A hearty expression of appreciation is due New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley and the trustees of the school for their determination to rebuild the school’s main campus in New Orleans! A hearty expression of appreciation is due New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley and the trustees of the school for their determination to rebuild the school’s main campus in New Orleans! The school’s campus suffered severe damage during the hurricanes that blasted that city with wind, then hit it again with surges of water. At least one estimate is that the school suffered $90 million of damage. In addition, the lives of the faculty, staff and students have certainly been disrupted as they suffered the same losses as the other residents of the hard-hit areas. As the students have been distracted from school, one would imagine they have dropped out of school during the recovery. The school’s buildings were well insured, but nothing can pay the costs of the agony of the destruction and energy that will be needed to rebuild the school and the lives of many of their staff, faculty and students. The trustees could have voted for the school to walk away from the New … [Read more...]

“Big people” may think they have explained something to a four-year-old, but what the adult says and what the child hears can be quite different. “Big people” may think they have explained something to a four-year-old, but what the adult says and what the child hears can be quite different. The grandmother explained to the pert four-year-old granddaughter the purpose of the shoe boxes they were filling with small Christmas gifts. “We are gathering these toys so we can send them to children in a foreign country. They are very poor and their parents will not be able to give them any gifts, so we are sending them these toys so they will have a better Christmas.” The young lady shook her head, indicating she understood. Later, after the toys were rounded up from various stores, the grandmother took the lass home. When they went inside, the grandmother told the child,    “Explain to your mother what we have been doing.” “We have been getting toys and candy and things and putting them in shoe boxes. Then we are going to send them to children who do not live here.” “Tell you mother why we are sending the gifts to the children.” “Well, there are some really, really bad children,” the little … [Read more...]

Randy Harper admits he always has not given God his best. By Brian Blackwell LBM Newswriter Randy Harper admits he always has not given God his best. “One day God let me know I was hiding,” Harper, pastor of Bellaire Baptist Church in Bossier City, told messengers during the annual convention sermon last month in West Monroe. “I was giving him my best physically (at my construction job),” he said. “But I wasn’t giving him my best with faith. I (then) believed that he didn’t need me to break up a house to be able to have a platform for Christ.” He explained that God had called him to preach the gospel. “He convinced me that I didn’t need an attention-getting gimmick,” he said. “I just needed to tell others about the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ.” Harper explained there are four ways pastors can give God their best effort. • First, he said pastors must conduct an honest inventory of their spiritual life. “We need to come to grips with the why, you begin to understand who it’s about,” he explained. “It’s not about you and it’s not about me. It’s about God.” He asked pastors to examine their hearts. “Am I pleasing God with my life and my ministry?” he asked. “As you inventory … [Read more...]

Week of November 28, 2005 Potpourri ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana State University: Golf tournament; sponsored by the Baptist Collegiate Ministry; Dec. 29, 8:30 a.m.; $25 per person/$5 for carts on a “first come/first serve” basis; for information, call Clark Palmer at (318) 641-7309 or e-mail clark956@hotmail.com. Youth OAK GROVE – First church: “A Christmas Carol” dinner theater; Dec. 3, 6 p.m.; $12 per person or $20 per couple; for tickets, call (318) 428-2583; Kevin Miles, youth minister; Carl Gulde, pastor. EUNICE – Acadian center: Youth winter retreat; for boy/girls grades 7-12; Dec. 16, 5 p.m. registration - Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m.; Chip Dickey, guest speaker; The Heard, musical guest; for information, call (337) 457-9047; James Newsom, pastor. Christmas WEST MONROE – New Chapel Hill church: “Forever Gloria” musical; Dec. 18, 6 p.m.; Greg Green, minister of music; Charles Dupree, pastor. HAUGHTON – Koran church: “One Quiet Night” musical; Dec. 18, 11 a.m.; Hardy Yeatts, minister of music; George Rogers, pastor. PINEVILLE – Alpine First church:  “Come, Let Us Adore Him” musical; Dec. 18, 5 p.m.; John Frank Reeve, worship minister; Sammy Morrow, pastor. SHREVEPORT – Kingston Road church:  “The Colors of … [Read more...]

The sound of a computer booting up echoes throughout the house. Lori Funderburk hardly notices the familiar noise as she sips her cup of tea next to the monitor and settles in to work. The sound of a computer booting up echoes throughout the house. Lori Funderburk hardly notices the familiar noise as she sips her cup of tea next to the monitor and settles in to work. Funderburk, an International Mission Board missionary and former member of Calvary Baptist Church in New Orleans, lives in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, but works with the Banta Themne people group of Sierra Leone. She is the strategy coordinator for a unique team — a “virtual missions” team — whose members live around the world. The computer and Internet make this type of team a reality as Funderburk uses e-mail to keep in touch. Today’s message to team members is a little different than usual. The ministry is coming to a close. So, Funderburk writes, “We have certainly had a purpose over these last six years, haven’t we?” She recruited “ordinary” American housewives to be members of this virtual missions team. All five women — Funderburk, Mary Sanders, Earline Ellis, Lou Ann East and Donisa Page — once were members of Calvary Baptist … [Read more...]

