By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer FARMINGTON, N.M.– Christmas may be six months away but a group of Louisiana Baptists are making plans to deliver joy to children living on a Native American reservation. Their hope is their trip becomes a larger ministry of Louisiana Baptists during the next Christmas season. Organized by Open Door Missions of Ruston, the mission trip to the Navajo reservation in New Mexico consisted of distributing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, blankets and clothes to the children, following a special Christmas program where the gospel was presented. Of the approximately 650 children that attended on those December day and night gatherings, 34 accepted Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. Another 65-70 made professions of faith on two other summer trips by Cook Baptist and other LBC churches. Treasurer Lavelle Spillers said seeing God’s love on display there is worth every dollar spent and mile traveled. “We love being able to take the gifts to the children, many of whom would not get anything for Christmas if it were not for the many generous Christians and churches who work with Open Door Missions each year,” said Lavelle Spillers, treasurer of Open Door Missions. “However, the … [Read more...]

GREENWELL SPRINGS – David Vitter, Tony Perkins and Michael Johnson will be the featured speakers for a noon pastor’s luncheon Aug. 19 at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church near Baton Rouge. Pastors, along with a church member that could potentially provide leadership for a Culture Impact Team in the local church, are invited to attend the luncheon to learn how to equip and unite Christians for the truth of God and to turn our nation back to God. All three speakers are leading conservative figures in the ongoing battle to help turn the culture and country back to God. Known as a conservative reformer, Vitter (R-LA) is now in his 10th year in the Senate after being elected to his first term in 2004 and overwhelmingly re-elected in 2010. Vitter’s Senate voting record is consistently conservative. Perkins is President of the Family Research Council, a Christian think tank, public policy and lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C. since September 2003. He was also involved in the 1998 founding of Louisiana Family Forum. He hosts an online program, Washington Watch Daily on FRC Radio. Johnson is chief counsel of Freedom Guard, Inc., a newly formed legal ministry dedicated to defending the Body of Christ in Louisiana and the … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 06/27/2014 - 13:32 On June 8, Plain Dealing Baptist Church honored Sue Moore for serving as a church organist and pianist for 62 years, the last 16 at Plain Dealing. They also honored Jack Gore for serving as their pianist for 45 years. The church gave them both plaques commemorating the occasion and the Louisiana Baptist Convention also honored them with plaques marking this special occasion. Pictured (from left) at the special occasion was Pastor James Hill, Jacqueline ‘Jack’ Gore, Sue Moore and music director Norma Anderson. Select rating Give it 1/5 Give it 2/5 Give it 3/5 Give it 4/5 Give it 5/5 … [Read more...]

ON THE MOVE Larry Baldridge licensed to the Gospel Ministry and Chaplaincy at Catahoula Lake Front Community Church, St. Martinville. Pastor: Louis Charrier. Philip Casper is new as pastor at Central Baptist Church, Springhill. Ronnie Osborne is new as pastor at Heflin Baptist Church, Heflin.   REVIVAL/HOMECOMING Salem Baptist Church, Plain Dealing: Homecoming: Celebrating 170 years, July 13, Services at 11 a.m. followed by lunch at noon and singing at 1:30 p.m. Speaker: Ben Jordan (Salem pastor in 1970). Music: Main Street Connection. Pastor: Larry Earhart. New Hope Baptist Church, Independence: Recharge Revival event, July 13-20. Speaker: Bishop Innocent Mabuza from Swaziland. Pastor: Steven Campbell. First Baptist Church, Zwolle: Summer Revival, July 13-16. Speaker: Bob Utley. Worship: Craig Forque. Pastor: Jerry Penfield. Lone Star Baptist Church, Hineston: Lone Star Community Cemetery Incorporated Homecoming, July 13, 10 a.m. Speaker: Chad Longino. Temple Baptist Church, Ruston: Marvelous Mondays, July 14, 21, 28, and August 4. Speakers: Bill Hardin, Rob Futral, Steve Horn, and Junior Hill. Each Monday there will be a meal at 5 p.m. and service will be held at 6 p.m. Pastor: Dr. Reggie … [Read more...]

