[img_assist|nid=5966|title=Pam Tebow speaks to her son Tim during Senior Day ceremonies at the University of Florida. They will appear in a Super Bowl ad.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=84] By Michael Foust, Baptist Press COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BP) – Focus on the Family’s Super Bowl ad featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother Pam won’t air until Feb. 7, but it’s already created plenty of buzz and even controversy. The subject of the ad won’t be known until it is aired – the Colorado organization is only saying the theme will be “celebrate family, celebrate life” – but several pro-choice groups are assuming it will focus on the issue of abortion and are urging CBS to pull the ad. On the flip side, fans of the former Florida Gator quarterback as well as Christians who align with the conservative beliefs of Focus on the Family are excited about the ad, even if they, too, are in the dark as to the specific topic. It is common for an ad to be unveiled during the Super Bowl. Speculation that it will touch on pro-life themes centers on the fact that Pam Tebow, when pregnant with her fifth child – who turned out to be Tim – was urged by a doctor to have an abortion. She was living in the … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=5969|title=With uplifted arms, worshippers at the 2010 Evangelism Conference sing praises to God during opening session|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=66] By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor BATON ROUGE – Soaring music, impassioned preaching, and warm fellowship all were part of the Evangelism Conference 2010, orchestrated Jan. 25-26 at Istrouma Baptist Church by the Evangelism and Church Growth division of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The pre-event luncheon to honor the top-baptizing churches of 2009 featured Mike Walker, in his 25th year of his first pastorate, at East Bayou Baptist Church in Lafayette, as guest speaker. The church’s goal had been to baptize 1,000 people between Sept. 1, 2008 and Aug. 30, 2009, Walker said. That didn’t happen, but many more were baptized than would have been if the church didn’t have a plan to reach out to them, he said. Before he shared his plan, Walker preached the Apostle Paul’s prayer in Romans 9:1-3. Paul knew the glory of Jesus, but he was willing to give up heaven if only by doing so the people he loved would see heaven, Paul prayed. Walker challenged his listeners to love that much, to care that much, to pray that much. He asked … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor [img_assist|nid=5972|title=Louisiana Baptists are responding to Haitians with their pocketbooks, prayers and relief efforts in a big way.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]STATEWIDE – As of presstime, more than $58,000 in checks has been received by the Louisiana Baptist Convention for Haiti relief. This doesn’t count the money given with a credit card on the LBC website, or the offerings taken up at the Evangelism Conference, or the money sent directly to the North American Mission Board, International Mission Board or Baptist Global Response – the international arm of Southern Baptists’ Disaster Relief ministry. “We’re not the fire department,” said Gibbie McMillan, the LBC’s Men’s Ministries director, which includes responsibility for Disaster Relief. “We’re running the marathon. When everybody else is long gone and the smoke is cleared, we’re still going to be there. This is a longterm rebuild effort.” While McMillan is working with the Florida Baptist Convention, which has a 15-year partnership with Haiti, to establish a long-term, Disaster Relief response for the rebuilding of Haiti after a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, some Louisiana Southern Baptists are … [Read more...]

img_assist|nid=5974|title=Kelly Boggs, Editor Louisiana Baptist Message|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=78|height=100]By Kelly Boggs, Editor Louisiana Baptist Message The game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts is surely the most anticipated aspect of Super Bowl XLIV. However, there is another element of Super Sunday that draws a significant amount of attention – commercials.Because the television audience for the Super Bowl is so huge (last year 148 million people tuned into to watch at least some portion of the game), ad space is not only coveted but is also expensive. A 30-second spot during last year’s Super Sunday cost around $3 million. When companies pay that many bucks just to air a commercial, they are hoping the result will be significant bang. In order to stand out in the crowd of commercials, some companies have not shied away from controversy, choosing to include sex and sleaze in their spots during the Super Bowl. Ordinarily, controversy erupts after the questionable commercials have aired. This year, however, it is different. It seems a few liberal women’s organizations and abortion rights groups are stirring the controversy pot even before they have viewed one particular … [Read more...]

