I do not like change, so I was nervous about the change from high school to college. I do not like change, so I was nervous about the change from high school to college. So, the summer after I graduated I prayed for help with the transition. I already knew the director of the BCM, so I figured I would become involved there. God definitely used the BCM to help me make friends and enjoy college. I thought that college was going to be a horrifying experience, but with a lot of prayer God showed me  how it is definitely a wonderful time in life. He used the BCM to do this because I have made some great friends who I believe will be lifelong friends. The BCM has become a big part of my life. God has also used the BCM to stretch me. He has done this because I will be going on my first ever mission trip this summer; I am going to Alaska with the BCM, which is something I never imagined I would do. God has changed me a lot in the year and a half I have been in college and the BCM is one of the major tools He has used. – Brittney White The reason why I love the BCM can be best described by a conversation we (me and some people from the BCM) had with a waitress one Tuesday night. We were all talking and cutting up when the waitress … [Read more...]

Daniel Rogers, a member with his family at Mt. Olivet Baptist near Mansfield, is in the Army Reserve, reactivated last November for a year of duty at Fort Sill, Okla. STANLEY – Daniel Rogers, a member with his family at Mt. Olivet Baptist near Mansfield, is in the Army Reserve, reactivated last November for a year of duty at Fort Sill, Okla. A weekend pass in late January brought the soldier with 28 years of active and reserve military duty, and his family – four boys, one daughter, two daughters-in-law, a granddaughter and another grandkid on the way – close to the Lord, he wrote in a recent email. Several hadn’t been feeling well, but were getting better, all but his 15-year-old daughter Samantha. “She seemed to be getting worse,” Rogers wrote. “She began to vomit and pass out. I did not like the way she was looking. We jumped up and took her to the local hospital’s emergency room. My daughter passed out several more times in the E.R. The doctor decided to run an EKG on her. The results showed what appeared to be Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome. The doctor explained to us this causes sporadic excessive rapid heartbeat. “Not being 100 percent sure, he made contact with a specialist at Willis Knighton North of … [Read more...]

Question: Recently, my friend lost a loved one to death. I don’t know what to say or do to help her during this difficult time. Can you help me? (Part 2) Question: Recently, my friend lost a loved one to death. I don’t know what to say or do to help her during this difficult time. Can you help me? (Part 2) Michele Louviere answers: In the last issue, we talked about how important our presence and words are in comforting a grieving friend. Besides being very careful in what you say and offering specific ways of serving your grieving friend, understanding the grief experience can help you better minister to your friend. Certainly, if you have experienced great loss yourself, then utilize your experience to help you empathize and comfort your friend. However, know that every grief experience is unique. No one follows a perfect grief cycle, although most people do experience similar emotions and feelings. If the loss has been sudden and traumatic, then normal grief responses may include some of the following: distorted thinking, numb emotions or feelings of despair and hopelessness, inability to concentrate, obsessive focus on the loved one, increase or decrease in appetite, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, physical … [Read more...]

The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ method of supporting missions and ministries of state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention. The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ method of supporting missions and ministries of state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention. Steps to cooperation People bring their tithes and offerings to church. The church decides how much is needed for its upkeep and local ministry. The church determines how much to allocate to each of its mission interests. This usually includes the Cooperative Program, the local Baptist association, and sometimes, other individuals, churches, associations, state conventions and/or ministries the church has a special heart for. The church sends its CP offering to the state convention. The state convention keeps a portion of it for disbursement to missions and ministries in the state, as voted on by messengers to the annual meeting in November. The state convention sends on the agreed-upon portion to the SBC Executive Committee for disbursement according to percentages voted on by messengers to the SBC annual meeting in mid-June. People in Southern Baptist churches partner with other people and churches in hands-on … [Read more...]

Randy White multiplies himself. HACKBERRY – Randy White multiplies himself. Much as he’s a hands-on kind of guy, an even bigger thrill comes when people catch the vision God has given him, and start doing mission work themselves, he says. The Message caught up with White during one of his week-long stays each month this spring at Hackberry Baptist Church. That was easier than chasing him around the world. He spends eight to ten days each month on missions overseas, mostly in Central and South America. “I’ve been doing this part-time since 1998, sharing the gospel with unreached people groups,” said White as he lined up another length of lumber to trim to size. Hackberry is one of his sponsoring churches, so White made it his business to help the church devastated by Hurricane Ike last fall. Three years ago Hackberry had been devastated by Hurricane Rita; White helped then, too. White, a member at Crossroads Baptist in Farmerville, is a volunteer missionary with Extreme Missionary Adventures, which was founded by Southern Baptists based in Rayville, La., and which has arms that stretch out to South America, Central America, Africa, Asia and Europe. His missionary assignments include evangelism, church planting, … [Read more...]