By Roger 'Sing' Oldham, Vice President of Communications for the SBC Executive Committee I must confess surprise in a recent concordance search; the phrase “pray for one another” is found only one time in the Bible! James 5:16 states, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (NKJV). This singular biblical instance, however, is supplemented throughout Scripture with numerous expressions of prayer for others and requests for prayer from others. In terms of praying for others, Jesus set the standard in His High Priestly prayer, recorded in John 17. He prayed for His disciples (John 17:9) and for those who would come to faith in Jesus as a result of their witness (John 17:20). Jesus continues praying for us even now as the ever-living, heavenly intercessor (Hebrews 7:25). Further, Paul’s letters are replete with specific prayer requests for Christ-followers in Rome (Romans: 1:9), for the Ephesian believers upon learning of their faith (Ephesians 1:15-21), for the saints in Philippi (Philippians 1:9-11), as well as for the churches in Colossae (Colossians 1:3-12) and Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5). In terms of … [Read more...]

By Ronnie Floyd, SBC President As the newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, I want to call every pastor, every church leader and every layperson from a Southern Baptist church to join me in Columbus, Ohio, on June 16-17, 2015. As I work with our Order of Business Committee as well as other leaders, I will respectfully request that we dedicate as much time as possible in next year’s convention to pray extraordinarily for the next Great Awakening. I want to call you to Columbus to what could be one of the most significant prayer gatherings in our history. Yes, we have to conduct business at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, and we will do it with great diligence. But we will also bring to fruition a year-long emphasis of praying in an extraordinary manner for the next great spiritual awakening in America. For the next year, I want to humbly request from each church, each national SBC entity and each state convention that we begin to pray in an over-and-above way for God to move mightily in our lives, our churches and our nation. Now is the time Why is this important? Our convention has bemoaned our decline in baptisms, membership, attendance and giving far too long. Now is the time for us … [Read more...]

By John Yeats, Executive Director Missouri Baptist Convention Considering the complex issues swirling around the SBC, I’m not sure anyone has a definitive word on how to fix what ails us, especially as we rub against a culture increasingly more hostile to the Gospel. There is no silver bullet to fix all that plagues our great convention of churches. Truth is, we are broken people, raised by broken parents, living in a broken world, and our only hope is the transformational power of the Lord Jesus to fix our brokenness. Yet, it is through our brokenness that our Lord works most powerfully through His church. A friend of mine asked, “John, what do you think would ‘fix’ the SBC?” I offered five transformational “musts” that have the potential to position Southern Baptists for a movement of God: 1. We must return to being a convictional people. It is one thing to say you believe. It is quite another to behave like you say you believe. Most Americans have assented to the realities of the historical Jesus. But that doesn’t make them authentic Christians. They may have adopted a cultural form of Christianity that enables them to disconnect from their religion while they dabble in all kinds of debauchery. History records that … [Read more...]

By Richard Land, President of Southern Evangelical Seminary, Matthews, N.C. America is fundamentally distinct from all other countries in its founding, in its national life, and in the values, rights and privileges it confers upon its citizens. In other words, America is exceptional. And if it is exceptional in its domestic character, in what it offers to immigrants in search of a better life, then it would follow that America is exceptional in what it has to offer to the global community. America is not an ethnicity or mere geography, but a creed, a set of first principles to which we pledge allegiance – freedom, human dignity, self-government, and equality. Anyone who pledges allegiance to these values can consider himself or herself an “American.” America has been blessed by God in unique ways – we are not just another country, but neither are we God’s special people. I do not believe that America is God’s chosen nation. God established one chosen nation and people: the Jews. We are not the new Israel. We cannot assume “God is on our side.” We are not God’s gift to the world. America does not have a special claim on God. Millions of Americans do, however, believe God has a special claim on them – and their country. The … [Read more...]