In West Africa, a nomadic, unreached people group struggles through changing circumstances and fights just to survive.   They bear an ominous name - Tuareg.   It literally means "abandoned by God." In West Africa, a nomadic, unreached people group struggles through changing circumstances and fights just to survive.   They bear an ominous name - Tuareg.   It literally means "abandoned by God."   However, this month, Southern Baptists are asking God to help the Tuareg people understand he really does love them. The group is the focus of the annual Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization, scheduled for May 19.   All in all, 99.9 percent of the Tuareg do not know the love and forgiveness of God. Indeed, the vast majority of them never have even heard the good news of salvation in Jesus.   "Tuareg" does not define just one ethnic group. It identifies the many people - Arabs, Berbers and Bellas - who share a common history and speak a common language, Tamashek.   The Tuareg are estimated to number from 500,000 to 3 million, living in countries such as Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Tuareg camel caravans played … [Read more...]

David P. Gushee’s well-presented thoughts should stop any thinking Christ dead in his or her tracks: "When scholars write the history of the late 20th century Western world, the major story may well be our systematic and unjust sacrificing of the needs, interests and rights of children on the altar of the needs, interests and (supposedly more important) rights of adults." David P. Gushee’s well-presented thoughts should stop any thinking Christ dead in his or her tracks: "When scholars write the history of the late 20th century Western world, the major story may well be our systematic and unjust sacrificing of the needs, interests and rights of children on the altar of the needs, interests and (supposedly more important) rights of adults."   Gushee, the Graves Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy and senior fellow with the Carl F.H. Henry Center for Christian Leadership at Union University, Jackson, Tenn., claims that "when push comes to shove when the interests and demands of adults clash with those of children with alarming frequency we choose the interests of adults."   Gushee presses his point with several examples. He begins by pointing to abortion on demand. He says the 1973 Roe v. … [Read more...]

The ongoing trauma of how the Catholic church has in some incidents dealt with the abuse of children by priests can only be called tragic.   The sexual abuse of children is always tragic, and that men who were in positions of trust in a church perpetrated the crimes makes the tragedy greater. The ongoing trauma of how the Catholic church has in some incidents dealt with the abuse of children by priests can only be called tragic.   The sexual abuse of children is always tragic, and that men who were in positions of trust in a church perpetrated the crimes makes the tragedy greater.   Then, that some bishops and archbishops simply transferred the priests to other parishes where the same kind of crimes were again committed compounds the tragedies. That the church leaders used the funds of the church to pay off victims and their families to keep the crimes from becoming public knowledge is almost incomprehensible.   As much as we might want to distance ourselves from the Catholic church in this matter, the reputation of Christian churches suffer and ministers in general are questioned.   As the Catholic church struggles with what has become their crisis, … [Read more...]

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary student Kenneth Foy says prison was the best thing that ever happened to him.   "That which was set up for my destruction was my salvation," says Foy, who will graduate with a master of arts in marriage and family counseling on May 17. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary student Kenneth Foy says prison was the best thing that ever happened to him.   "That which was set up for my destruction was my salvation," says Foy, who will graduate with a master of arts in marriage and family counseling on May 17.   Foy’s story began in 1985, when he was charged with four counts of robbery and sentenced to Orleans Parish Prison in Orleans Parish. The next day, he was charged with 12 more counts and, then, an additional 30 counts the following day for a total of 46.   "Right then and there, I knew what was going on was spiritual rejection," Foy says. "In the midst of it all, I began to cry out to the Lord."   It was after the third day in prison that Foy accepted Christ as his personal savior. "I told God I was sorry and kept telling him that," Foy says. "Prison and among all of these guys is not the place you want to break … [Read more...]

On Page Nine of this week’s Baptist Message, a full-page advertisement appears, courtesy of a Southern Baptist layperson.   It is the same advertisement the man is placing in every single Baptist newspaper in the Southern Baptist Convention - a plea for pastors and laypersons to be more decision-oriented in their witness.   He is paying for the ads personally, which raises an obvious question.   Why? On Page Nine of this week’s Baptist Message, a full-page advertisement appears, courtesy of a Southern Baptist layperson.   It is the same advertisement the man is placing in every single Baptist newspaper in the Southern Baptist Convention - a plea for pastors and laypersons to be more decision-oriented in their witness.   He is paying for the ads personally, which raises an obvious question.   Why?   Why would a layperson spend tens of thousands of dollars of his own money to urge persons in their witness?   The answer is just as obvious as the question - simply because he believes it needs to be done.   "We’re not asking for decisions out there," explains W.M. Gurley, an 79-year-old businessman and longtime Southern … [Read more...]

