NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – When it was explained, it made sense. This was the sentiment from Southern Baptist seminary students across the nation who recently chimed in with their observations about the Cooperative Program. “I have increased my personal giving to missions since I was introduced to the Cooperative Program,” said Issa Haddad, a Jordanian student at Southern California Seminary, which is affiliated with Shadow Mountain Community Church, a San Diego-area Southern Baptist congregation. “I had no background on the Cooperative Program whatsoever, but when it was explained to me, it made sense. “At first I thought the SBC received all of this money from churches [and] probably the money is being used in administrative costs,” Haddad said. “But learning that only a small amount goes to administrative work, and the rest goes to the different ministries that the SBC supports – missionaries, seminaries, planting churches.... – I see the impact of the CP. And the extent of the CP reach is far more than we can imagine, or than one or a group of churches can do or can imagine to do.” The rolling conversation started with a group of students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southern California Seminary … [Read more...]

Crockett Point Baptist Church, located nine miles northeast of Winnsboro, near Crowville, plans a three-day, non-Sunday, Evangelism Extravaganza evening June 1-3 specifically for pastors and those they invite, as well as for people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus. DEER CREEK BAPTIST ASSOCIATION – Crockett Point Baptist Church, located nine miles northeast of Winnsboro, near Crowville, plans a three-day, non-Sunday, Evangelism Extravaganza evening June 1-3 specifically for pastors and those they invite, as well as for people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus. Guest speakers will be members of the Louisiana chapter of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists – COSBE. “We’re doing this to give pastors an opportunity to meet these guys one-on-one,” said Joe Senn, pastor of Crockett Point and a pastoral adviser to Louisiana’s COSBE. “I think there are a lot of pastors who are afraid they cannot afford a full-time evangelist,” Senn continued. “They don’t know most all of them will come for a love offering. I think sometimes we pastors fail to remember that there is a gift of evangelism and we need to use these guys.” In addition to services that are to start at 6:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at … [Read more...]

Moody Adams     Baton Rouge     225.272.2925 Joe Aulds *    Ruston      318.255.0047     318.514.9360    Carl Carrigan *    Princeton      318.949.4837  Chaz Churchwell     New Orleans     469.363.6040   Michael Courtney *    Garland, Texas     214.738.8004     972.226.4634  Jack David Daniels *    Heflin     318.894.9202 David Daniels     Heflin     318.894.9202 Gary Dardar    Iota    337.368.5621 Roy Davis *    Shreveport     318.226.2521     318.423.1088  Kevin Dunn     Tickfaw      504.567.5474 Nathaniel Dutton      Alexandria      318.445.7379 Todd Foster     Praireville     225.673.9717 Al Gist *    Longville      337.725.3766 David Hanna *    Coushatta      318.932.3433    318.286.7520 Price Harris *    Shreveport      318.687.0384 Monte Holnd     Clinton      225.683.8389 Sonny Holnd     Clinton      225.683.8389 Casey Johnson *    Crowville      318.355.0157 Jack Jones     DeRidder      337.825.8447 Bobby Krantz *    Dubach      318.777.3052    318.245.6586 Mike Krumholt     Prairieville     225.939.2023 Mark Lanier *    Ball      318.641.0673 Lyndon Longoria *    DeRidder      337.462.1290 Alan McDowell     Rhinehart      318.992.6014 Bruce McGee  … [Read more...]

A news report from the Netherlands points to a form of theological insanity that is spreading far beyond the Dutch. Ecumenical News International reports that church authorities in the Netherlands have decided not to take action against a Dutch pastor who openly declares himself to be an atheist. A news report from the Netherlands points to a form of theological insanity that is spreading far beyond the Dutch. Ecumenical News International reports that church authorities in the Netherlands have decided not to take action against a Dutch pastor who openly declares himself to be an atheist. The pastor, Klaas Hendrikse, serves a congregation of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. In 2007 he published a book described as a “manifesto of an atheist pastor.” In the book Hendrikse argues for the non-existence of God, but he insists that he does believe in God as a concept. As Ecumenical News International reports: “In his book, Hendrikse recounts how his conviction that God does not exist has become stronger over the years. “The non-existence of God is for me not an obstacle but a precondition to believing in God. I am an atheist believer,’ Hendrikse writes in the book. ‘God is for me not a being but a word for what … [Read more...]

I’m afraid I’m not the most popular pastor with the 10- to 14-year-old demographic in my church right now. I took on an issue, parenthetically, last month that caused frenzied looks and agape mouths. I dared to question the theology of text-messaging. I’m afraid I’m not the most popular pastor with the 10- to 14-year-old demographic in my church right now. I took on an issue, parenthetically, last month that caused frenzied looks and agape mouths. I dared to question the theology of text-messaging. Rifling through some things, I had found some church bulletins from my home congregation from the 1980s. All over the back of them I can see my teenage handwriting, interspersed with that of my youth group friends. There’s some tic-tac-toe there, and some plans being made for after-church Capture the Flag games, and so on. I realized that the pre-teens and teenagers in my congregation won’t ever have such things, not because they’re too holy to ever pass a note in church, but because cell-phone technology has made it as easy, and as temporal, as a text-message. Text-messaging is easy, and can easily break the boredom of a classroom or a family dinner, and it can put one in touch with people one’s parents never know one is … [Read more...]