By Jim Law, Senior Pastor First Baptist Church Gonzales [img_assist|nid=5978|title=Jim Law, Senior Pastor First Baptist Church Gonzales|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=94|height=100]Is missing church sinful? If you have the flu, many would be grateful you stayed home. But I don’t think illness is the reason that absenteeism among Southern Baptists is so widespread. Neither do I think that absenteeism can be explained by providential hindrances. According to a 2007 Lifeway Research study, Southern Baptists have some 16 million on the denominational role, however only 6.1 million show up for church on any given Sunday. When you look at the numbers, it would take a lot of “oxen in the ditch” to explain a 10 million person discrepancy. I would assert that widespread absenteeism occurs because of the sin of “forsaking.” The writer of Hebrews spoke of this sin of forsaking the gathering of believers for worship and encouragement. He even noted that some were doing that very thing. A. T. Robertson’s comments are insightful: “Already some Christians had formed the habit of not attending public worship, a perilous habit then and now.” At the heart of church life is a covenant commitment that binds us together in … [Read more...]

By Rob Zinn, Pastor Immanuel Baptist Church Highland, California [img_assist|nid=5981|title=Rob Zinn Pastor Immanuel Baptist Church Highland, California|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=64|height=100]We are a people who have been called by God to go into the world with the Gospel. We are a people with a command to make disciples, baptize them and teach them. Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that “you will receive power ... and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That is a big task, and unlike some today who want to go to only one or the other, we must understand it’s not either/or. It’s both/and.How do we accomplish such a large task? The answer is, we do it together! The Great Commission can be accomplished if we will come together to get the job done. There is no one church that can do it, but together we can do much. The genius behind the Cooperative Program is a spirit of unity. It is an opportunity for every size church to give as God leads and pool the gifts to reach a common goal. No other denomination has what we have as Southern Baptists. Through the Cooperative Program, local churches can reach their Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and world for … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter [img_assist|nid=5990|title=Judi Folds, wife of Tokyo Baptist Pastor Dennis Folds, leads a Bible study at Bethel Colony for recovering addicts.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=56]NEW ORLEANS – Dennis and Judi Folds left Louisiana 30 years ago to follow the Great Commission and take the Gospel to a distant land. A team of Japanese Baptists – the fruit of the Folds’ ministry in Tokyo – recently came to New Orleans on the same mission. The 12-member team from Tokyo Baptist Church partnered with five members from First Baptist Church, Minden, and one from First Baptist, Homer, to share the Gospel in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. As a result, three area residents came to faith in Christ. “[The Tokyo team] has been a blessing to work with,” said Bill Crider, First Minden’s minister to senior adults/missions. “And the people here have been very receptive.” Tokyo Baptist Church, founded by Cooperative Program-supported missionaries and American military personnel stationed there in 1959, averages 1,400 in five weekend services, with 50 nationalities in attendance. Services take place in English. “Our goal is to send a mission team to each country represented at our … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – A banjo player, Fusako Takada’s love of Jazz took her from Japan to New Orleans a dozen years ago. Though Takada didn’t know it at the time, her quest for music set her on a path to faith and new life in Christ. While in New Orleans in 1998, Takada was introduced to the story of Jesus through the gospel music of the African-American community. Back home, Takada joined a gospel choir led by an American in Tokyo. [img_assist|nid=5988|title=Fusako Takada of Tokyo Baptist Church teaches Bill Crider to do origami.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]Takada dropped in early for choir practice one day and heard the Bible being taught by the director. “I thought religion was for the weak-hearted and that the Bible had nothing to do with my life,” said Takada, 33. “But I was amazed at what I heard!” Soon, Takada gave her life to Christ and found a church home at Tokyo Baptist Church, where retired International Mission Board missionaries and Louisiana natives Dennis and Judi Folds were serving. The daughter of a geisha – a respected women’s role rich in Japanese tradition – Takada knew her newfound faith would be viewed as forsaking her heritage. But Takada … [Read more...]