When 8-year-old Douglas Gresham met C.S. Lewis, the man who would become his stepfather, he was disappointed. When 8-year-old Douglas Gresham met C.S. Lewis, the man who would become his stepfather, he was disappointed. The American boy had expected the British author of “The Chronicles of Narnia” fantasy books “to be wearing silver armor and carrying a sword with a jeweled pommel.” Instead, Lewis “was a stooped, balding, professorial-looking gentleman in shabby clothes, with long, nicotine-stained fingers,” says Gresham, now 59, speaking on the phone from his home in Ireland. More than 40 years after Lewis’ death, people still have their own ideas about him. Depending on whom you ask, Lewis was a scholar, fantasy writer, Christian saint – or all that and more. As Disney releases its much-anticipated movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” on Dec. 9, more people than ever are asking: Who was C.S. Lewis? And what is his legacy? To many, Lewis is an icon of orthodox Christianity. Despite growing up believing that there was no God, Lewis turned to Christianity as an adult. He then dedicated himself to promoting the faith and did so, his admirers say, using simple … [Read more...]

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” began intriguing readers well before the era of spectacular multimillion-dollar Hollywood special effects or sophisticated websites available to anyone with Internet access. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” began intriguing readers well before the era of spectacular multimillion-dollar Hollywood special effects or sophisticated websites available to anyone with Internet access. On Dec. 9, both longtime fans and people unfamiliar with C.S. Lewis’ famous fable will have the opportunity to see it recounted with world-class technology on giant screens around the world. But LifeWay’s e-business group, meanwhile, is bringing aspects of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to smaller screens with its website dedicated to providing background on Lewis and insights into the multiple Christian allegories worked into his story. “We believe providing conversation starters and other suggestions for discussing the film will help generate opportunities for one to share their faith with a friend or colleague,” said Gary McClure, LifeWay’s e-business marketing manager. “Simply put, LifeWay’s site is the Christian’s complement to Narnia.com.” McClure said LifeWay.com/Narnia is … [Read more...]

Week of December 5, 2005 Lake memorial fund The alumni association of Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary announced Nov. 14 they will establish an endowed scholarship fund to honor former graduate Kyle Lake. Lake, 33-year-old pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, was electrocuted Oct. 30 after he grabbed a microphone while in a baptistry full of water. More than 800 people witnessed the event, which happened on the same weekend as Baylor University’s homecoming. His family will set the guidelines for choosing recipients of the scholarship. Lake earned a bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1994 and a master of divinity degree from Truett in 1997. Capitol Christmas Tree The decorated tree that will stand outside the U.S. Capitol in the coming weeks has officially been designated a “Christmas Tree” again, after several years with the title “Holiday Tree.” In recent years, some governments have named the firs, spruces and pines that have been placed on lawns and under rotundas “holiday trees” instead of “Christmas trees.” Others, such as the National Christmas Tree near the White House, stuck with the traditional title. Matthew Evans, landscape architect of the U.S. Capitol said … [Read more...]

Our youth took a mission trip to Anadarko, Okla., in June. A team of adults from Christ’s American Baptist Church in Spring Grove, Penn., were there at the same time and ministered alongside our youth during a week of Vacation Bible School, block parties, etc. They formed a fast bond. Our youth took a mission trip to Anadarko, Okla., in June. A team of adults from Christ’s American Baptist Church in Spring Grove, Penn., were there at the same time and ministered alongside our youth during a week of Vacation Bible School, block parties, etc. They formed a fast bond. Mrs. Jeanette Kessler from the mission team at Christ’s Church called recently to pass along greetings from Russia. They just recently returned from a missions trip to Russia. As soon as the Russians learned they were from the United States, they began to ask about the hurricane disasters. The Russian people they were talking with had no idea where Pennsylvania was in comparison to Louisiana, but they asked them to please tell the people of Louisiana that they were praying for them. Mrs. Kessler said this touched her heart in a very special way. Remember that there are people in Russia who care enough about South Louisianians to lift them up in … [Read more...]

This past year, as the trustees of Louisiana College were in the process of hiring Joe Aguillard, I took the time to contact each one to express my concern over their decision not to follow the best hiring procedure. This past year, as the trustees of Louisiana College were in the process of hiring Joe Aguillard, I took the time to contact each one to express my concern over their decision not to follow the best hiring procedure. I am still unhappy that the trustees were unwilling to do things the right way, but I am glad that they hired the right man. I do not believe the end justifies the mean, but I was proud of Dr. Aguillard at the recent Louisiana Baptist Convention meeting in West Monroe. It was obvious that his love for the Lord is genuine and his worship is personal and real. I am proud that my alma mater has a conservative president who loves the Lord and will lead the school in a clear direction as a Christian educational institution. Kirk Jones Fellowship Church Prairieville … [Read more...]