Week of October 31, 2005 Seminary recovery New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary recently launched a major volunteer cleanup initiative, giving Southern Baptists an opportunity to assist with the restoration and renewal of on-campus housing at the school. The goal is to schedule 50 volunteers per week from Oct. 31 until the job is finished. Volunteers will be asked to assist in a comprehensive cleanup and restoration of all second- and third-floor apartments on campus. The seminary’s insurance will only reimburse the school for restoration work on the contaminated first floors of campus residences. That work currently is underway. The volunteer plan includes three phases – cleanup of remaining items in apartments; cleaning and repainting; and restoring apartment flooring. The seminary will provide two meals per day and drinking water for volunteers. A sleeping area will also be provided, but volunteers must bring bedding, towels, a daily change of clothes (washers and dryers are not available) and breakfast snacks. Volunteers must be 18 and older and insurance is required. The seminary has arranged an insurance provider for volunteers; coverage can be purchased for a few cents per day. Details can be found at … [Read more...]

There is a chill in the air – and the days are about to start ending earlier as Daylight Savings Time ends. There is a chill in the air – and the days are about to start ending earlier as Daylight Savings Time ends. And that means the annual Louisiana Baptist Convention must be near at hand. Indeed, it is – with the two-day gathering set for Nov. 14-15 at First Baptist Church of West Monroe. The theme of this year’s annual session is “Louisiana Baptists Touching the World.” The meeting marks the first for David Hankins, who assumed duties as state executive director in February. In his welcome to messengers and guests in the 2005 Book of Reports, Hankins notes that the annual meeting comes at a time when Louisiana is struggling to deal with a pair of devastating hurricanes. He reminds persons that Southern and Louisiana Baptists are at the forefront of relief and recovery efforts in the state. “What a time to make a difference for the Lord,” Hankins emphasizes. “By God’s grace, may it be our finest hour.” As expected, the upcoming annual meeting will feature various reports and testimonies regarding the impact of the hurricanes on the state and the extent of the ongoing recovery efforts. Close to … [Read more...]

Since the beginning of my ministry as an employee of a state convention and then state Baptist paper, bivocational pastors have had my deepest respect. These men have been a mainstay of Southern Baptist life since its beginning. Since the beginning of my ministry as an employee of a state convention and then state Baptist paper, bivocational pastors have had my deepest respect. These men have been a mainstay of Southern Baptist life since its beginning. More than 30 years ago, I had the opportunity to help organize what was thought to be the first North American Mission Board (then the Home Mission Board) convocation on the work and needs of bivocational pastors. The bivocational pastors at the convocation, who had not been properly acknowledged previously, poured out their hearts, and their hearts were filled with love for their ministries, and frustrations this particular ministry generates. I remember one pastor who talked about how God had blessed his church with exceptional growth–his church had grown to 300 in attendance during the 15 years of his bivocational ministry with it, but the members had little money–and the strain the ministry placed upon his family, and him. At a point, tears filled his eyes … [Read more...]

For several years, the annual Louisiana Baptist Convention has featured only three business sessions. For several years, the annual Louisiana Baptist Convention has featured only three business sessions. This year will be the same – and yet different at the same time. Huh? It will be the same in that only three business sessions are scheduled for the annual meeting at First Baptist Church of West Monroe on Nov. 14-15. It will be different in that a fourth session is planned – but for worship only. A Tuesday evening session has been added to the convention. It is set for 6:30 p.m. and will feature a pair of speakers – Junior Hill, an evangelist from Hartselle, Ala.; and Dennis Swanberg, a humorist and self-described minister of encouragement from West Monroe. The service also will feature No Other Name musical trio and a combined choir and orchestra from area churches. The worship service is open to all, including persons who are not registered messengers, emphasized Philip Robertson, state convention president and pastor at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville. “The only ‘business’ will be worship, praise, preaching and fellowship,” he said. “This will be a highlight of the convention, and … [Read more...]

