it plans to present to messengers at the SBC annual meeting in Orlando, June 15-16. Stating that “our churches need a new missional vision,” the task force calls for the Southern BaptistConvention “to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations,” identical to its progress report. Likewise, the GCRTF outlined the same values from before (Christlikeness, truth, unity, relationships, trust, future, local church and kingdom). However, they developed them as a separate component instead of an element of the vision. Both the mission and values are presented as separate recommendations (#1 and #2). The GCRTF final report also calls for “a new level of sacrificial giving” among Southern Baptists” and to “celebrate all giving to our common work” by calling “all monies channeled through the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention, the state conventions, and associations as … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Seven recommendations to the Southern BaptistConvention are specified by the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force in the final report released May 3. The recommendations, for example, include a call for “the adoption of the language and structure of Great Commission Giving as described in this report in order to enhance and celebrate the Cooperative Program and the generous support of Southern Baptists channeled through their churches.” The recommendations as stated in the GCRTF report are: 1That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 15-16, 2010, adopt the following as the mission statement of the Southern Baptist Convention: As a convention of churches, our missional vision is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations. 2 That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 15-16, 2010, adopt the following as Core Values for our work together: CHRIST-LIKENESS We depend on the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and prayer to make us more like Jesus Christ. TRUTH We stand together in the truth of God’s inerrant Word, celebrating the … [Read more...]