Ministers and missionaries planning to attend the Southern Baptist Convention - but facing tight budgets - are being offered lodging in the homes of New Orleans Baptists. Ministers and missionaries planning to attend the Southern Baptist Convention - but facing tight budgets - are being offered lodging in the homes of New Orleans Baptists.   The housing assistance is being sponsored by the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans and the Local Arrangements Committee helping to plan the annual meeting, scheduled for June 12-13 in the Louisiana Superdome.   The guest housing will be available beginning June 10, for persons attending such pre-convention meetings as the Pastors’ Conference and Woman’s Missionary Union. Some housing also may be available for participants in the Crossover New Orleans evangelistic outreach June 9.   "We are excited to have Southern Baptists coming to New Orleans for Crossover New Orleans and the convention meetings," said Fred Dyess, director of missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. "Our desire is to extend hospitality to all our guests and a place to stay for those who need it."   To qualify for housing assistance, … [Read more...]

C. Lacy Thompson LBM Associate Editor   Louisiana College trustees adopted a record budget for the coming year as the school faces financial challenges related to increased costs and higher enrollment. Louisiana College trustees adopted a record budget for the coming year as the school faces financial challenges related to increased costs and higher enrollment.   Trustees also approved a policy change to make the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message statement the school’s statement of faith.   In addition, they were presented with a proposed change in administrative structure that would delegate many day-to-day responsibilities to a provost, allowing the president of the college more freedom to travel and promote the school.   In a meeting free from debate or dissension, President Rory Lee reported to trustees that enrollment at the Louisiana Baptist school is at its largest in 23 years. The spring semester headcount of 1,048 is 14.2 percent ahead of last year’s figure.   Lee also reported projections show the college is expected to close its fiscal year at the end of July "in the black" financially.   However, challenges remain.   In a … [Read more...]

Lynn P. Clayton LBM Editor   George Snell has tried to get his wife, Felisha, to forsake her night-owl ways, but on October 29, 2000, he was glad she was up at 2:00 a.m.   "My daughter, Miah, and I were playing on the computer," Felisha Snell recalls. "I kept hearing this roar, and thought, ‘They must be running the machines down at the gas plant.’ But it kept getting louder. Lynn P. Clayton LBM Editor   George Snell has tried to get his wife, Felisha, to forsake her night-owl ways, but on October 29, 2000, he was glad she was up at 2:00 a.m.   "My daughter, Miah, and I were playing on the computer," Felisha Snell recalls. "I kept hearing this roar, and thought, ‘They must be running the machines down at the gas plant.’ But it kept getting louder.   "I looked into the bedroom where George and our son were sleeping, and everything was orange."   It was then she realized the church house of First Baptist Church of Evangeline, which sits only 40 or so yards from the parsonage, was burning.   The phone line already had been melted, so Felisha Snell rushed outside to get her cell phone from her automobile. She placed the 911 call - "and … [Read more...]

Who says the Internet does not provide cost-cutting benefits? For all of you who think the pastor is paid too much, the Internet may offer a solution.   You yourself can become a minister, and you can, therefore, cut the cost of a minister, as in your church’s minister. Who says the Internet does not provide cost-cutting benefits? For all of you who think the pastor is paid too much, the Internet may offer a solution.   You yourself can become a minister, and you can, therefore, cut the cost of a minister, as in your church’s minister.   You can become a legally ordained minister within 48 hours. All you have to do is send Charles Simpson $29.95, and he will make you a legally ordained minister. How does he have this power? I do not know, but it says right here in the e-mail that he has the power to do it.   His remarkable offer costs only $29.95 (less than a meal at a nice restaurant and movie would cost), and here is what it will buy you, according to the e-mail.   "Marry (one assumes he means conduct the ceremony) your brother, sister, or your best friend. Don’t settle for being the best man or brides’ maid."   Also, "Funerals (are) a very hard time … [Read more...]

The United States is a bulwark of Christianity. Christianity is the sole proprietor of the faith of United States’ citizenry. We can assume the people of the United States are safe from the proselytizing of any other religion. The United States is a bulwark of Christianity. Christianity is the sole proprietor of the faith of United States’ citizenry. We can assume the people of the United States are safe from the proselytizing of any other religion. If you still cling to the ideas expressed in that first para-graph as though they are ironclad facts, you are not staying up with the changing reality of religion in your land.   True, most citizens of our land still say they are Christians, when pushed and when given that as a choice among others. But percentage wise, it is a minority of people in our land who regularly attend the activities of any church. And, even fewer acknowledge any kind of born again experience, however broadly surveyors choose to define that term.   No question, the United States still has the lion’s share of the world’s evangelical churches. Certainly, Christians and churches in the United States reflect the wealth of the country. This numerical size and financial … [Read more...]

