We accomplish more together than we do individually, and so pastors can accomplish more when they are working in concert with their deacons. The following are some ways that pastors can help their deacons perform their ministries more effectively. We accomplish more together than we do individually, and so pastors can accomplish more when they are working in concert with their deacons.  The following are some ways that pastors can help their deacons perform their ministries more effectively. Share the Vision The pastor/overseer  should be the vision caster for the church.  The pastor’s role is not just to receive a vision from God, but to communicate it to the people.  It’s not sufficient just to have the right vision; it must be communicated with the right spirit and at the right time.  It takes time for a pastor to pray and receive a vision for the church from God.  The pastor has prayed and thought through the vision over a period of time.  However, when he announces the vision, that is the first time the people of the congregation have heard it.  They have not had time to get answers to their questions and think through new concepts.  The wise pastor will take the time to communicate his vision with the … [Read more...]

The Christian community is always searching for innovative, exciting ways to reach out to believers and non-believers alike. Saturday, June 13, New Zion Baptist Church of Kentwood hosted its first “4Wheels 4 Him” all terrain vehicle (ATV) riding event. KENTWOOD – The Christian community is always searching for innovative, exciting ways to reach out to believers and non-believers alike. Saturday, June 13, New Zion Baptist Church of Kentwood hosted its first “4Wheels 4 Him” all terrain vehicle (ATV) riding event. About 280 attendees paid a $6 registration fee to ride their ATVs through six to seven miles of wooded area found deep within St. Helena Parrish. They also experienced praise and worship, enjoyed a meal and listened to a gospel presentation. “We were shooting for about 200 registered guests,” Pastor Richard Sandberg said. “It’s exciting that so many people came and we were given the opportunity to spread the gospel to those who may not regularly attend church services.” The success of the event was found not only in the number of registered attendees but in the number of lives changed as a result of the day.  “Eleven attendees rededicated their lives to Christ while seven chose to accept Christ,” Sandberg … [Read more...]

Three churches vied for the position of top contender in the “most players in attendance” category at the Baptist Golf Fellowship Tournament, which took place in mid-May at OakWing Golf Club. ALEXANDRIA Three churches vied for the position of top contender in the “most players in attendance” category at the Baptist Golf Fellowship Tournament, which took place in mid-May at OakWing Golf Club. Woodridge Baptist Shreveport, Woodlawn Baptist Baton Rouge and First Baptist Many each were represented with 10 or more players, and tied for the unofficial title. An attendance prize of tournament fees was awarded to the winners. Woodridge Shreveport donated their winnings to the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home in Monroe. “As soon as Wayne Taylor announced our group had won an attendance prize, it was the consensus of all the guys to donate it to the Children’s Home,” said Chuck McInturf of Woodridge Baptist. “We enjoyed our men getting together to have a great time of fellowship. “We also extended an invitation to two pastors from other area Baptist churches, Bernard Kimple of Mt. Olive Baptist Shreveport and David Larmar of Pleasant Hill Baptist Shreveport, who played in the tournament for the first time.”  Shell … [Read more...]

Like so many before him, the firm handshake, the quick, friendly smile, and his easy-go-lucky attitude makes the visitor feel at ease even though he is meeting Bill Collins for the first time. NATCHITOCHES – Like so many before him, the firm handshake, the quick, friendly smile, and his easy-go-lucky attitude makes the visitor feel at ease even though he is meeting Bill Collins for the first time. It is a summer afternoon at the soon-to-be-opened BCM – Baptist Collegiate Ministries – on the campus of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. Summer school has started and a slower pace on the campus would be expected. While the BCM doesn’t officially open until August for the fall semester, there remain hundreds of minute details screaming for Collins’ attention. He’s busy answering his phone, checking email or DR (disaster relief) alerts on his I-phone, and expertly and quickly dealing with each one. To some, it may seem a little overwhelming, but to Collins, who celebrated his 20th anniversary on June 12 as the NSU BCM director, he handles the hectic pace with ease, all the while making visitors feel welcomed. “It is starting to come together,” a proud Collins says about the new building, fours years in the … [Read more...]

“Getting serious doesn’t mean you adopt something,” Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt said in his presidential message June 23 at the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, Ky. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – “Getting serious doesn’t mean you adopt something,” Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt said in his presidential message June 23 at the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, Ky. Anticipating discussion on his call for a task force to study how Southern Baptists can more effectively serve Christ through the Great Commission, Hunt asked pastors to recognize “there’s gold in them there pews,” and to gain a vision for what God’s people can do if yielded to Him. “Talk is cheap. So we’re not here to get anything adopted,” Hunt insisted during the SBC’s opening session. Instead, he said, “It’s about all of us starting with the local church, [and] taking a look to see if we’re doing the best we’ve ever done in our lifetime to fulfill the Great Commission.” Hunt, pastor of the Atlanta-area First Baptist Church in Woodstock, expressed gratitude to God for “men of wisdom” who offered advice following his April 27 release of a Great Commission Resurgence document. “I take to heart so much you … [Read more...]