Kay Bennett understands hopelessness. As director of the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, she has seen plenty of it firsthand.   She has seen it in the homeless women who live day-to-day, in the abandoned mothers struggling to care for children, in the desperate women who do not have the skills needed to find a job, in the frantic woman who just needs a pair of shoes she can wear to a job she finally has found. Kay Bennett understands hopelessness. As director of the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, she has seen plenty of it firsthand.   She has seen it in the homeless women who live day-to-day, in the abandoned mothers struggling to care for children, in the desperate women who do not have the skills needed to find a job, in the frantic woman who just needs a pair of shoes she can wear to a job she finally has found.   Yes, Kay Bennett understands hopelessness.   However, because of that, she also knows hope when she sees it - and these days, she sees it in the Christian Women’s Job Corp program sponsored by the Southern Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union.   "This is one of the best programs Woman’s Missionary Union has ever done," Bennett says. … [Read more...]

Nine Louisiana Baptists have been nominated or appointed to serve on various Southern Baptist Convention boards and committees.   The nominations and appointments recently were released in anticipation of the annual Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, set for June 11-12. Nine Louisiana Baptists have been nominated or appointed to serve on various Southern Baptist Convention boards and committees.   The nominations and appointments recently were released in anticipation of the annual Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, set for June 11-12.   Each year, the convention president is responsible for appointing persons to serve on various committees, including the Committee on Committees.   This year, SBC President James Merritt named a pair of Louisianians to serve on the latter committee.   The Committee on Committees is comprised of a pastor and layperson from each qualified state convention. The committee exists only during the annual meeting each June and is responsible for nominating persons to serve on the next year’s Committee on Nominations.   Louisiana’s representatives on this year’s Committee on Committee’s are:   • Thomas … [Read more...]

A national Southern Baptist consultant is convinced Christian Women’s Job Corps can change the face of America — and Pam Lockwood is convinced there is no better place to start than in Louisiana. A national Southern Baptist consultant is convinced Christian Women’s Job Corps can change the face of America — and Pam Lockwood is convinced there is no better place to start than in Louisiana.   "So many women here don’t have hope, and they don’t have the hope of Jesus Christ in their hearts," notes Lockwood, associate director of women’s missions and ministry for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. "Look at our state — about 50 percent of the people lost, a high percentage of women living in poverty. What are we doing about it?"   For Lockwood and others, the obvious answer is Christian Women’s Job Corps, a Southern Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union program designed to help women in need escape the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. The program seeks to help women develop life and job skills and become self-sufficient. (See accompanying article)   Three Christian Women’s Job Corps sites exist in Louisiana - in New Orleans at the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, in Slidell through … [Read more...]

Come to St. Louis and share the gospel during Crossover St. Louis 2002. Seven associations in the metropolitan St. Louis area are working together to conduct Crossover evangelistic events prior to the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. We have a great need for volunteers to help us in Kindness Explosion, block parties, door-to-door surveys and street evangelism. Come to St. Louis and share the gospel during Crossover St. Louis 2002. Seven associations in the metropolitan St. Louis area are working together to conduct Crossover evangelistic events prior to the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. We have a great need for volunteers to help us in Kindness Explosion, block parties, door-to-door surveys and street evangelism.   We invite anyone who is coming to the Southern Baptist Convention to come early and help our churches reach their area for Jesus. Training will be done on the evening of June 7 and all evangelistic events will take place on Saturday, June 8. We can use individuals and groups of people from the churches to help us. All volunteers will be sent a letter of assignment after we receive their registration.   If you are already coming to St. Louis for the … [Read more...]

For the week of May 9, 2002 Potpourri   • MINDEN - Evergreen Union church: Gene Howard, John Wayne impersonator, featured speaker; May 11, 7:30 p.m.; pot luck supper at 6:30 p.m.; will also lead Sunday school class and worship service on May 12, 10 a.m.; David Bazer, pastor.   • ALEXANDRIA - Riverview church: Calvary Singers in concert; May 11, 6:30 p.m.; Paul Roney, pastor.   • HAYNESVILLE - First church: Ladies Missions Celebration; May 18, 10:30 a.m.; Betty Jordan, guest speaker; Julie Everett, music; $5 per ticket/includes salad lunch; Shelby Cowling, pastor.   • BATON ROUGE - Istrouma church: Body Life Seminar, sponsored by Judson Association; May 16, 6-9:30 p.m.; John Powers and Gail Motley, seminar leaders; $60 per church; $4 per workbook; call Judson Association at (225) 274-8600 for information; Forrest Pollock, pastor.   • POLLOCK - Pleasant Hill church: Ed Enoch & Golden Covenant, The Southern Plainsmen and Mark Lanier in concert; May 17, 7 p.m.; Lyndon Marcotte, pastor.   • BATON ROUGE - Istrouma church: Public invited to grand opening of worship center; May 12, 9:45 and 11 a.m. worship services; NewSong in concert, 6:30 p.m.; Forrest … [Read more...]