Those pirates tormenting ships off the coast of Somalia are no isolated band of cutthroats on an otherwise placid horizon. Those pirates tormenting ships off the coast of Somalia are no isolated band of cutthroats on an otherwise placid horizon. They represent what author William Langewiesche calls the “outlaw sea” – global coastlines and deep waters increasingly plagued by buccaneers, hijackers, drug runners, smugglers and terrorists. In his 2004 book of the same name (“The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime,” North Point Press), Langewiesche explored the vast expanses of blue. It’s a place where hundreds of pirate attacks occur each year from Southeast Asia to the Caribbean, where thousands of unsafe, unregulated merchant ships sail the globe under so-called “flags of convenience” to mask their origins and owners. This region beyond nations, which covers three-quarters of the earth’s surface, is a “reminder of the world as it was before, but also quite possibly ... a harbinger of a larger chaos to come,” Langewiesche observed. What “larger chaos”? The Somali pirates reflect what’s happening on dry land: “Failed states” continue to threaten not only their own people but the peoples and nations around … [Read more...]

Recently the Moral and Social Concerns Committee of the LBC met in Alexandria. During the working lunch time we launched a new effort to make a spiritual connection and have a direct impact on what takes place at the State Capitol. Recently the Moral and Social Concerns Committee of the LBC met in Alexandria.  During the working lunch time we launched a new effort to make a spiritual connection and have a direct impact on what takes place at the State Capitol. We know the most important thing we can do at the State Capitol is to be present and to pray. Consequently, we are encouraging Louisiana Baptists to come to the Capitol and prayer walk during the legislative session. For this short fiscal session, we believe the best days are every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in May and the first two weeks in June.  The best time to be at the Capitol is from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  Any Louisiana Baptist church that feels led to bring a group may contact me atpastor@crossgatechurch.net or Dr. John Yeats at John.Yeats@LBC.org.  We are targeting only 18 days, so we want to cover each day with prayer warriors.  If you plan to participate, please let us know you are coming. During your visit to the Capital, we would like for you … [Read more...]

As I read the April 16 issue of the Baptist Message, the article about Sagemont Baptist Church in Houston immediately caught my attention. As I read the April 16 issue of the Baptist Message, the article about Sagemont Baptist Church in Houston immediately caught my attention. Thanks to this church, and many others, I recently received a grant from Mission: Dignity and it has been a priceless blessing. My husband Daniel and I have served as ministers-missionaries in South Louisiana for 38 years. We served when the monetary pay was very little and retirement was almost unheard of. Dan and I paid a little Social Security in later years when it was an option. With small salary, grants and hard work we were able to see our three daughters earn college degrees. Now, they are all active in their churches. God is faithful! After retirement, Dan had a workshop where he restored and refinished antique furniture and was able to supplement our income. I survived cancer twice. I have also experienced a severe heart attack and a triple bypass as well as other illnesses. Dan has been in fair health until he had a stroke in March of 2008.  He is now bedfast in a nursing home. I am 82 years old and he is 87. The bills … [Read more...]

The 29-year-old pastor of Cross Roads Baptist Church in Farmerville, Andy Johnson, may be young, but he already has a bright future in book writing. FARMERVILLE – The 29-year-old pastor of Cross Roads Baptist Church in Farmerville, Andy Johnson, may be young, but he already has a bright future in book writing. Johnson’s first book, published by AuthorHouse, The Secret is Out! Sex is Biblical!: Rediscovering Marital Intimacy, went on sale April 3 and is available on most major book selling websites, such as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Johnson says he never actually intended to write a book. In November 2008, he began studying Song of Solomon during his quiet time and journaling along on his computer. “Before I knew it I had 25 pages written and the book just took off from there,” Johnson said. After looking at and jotting down marriage statistics and divorce rates, he began to see something significant in the way married couples are living today, the pastor said. In his research Johnson found that 50 percent of first-time marriages, 63 percent of second-time marriages and 74 percent of third-time marriages end in divorce. Johnson was shocked at the alarming statistics and began researching … [Read more...]

Everyone at First Baptist Church in Franklinton has the opportunity to participate in the Acts 1:8 Challenge. FRANKLINTON – Everyone at First Baptist Church in Franklinton has the opportunity to participate in the Acts 1:8 Challenge. Pastor Luther Stanford says he has always had a desire to see all types of people enabled for missions.  “I really wanted a way to offer people to plug into God’s work regardless of their social status, age or ability,” Stanford said. The pastor began in 2005 to explore a missions emphasis on Acts 1:8. It didn’t take him long to realize it was the exact strategy that could involve every person in the church, he said. Stanford and the deacons of First Franklinton decided to ask the church to designate two percent of the church budget to Acts 1:8. “I didn’t want finance to be a factor as to whether someone was able to go on missions,” Stanford said. After restructuring the church budget, in 2006 the structure for Acts 1:8 was built and there was money already put aside for the beginning of the emphasis. The Acts 1:8 emphasis at First Franklinton challenges people in the church to take on missions without being concerned with finances, the pastor explained. “Because of our budget, … [Read more...]