If Southern Baptists are to be what God wants them to be, they desperately need to repent of the sins that clog their spiritual lives, Johnny Hunt told the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference June 22. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – If Southern Baptists are to be what God wants them to be, they desperately need to repent of the sins that clog their spiritual lives, Johnny Hunt told the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference June 22. “I am not a prophet or a prophet’s son, but I may have to do until a prophet comes,” Hunt said. “And here’s what I want to say to the Southern Baptist Convention: There is a dire need for overwhelming repentance. I’ve never seen so many hard things said from one person to the next without any sense of grief.” Like a flowing stream that beavers dam up over time with fallen trees and debris, a Christian becomes blocked spiritually by sins both large and small, Hunt said. And in the same manner, the only way for living water to flow again is for spiritual dynamite to be applied. Hunt confessed that he has at times allowed his own life to get dammed up by sins that he didn’t take seriously. “Almost unbeknownst to me, I let some tree fall across the artesian well of God’s Spirit,” Hunt said. “I hardly … [Read more...]

Seventy Southern Baptists from 35 state Baptist conventions have been named to serve on the 2009-10 SBC Committee on Nominations. SBC’s Committee on Nominations named LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – Seventy Southern Baptists from 35 state Baptist conventions have been named to serve on the 2009-10 SBC Committee on Nominations. The Committee on Nominations will nominate people to serve on the SBC’s boards, commissions and committees. They will present their report to the 2010 SBC annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. The committee is made up of two people from each state convention, with at least one layperson. An asterisk denotes the committee member is a layperson. All others are church vocational workers. In Louisiana, the following were named: David Jeffreys, Highland Baptist, New Iberia; *Brian Reese Allen, Start Baptist, Start.   … [Read more...]

Southern Baptists have gained “tremendous victories” in Washington in recent months, Richard Land told messengers at the annual meeting. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – Southern Baptists have gained “tremendous victories” in Washington in recent months, Richard Land told messengers at the annual meeting. Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, cited a recently-adopted measure that gives the Food and Drug Administration oversight of tobacco products and a bill signed into law by President Bush late in his term that enables the government to more aggressively prosecute sex traffickers. Real and lasting change, though, can only come through changed hearts, he said. “It starts with you and me. It starts with individuals getting their hearts right with God,” Land said. “The future of America is being determined one person, one family, one church, one community at a time all across this nation. “We can’t legislate our way to the godly society that we would have for our children and our grandchildren. It can only come through changed hearts. Jesus Christ is the one who is in the heart-changing business,” Land said. When Southern Baptists exercise their responsibilities to be salt and light as Jesus … [Read more...]

He received more than 60,000 pieces of hate mail and profanity-laced e-mails daily filled his inbox. Teaming with the torrent of written abuse were scores of threatening voice messages. He received more than 60,000 pieces of hate mail and profanity-laced e-mails daily filled his inbox. Teaming with the torrent of written abuse were scores of threatening voice messages. Given the quantity of the ridicule being heaped on this person, you might conclude that he is a serial killer or pedophile. So, just who is this vilified individual and what has he done to earn such scorn? The person being subjected to the aforementioned abuse is McKay Hatch, a 15-year-old high school freshman in Pasadena, Calif. Hatch is being attacked because he had the audacity to begin a club dedicated to curtailing profanity at his school. On the “No Cussing Club” website (www.nocussing.com), Hatch shares how the club got its start. “I started the “No Cussing Club” at my junior high school ... in 2007,” he writes. “A lot of kids at my school, and some of my friends, would cuss and use dirty language all the time. They did it so much, they didn’t even realize they were doing it.” When Hatch told his friends that the cussing bothered him, he … [Read more...]

In 2003, I was given the opportunity to travel to the Middle East twice to report for Baptist Press about the faith of sailors and soldiers that I came into contact with. It was a life-changing experience, putting me on a new course I could never have designed for myself. In 2003, I was given the opportunity to travel to the Middle East twice to report for Baptist Press about the faith of sailors and soldiers that I came into contact with. It was a life-changing experience, putting me on a new course I could never have designed for myself. Something I’ve never forgotten was a conversation I had with Army Chaplain Jim Murphy, who at the time was stationed with the 325th Regiment 82nd Airborne just south of Baghdad. It was November of that year when photographer Jim Veneman and I sat down with him there and he told us how his men had seen an incredible difference between the summer and fall of that year in terms of casualties. “We could tell a difference when the people back home were praying for us and when they weren’t,” Chaplain Murphy told us. “It was like night and day.” Besides the scorching temperatures, summer also brought many reports of death, when conditions were the worst and morale was the lowest. But, … [Read more...]