Weekly announcements Potpourri WEST MONROE – First church: Leonard Sweet, guest speaker; Nov. 13, 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 10:50 a.m.; Keith Dickens, guest speaker at the 5:30 p.m. service; Donahue Praise Team will also be featured in the evening service; Scotty Sanders, pastor. VIDALIA – First church: The Stamps Quartet in concert; Nov. 12, 7 p.m.; Dan Glenn, pastor. CROWVILLE – Crockett Point church: Men’s Retreat; Nov. 4, 7 p.m.; Nov. 5, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Jack Daniels, Harold Danley, and Casey Johnson, evangelists; Mark Lanier, music; Joe Sin, pastor. RAYVILLE – Woodlawn church: “Set Apart Men’s Conference,” Nov. 11, 7-9 p.m.; Nov. 12, 10 a.m.- 12 noon; Jack Daniels, Jerry Chaddick and Casey Johnson, evangelists; Mark Lanier and Brad Mount, music; Joe Arnold, pastor. SHREVEPORT – Doug Burnley, chaplain of Christus Schumpert Hospital, has received the “Person of Vision and Tower of Strength” award from the Louisiana Chaplain Association at their recent Annual Retreat at Tall Timbers Conference Center in Woodworth. KEITHVILLE – North Keithville church: Testify in concert; Nov. 5, 6 p.m.; free; nursery provided; Rich McGahan, pastor. Homecomings RAYVILLE – Eastside church: Nov. 6, 10:30 a.m. … [Read more...]

Guy Fredrick’s idea of fun may seem strange to some. He enjoys “breaking” his truck on rocks, spinning his tires in several feet of sludge, and slipping, sliding and smashing on deserted, impassable trails. Guy Fredrick’s idea of fun may seem strange to some. He enjoys “breaking” his truck on rocks, spinning his tires in several feet of sludge, and slipping, sliding and smashing on deserted, impassable trails. For most people, this might seem more like an impending insurance claim than “fun.” But for Fredrick, his weekend off-roading jaunts are not only his hobby; they have become a means of reaching an unreached people group – the unconventional “off-roading” community of America. “It’s just exciting for me to have an opportunity to reach out to an unreached people group,” says Fredrick, a Wisconsin native and master of divinity student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. “For me, as a church planter, as a cultural anthropologist, as a missionary, one of my goals is to find people no one else can reach. ... “Just because of my natural bent, my abilities as a mechanic and my love for a sport, I’ve found a lot of people that no one is reaching,” he continues. “On the weekends, … [Read more...]

Decked out in his police uniform with a pistol at his hip, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s police chief, Barry Busby, does not look like a pastor. But he is. Decked out in his police uniform with a pistol at his hip, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s police chief, Barry Busby, does not look like a pastor. But he is. Busby recently gathered about 15 relief workers together in the seminary’s Martin Chapel for worship and Bible study. They called it the “Church in the Quad.” The next Sunday, attendance swelled to nearly two dozen in the original chapel at the seminary. Although spared from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the chapel was without air conditioning, so the doors had to be propped open. The fledgling Church in the Quad is “a visual reminder that ‘the church’ is not a building,” Busby says. “That’s what I preached on ... that I am not building a building. I’m building people. I’m building disciples for the glory of God, and the door is wide open to anybody and everybody.” In his sermon, Busby drew attention to the brightly lit steeple of nearby Leavell Chapel that every night glows like a beacon from the seminary to the dark post-Katrina New Orleans skyline. He said the … [Read more...]

As the youngest high school football coach in South Carolina Division 4-A history, 24-year-old Carter Bolin* relished the challenge of motivating his team before games against bigger, better opponents. As the youngest high school football coach in South Carolina Division 4-A history, 24-year-old Carter Bolin* relished the challenge of motivating his team before games against bigger, better opponents. “I’d point across the field and tell my players, ‘Look at those guys. Every one of them has 20 pounds on every one of you. It’s gonna be fun to smack ’em,’” Bolin says. “Eventually my guys would start yelling, ‘Yeah! Yeah! Lemme at ’em!’ They might bounce off the bigger guys a few times, but they’d eventually wear ’em down.” Bolin took his undersized, overachieving team to the state semifinals for the first time since 1950 — thrilling the whole town.     “I could’ve run for mayor after that.” Instead, he joined the ministry staff of his church, East Cooper Baptist, next door to the Charleston-area high school where he coached. He spent the next 18 years helping mobilize the growing congregation — especially its young people — to follow Christ into the world. Local outreach spurred international … [Read more...]