Tammy Bugg stowed her motorcycle helmet in a compartment of a powder-blue Harley and headed toward the hostess’ stand at the restaurant as another diner pointed and sighed, “It’s one of those orange people.” Tammy Bugg stowed her motorcycle helmet in a compartment of a powder-blue Harley and headed toward the hostess’ stand at the restaurant as another diner pointed and sighed, “It’s one of those orange people.” Although the orange people – or FAITH Riders – were but 100 or so in number last week in Nashville, Tenn., their presence left an impression with bikers and non-bikers alike. And the impact was for more than the orange tee-shirts they wore that said, “The Gathering 2005” and “Sharing life’s answers across Nashville.” The motorcycle ministry also showed love in action last week through rallies, church-sponsored block parties, a parade and toy distribution to hospitalized children. Some of the events featured testimonies of riders like “Jim,” a former drug runner whose sports-tattooed biceps and buzz-cut hair helps attract audiences to hear about God’s forgiveness. The FAITH Riders also rumbled their cycles past the city’s most visible honky tonks to rev up interest in Jesus. By the end of the … [Read more...]

As the final gavel sounded on the 148th annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, and balloons were released from the top of the Gaylord Entertainment Center, messengers chanted “Everyone Can and I’m It” in response to a challenge from SBC President Bobby Welch to witness, win and baptize one million people in the coming year. As the final gavel sounded on the 148th annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, and balloons were released from the top of the Gaylord Entertainment Center, messengers chanted “Everyone Can and I’m It” in response to a challenge from SBC President Bobby Welch to witness, win and baptize one million people in the coming year. Building upon momentum from his bus tour of the Southern Baptist Convention this past year and in sessions of the annual meeting, Welch exhorted messengers to leave the convention united in one purpose. “It’s going to take everybody doing everything with all they can and it has to happen now,” Welch told messengers. “We’re going out there and we’re going to attack the gates of hell for the sake of souls.” Prior to Welch’s closing comments, messengers were challenged by Jimmy Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, to stop “hiding in … [Read more...]

Week of June 27, 2005 Potpourri ST. FRANCISVILLE – First church:  Benji Harlan, guest speaker; July 17, 6 p.m.; Joe Ratcliff, pastor. HARRISONBURG – First church:  Patriotic service;  July 3, 10 a.m. with dinner to follow; Brothers in Christ, in concert at 9:30 a.m.; Ralph Webber, pastor. LAFAYETTE – Emmanuel church:  “Will God Spare America?” patriotic service; July 3, 10:45 a.m.; Edgar Chaney, guest speaker; Richard Evans, musical guest; Larry L. Langley, pastor. BATON ROUGE – Istrouma church:  Sandi Patty in concert; July 17, 6 p.m.; tickets are $12 per person/$10 per person for groups of ten or more; for ticket information, call (225) 295-0775; Stuart Rothberg, pastor. MONROE – Loch Arbor church:  Northeast Associational Bass Tournament; July 15-16; begins Friday with a fish fry at 6:15 p.m.; tournament on Lake D’Arbonne; $40 entry fee per boat/includes Friday night meal; Shaw Grigsby, pro fisherman, guest speaker; to register or for information, call Andy Myrick, pastor of Loch Arbor, at (318) 343-1558 or (318) 355-2690 or Jerry Price, associational missionary, at (318) 322-6760. Revivals HAYNESVILLE – Calvary church:  July 10-13, 7 p.m.; Jack Daniels, evangelist; Danny Triplett, … [Read more...]

Week of May 30, 2005 LC faculty contracts Annual contracts for the 2005-06 academic year Louisiana College faculty members contained a new clause specifying the possibility of termination of faculty in the event of financial exigency (or emergency). A declaration of financial exigency would allow the college to dismiss faculty members, even if they are tenured, in order to address the emergency. Such a process already is outlined in the faculty handbook. But a clause related to that possibility has not appeared in previous contracts distributed to faculty members. LC President Joe Aguillard said the clause was included in this year’s contracts on the advice of attorney Joe Bertrand of Metairie, who serves as counsel for the college board of trustees. “He advised us that institutions he has worked with in the past have used this clause,” Aguillard noted. “By doing so, the college has put itself in the right position contractually.” However, Aguillard emphasized there were no plans to use the clause to dismiss faculty members in the upcoming year. “We do not anticipate using it,” he said. Decision to review The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to rule on a state law requiring parental notification when an underage … [Read more...]