Bobby Franklin, pastor at First Baptist in Florien, has found a new way to spread the gospel among the nations. FLORIEN – Bobby Franklin, pastor at First Baptist in Florien, has found a new way to spread the gospel among the nations. Franklin has traveled to Mexico on a motorcycle mission four times already, and on April 25, he and six other motorcycle riders will ride again for the fifth time. “We like to say that we’re fishing for men and the bikes are the bait,” Franklin said. Franklin works with Southern Baptist Mexico missionary Randy Rister to get across the Mexican border and to do effective ministry. Rister is a full-time missionary on the Mexican border. He organizes and enables groups to go into Mexico for missions.  “The idea was originally to reach the young men, but it has grown to all walks of life,” Franklin said. Pastors in Mexico were concerned that young men, who had gotten into church at one point, were slowly drifting again. Young men in Mexico are concerned with not having a weak image, and church is often seen as a weakness.  “God called me to use motorcycles because they give a macho image to attract young men,” Franklin said. The motorcycle riders evangelize all along the way to Mexico … [Read more...]

Vacation Bible School is the premiere outreach event of the year for many churches. STATEWIDE – Vacation Bible School is the premiere outreach event of the year for many churches. Few other events offer the potential to reach out to children and adults in your community the way VBS can. It offers a powerful and unique opportunity for sharing Jesus Christ and positively impacting the kingdom of God. Statistics over several years have shown VBS to be  the number one evangelistic tool of most churches: at least 25 percent of baptisms are a direct result of VBS. Training for this summer’s VBS already is taking place in associations and churches across Louisiana. LifeWay Christian Resources, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, has developedBoomerang Express and Club VBS: Truth Trek curricula for 2009. “As kids wind their way across Australia, they’ll discover the vastness of God’s love, and they’ll learn that no matter where they go or what they do in life, it all comes back to Jesus,” according towww.lifeway.com/vbs. Boomerang Express is designed for a 3-hour day. Its motto: Follow! Worship! Live through Him!” Club VBS: Truth Trek is designed for a 2-hour day. “Help kids uncover the treasures of … [Read more...]

Children in grades 4 through 6 who sing are invited to join the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Children’s Honor Choir April 18-18 at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth. WOODWORTH – Children in grades 4 through 6 who sing are invited to join the  Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Children’s Honor Choir April 18-18 at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth. See www.lbc.org/music for more information; hear the two songs the children are to learn and see the requirements for participation. Bonnie Beeman is LBC Children’s Music Consultant; Neva Hayley, Honor Choir Director. For more information call 800.622.6549 or 318.448.3402 or email: lbc-music@lbc.org. … [Read more...]

As a scientist, I have listened, read, and observed with great interest the debate over global warming. It is a profound political, moral, and scientific issue of our time. As a scientist, I have listened, read, and observed with great interest the debate over global warming. It is a profound political, moral, and scientific issue of our time.  Depending on whom you believe, it is either of utmost importance, with our survival hanging in the balance, or much ado about nothing – or somewhere in between. As in most issues related to the environment, there is no clear ‘technical’ solution.  Environmental issues are always a cauldron filled with a complex brew of biological, physical, geological, social, and political facets of the same problem.  And, the best solution is often a balance of these aspects.  Global warming is no exception. To complicate things further for the believer, you can find evangelical Christians on both sides of the issue. For example: Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI) at www.christiansandclimate.org, or American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) at www.asa3.org) This is but a further complication for both the scientist and the non-scientist who are trying to understand and take the proper stance … [Read more...]

Question: Why is the resurrection  of Jesus important? Bill Warren answers:  First, let’s get the historical context in mind about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was born between 6 to 4 B.C. (before Herod the Great died in 4 B.C.) and started his public ministry in A.D. 27 when he was “about 30 years old,” as Luke 3:23 tells us. Jesus was most likely crucified in A.D. 30 on a Friday afternoon in connection with the Jewish feast of Passover. The following Sunday, on the third day, the women found that Jesus was not in the tomb because he had been raised from the dead. As for his death, the reasons for his crucifixion from a human standpoint were the charges of blasphemy on the Jewish side and of sedition on the Roman side. Behind the Jewish charges, the Jewish leaders were motivated by jealousy, religious arrogance, and the intense desire to get rid of all threats to their leadership. On the other hand, the Roman verdict by Pilate was based on expediency in appeasing the Jewish leaders by way of the charge that Jesus was claiming to be a king, which amounted to rebellion against the Roman emperor. In the Roman Empire, crucifixion was the most degrading form of legally killing a person. The entire event from … [Read more...]