Soon, according to scientists, the headlines will scream, a human being has been cloned. When Dolly, the sheep, was cloned, people were asking, is it ethical? This time we will ask, is it moral? Are we usurping God’s creative powers? Will the clone have a soul? Soon, according to scientists, the headlines will scream, a human being has been cloned. When Dolly, the sheep, was cloned, people were asking, is it ethical? This time we will ask, is it moral? Are we usurping God’s creative powers? Will the clone have a soul? This could be the most revolutionary development ever achieved by man. In time, it could turn our world upside down. The potentials both for good and bad are endless, limited only by the imaginations of the mind. We need answers and guidance. Mere opposition is not enough. Human cloning is coming, and we need to know how to deal with it. Surely someone in our midst can talk to God and share his answers with us. Perhaps a biblical scholar could delve more deeply in the prophecies and discover a reference hidden all these years. I’m not afraid of science but am of evil men and countries who misuse it. L.B. Miller Doyline … [Read more...]

The gambling industry won big in the recent special session of the Louisiana Legislature - and can be expected to try for more in the current regular session, Ken Ward warned. The gambling industry won big in the recent special session of the Louisiana Legislature - and can be expected to try for more in the current regular session, Ken Ward warned.   In the special session, legislators approved a reduced tax designed to keep the land-based casino in New Orleans open. They also raised taxes on river boats, in exchange for dropping all requirements for them to cruise.   The governor and legislators insisted the moves were not an expansion of gambling. However, river boat operators predicted that dropping the cruise requirement would result in an increase of up to 10 percent in gambling revenue.   Any way one looks at it, it was a bad special session for gambling opponents, acknowledged Ward, executive director of the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation.   Ward encouraged persons to consider writing the governor and their legislators to express disappointment and to urge them not to pass other bills favorable to gambling.   And there are sure to be such … [Read more...]

For the week of March 29, 2001 Potpourri •ALEXANDRIA - "The Gift of Time" seminar presented by Friendship House Adult Day Services Center will be held at First United Methodist Church, April 2, 6:30 - 8 p.m. and April 3, 2 - 4 p.m. Edward F. Ansello will speak at both sessions. A $10 fee is required for the second session. For information, contact Julie Morris, Friendship House Director, at (318) 473-9504. •DEQUINCY - Northside church: The Gospel Lights in concert; March 31, 4 p.m.; refreshments to follow; Shane Terrebonne, pastor. •PINEVILLE - Pineville Park church: Common Good in concert; April 1, 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Kris Smith, director; Thomas Lott, Jr., minister of music; Herb Dickerson, interim pastor. •WASHINGTON - Washington church: Jews for Jesus presents "Christ in the Passover"; March 30, 7 p.m.; Louis Charrier, pastor. •WEST MONROE - New Chapel Hill church: Not By Sight in concert; April 1, 6 p.m.; Greg Green, minister of music; Clyde Sanchez, pastor. Homecomings •FLORIEN - Pine Grove church: 107th; April 8, 10 a.m.; Elcie Walker, speaker; dinner to follow; Bobby Shirley, pastor. Anniversaries •BATON ROUGE - Florida Blvd. church: 50th; April 1, 11 a.m.; Ben Hatfield, speaker and Huel … [Read more...]

Paula spends her secluded days scour ing the streets, searching for roadside trash that catches her fancy.   She has been gathering dusty jars and discarded trinkets for at least a half-dozen years, adding them to the growing collection in her modest apartment. Paula spends her secluded days scour ing the streets, searching for roadside trash that catches her fancy.   She has been gathering dusty jars and discarded trinkets for at least a half-dozen years, adding them to the growing collection in her modest apartment.   She lives alone in an apartment complex in Granite City, Ill., where the landlord turns her heat off at night to cut corners on his utility bills.   Paula (not her real name) says he has told her she will be out on the streets if she reports him. She has been kicked out of apartments before, so she knows how hard it is to find a place to live. Most landlords do not like her cherished collection in their buildings, so she remains silent about this latest injustice about heating.   Her trash menagerie provides most of her company. A grown daughter lives on the other side of town, but she seldom sees her; a son lives farther away.   Her … [Read more...]

Illustrating their personal testimony with photographs and horrific video images, American workers and Indonesian atrocity victims recently recounted a systematic butchering of Christian civilians by Islamic warriors in Indonesia’s Moluccan islands. Illustrating their personal testimony with photographs and horrific video images, American workers and Indonesian atrocity victims recently recounted a systematic butchering of Christian civilians by Islamic warriors in Indonesia’s Moluccan islands.   "Christians I met with on the Moluccan islands witnessed their loved ones being hacked to pieces by ‘jihad warriors,’" Steven Snyder said during a recent press conference. Snyder is president of International Christian Concern, a religious liberty organization. He recently returned from a fact-finding visit to Indonesia.   "Children watched their mothers and fathers being killed in front of them," he reported.   Most of the 2 million inhabitants of about 1,000 Moluccan islands are Muslims who dwelt in harmony with their minority Christian neighbors until hostilities broke out in early 1999, a report from CNSNews.com said. Since then, an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people have died in … [Read more...]