Any disaster, natural or manmade, causes significant reflection, introspection and consideration of God’s involvement in life. Any disaster, natural or manmade, causes significant reflection, introspection and consideration of God’s involvement in life. After all, one of the uniquenesses of the human animal is his ability to reflect upon life and its meaning. Certainly this is true with the tsunami that struck last Christmas in the Pacific region. One noted Southern Baptist said that he felt that the tsunami was God’s judgment upon people who had treated Christian missionaries badly. Another Southern Baptist leader declared about the same time that blaming God for the destruction the killer wave wrought bordered on being despicable. Whatever the opinon, most people formed one. Even U.S. NEWS and World Report opined on God and the tsunami that killed between 100,000 and 200,000 people. The editor penned an editorial piece entitled “Finding God in Tragedy,” a surprising title for a secular publication. The editor recounted a remarkable story of a Catholic church in Mullaittivu, Sri Lanka, that had changed the location of its Sunday worship from beach-side to the top of a hill about a mile from the … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptist pastor Bill Robertson of Winnsboro has announced plans to be nominated for state convention president in November. Louisiana Baptist pastor Bill Robertson of Winnsboro has announced plans to be nominated for state convention president in November. “A group of fellow pastors – including Gil Arthur – asked me to pray about the possibility of being nominated,” said Robertson, pastor at Temple Baptist Church in Winnsboro. “After much prayer and counsel, I have come to believe this is the right thing for me to do.” Arthur is pastor at East Leesville Baptist Church and was a candidate for state convention president last fall. Robertson is the second announced nominee for the state convention post, which is open this year. Philip Robertson of Deville is serving his second term as president and is ineligible for re-election. A Louisiana native, Robertson is a Louisiana College graduate and has served 34 years as a pastor. Robertson said he felt led to allow his nomination for a pair of reasons. “First, because I have not sought this position, but it sought me,” he said in a released statement. “Second, through much prayer, the Lord has impressed on me that it is time to call Louisiana … [Read more...]

It is Friday afternoon at a pregnancy resource center somewhere in Louisiana. The counselor is ministering to her only client of the day – a high school senior contemplating abortion. By Brian Blackwell LBM Newswriter It is Friday afternoon at a pregnancy resource center somewhere in Louisiana. The counselor is ministering to her only client of the day – a high school senior contemplating abortion. The teenager faces the temptation of having an abortion so she can complete high school without the duties of caring for a newborn baby. She is at the end of her road. She longs for love and support. She needs the hope of Jesus Christ. The counselor convinces the young lady that what is inside her body is a person, not just a mass of cells. The young lady enters the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home Sellers Maternity Home in Tallulah, where she delivers a healthy baby boy and finishes her high school education. Through the experience, the birth mother also accepts Christ as her personal savior. Though the above situation may be fictional, the reality is that pregnant women across Louisiana face similar situations every day. In a state that ranks second in the nation for births to unwed … [Read more...]

Leadership is a hot topic these days, even in churches – with persons exploring such things as its secrets, how to earn it, how to exercise it wisely, what leadership style is best suited for the gospel cause. Leadership is a hot topic these days, even in churches – with persons exploring such things as its secrets, how to earn it, how to exercise it wisely, what leadership style is best suited for the gospel cause. As far as Rick Warren is concerned, the Apostle Paul revealed the most fundamental leadership secret in 2 Cor. 1:12, which reads – “This is our boast. Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.” In other words, Paul was affirming that he has a clear conscience and had acted with integrity, says Warren, pastor at Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of the best-selling book, “The Purpose-Driven Life.” The key word is integrity, which forms the foundation of leadership, Warren notes in a Baptist Press column. “You only lead people if they trust you,” he says. “If you lose people’s trust, you’ve lost it all. That’s why the right to lead is earned, and it’s … [Read more...]

Ministers of the gospel must not become so absorbed with ministry that they fail to cultivate intimacy with God, Chuck Kelley emphasized. Ministers of the gospel must not become so absorbed with ministry that they fail to cultivate intimacy with God, Chuck Kelley emphasized. Indeed, intimacy with God must be the core of every believer’s life, said Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. “Left unguarded, left unwatched, it is the deterioration of that core that can undo everything we spend a lifetime doing,” Kelley emphasized during the seminary’s recent commencement ceremonies. To illustrate, Kelley told of how a destructive variety of termites came to New Orleans in the 1950s. The formosan termite arrived in the city undetected on a boat bringing goods to the Port of New Orleans. Since then, the small insects have cost the city millions of dollars in repairs. “The termites came in such an innocent way, and no one even knew they were here,” Kelley said. “(But) The federal government thinks the formosan termites may go down as the single-most destructive pest in the history of the United States.” Kelley held up a cross-section of a large oak tree from the seminary campus. Only … [Read more...]

In the weeks – and even months – leading up to the 2005 Southern Baptist Convention, the focus clearly has been on souls and the launch of the effort to baptize 1 million persons in the upcoming year. In the weeks – and even months – leading up to the 2005 Southern Baptist Convention, the focus clearly has been on souls and the launch of the effort to baptize 1 million persons in the upcoming year. But as messengers prepare for the convention’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., there is another “sole” issue on the table as well. Sole membership. It is understandable if one is not familiar with the term. Sole membership is a legal structure by which an agency makes the convention the “sole member” – or single controlling member – of its corporation. In doing so, the convention’s ultimate – and specific – rights are outlined. Essentially, those rights involve electing and removing trustees and approving changes in the entity’s charter and state of incorporation. Thus, an  entity is preventing from arbitrarily acting to distance itself from the convention. In turn, the model recognizes that the trustees are responsible for management and operation of an entity. Thus, the lines clearly – and legally … [Read more...]