New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees recently approved the largest budget in seminary history, created a new specialization in the master of divinity program and endorsed two new graduate certificates to aid international missionary candidates. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees recently approved the largest budget in seminary history, created a new specialization in the master of divinity program and endorsed two new graduate certificates to aid international missionary candidates. School trustees approved a budget of $18.3 million, a $1.3 million increase from the current year. Due to the establishment of two endowed faculty chairs last year, trustees were able to raise the budget with only slight increases in tuition and fees. “Once again, the Cooperative Program will contribute almost 50 percent of the funds for the operating budget of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary,” President Chuck Kelley said. “Every dollar that comes to us from the Cooperative Program and from donors who think the training of ministers and missionaries is important is a dollar our students do not have to pay in fees. “We can never say thank you enough to God for his provision and to Southern … [Read more...]

“Can a night out bowling be sacred?” The heading of the column by Kay Warren, wife of well-known pastor Rick Warren, did its job – it caught my attention. “Can a night out bowling be sacred?” The heading of the column by Kay Warren, wife of well-known pastor Rick Warren, did its job – it caught my attention. In the column, Kay Warren encouraged ministers to set one night a week as “family night” and enforce it as something sacred. And before I go any further, church members should be very aware of the unique needs of a minister’s family at this point and help ensure the minister’s family has this special night. “Family night became sacred on our calendar,” Warren states. “No one was allowed to schedule other meetings or get distracted in any way.” Certainly, some folks would severely question the “sacredness” of a night of bowling, but Warren makes great sense. Indeed, both she and her husband grew up as pastors’ kids and knew how ministry constantly demands a minister’s time. “There’s always someone else who needs to hear about Christ and always someone else you need to serve,” she notes in the column. And she could have mentioned the unyielding expectations of a congregation to meet the needs they … [Read more...]

Week of May 2, 2005 LC Science Institute Louisiana College has scheduled its first-ever summer Science Institute for June 6-8. The event is open to high school students around the state.  “We are inviting young scientists – students who have a general interest in the sciences – to campus this summer for three days of workshops and activities to give them a greater understanding of the career opportunities available to them through the sciences,” said Wade Warren, coordinator of the LC Department of Biology. The institute schedule features lecture series with medical and academic professionals, interaction with peers and sessions with various Louisiana College personnel, among other things. All applicants must submit an application, an official copy of his or her high school transcript, a written summary of his or her career goals and a $50 non-refundable deposit. Total cost of the institute is $200. Space is limited, and applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. For information, persons should call (318) 487-7611 or e-mail warren@lacollege.edu. Belgian euthanasia A recent survey of Belgian doctors found 79 percent believed it was their duty to speed up death for critically-ill babies when … [Read more...]

The regular-scheduled business meeting of First Baptist Church of Many was held on Wednesday, April 20. At this meeting, the church membership unanimously voted to oppose moving the Baptist Message back under the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board structure and authority. Against moving paper The regular-scheduled business meeting of First Baptist Church of Many was held on Wednesday, April 20. At this meeting, the church membership unanimously voted to oppose moving the Baptist Message back under the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board structure and authority. The membership of First Baptist Church of Many strongly believes in the free and unfettered flow of news and information pertaining to our state convention. This will be best accomplished by a state newspaper independent of the control of the Executive Board and the executive director. Steven Kelly, Pastor First Baptist Church, Many … [Read more...]

Week in and week out, hundreds of Louisiana Baptists faithfully handle the offerings and finances of their churches with integrity and honesty. However, some churches are not so fortunate and must deal with persons who have stolen funds – sometimes exorbitant amounts – from their coffers. Note: Week in and week out, hundreds of Louisiana Baptists faithfully handle the offerings and finances of their churches with integrity and honesty. However, some churches are not so fortunate and must deal with persons who have stolen funds – sometimes exorbitant amounts – from their coffers. While celebrating the faithful work of so many, the Baptist Message offers the following article as a word of warning and as a reminder to churches to implement sensible procedures for the handling of funds. Such procedures protect the church as well as those handling funds from actual – or accused – thefts. When priest Brian Lisowski was caught with an alleged prostitute last summer, parishioners at St. Bede the Venerable Catholic church in Chicago began to suspect their pastor had been keeping secrets from them. They were right. He had a million of them. When the Roman Catholic priest resigned in July 2004, the Archdiocese … [Read more...]

In a study released in the April edition of Pediatrics journal, one in five ninth-graders said they have had oral sex and almost one-third said they intend to try it during the next six months. In a study released in the April edition of Pediatrics journal, one in five ninth-graders said they have had oral sex and almost one-third said they intend to try it during the next six months. However, since publication of the article, cautions about the study have been raised by co-founders of the True Love Waits sexual abstinence movements and a New York Times newspaper columnist. The published study was based on a survey of 580 ethnically diverse ninth-graders in two California public high schools. Overall, 20 percent of those surveyed said they had engaged in oral sex, compared to 14 percent who said they had engaged in sexual intercourse. The study concluded that teenagers view oral sex as less risky, more common and more acceptable than intercourse. “Given the suggestion that adolescents do not view oral sex as sex and see oral sex as a way of preserving their virginity while still gaining intimacy and sexual pleasure, they are likely to interpret sexual health messages as referring to vaginal sex,” said … [Read more...]

Asteady downpour of rain and occasional flashes of lightning cracked from the thunderclouds that July 9 in 1982. Pan American Flight 759 was preparing to depart from the New Orleans International Airport. By Brian Blackwell LBM Newswriter Asteady downpour of rain and occasional flashes of lightning cracked from the thunderclouds that July 9 in 1982. Pan American Flight 759 was preparing to depart from the New Orleans International Airport. At the same time, businessman John Baye was arriving at his home in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner, which sits adjacent to the airport. He called his neighbor across the street to check on his daughter, Lisa, who was staying there. His two other children were at home with him. Suddenly, at 4:09 p.m., the house shook violently. Pan American Flight 759 had crashed into the neighborhood, killing all 145 passengers and crew on board. Eight persons in the neighborhood also died later as a result of the plane crash – including six-and-a-half year old Lisa Baye. The National Transportation Safety Board later determined a windshear on the airport’s runway and stormy weather conditions during the liftoff slammed the plane into the ground just as it was taking … [Read more...]

Dwight Huffman climbs up a hill and looks down on the town lying below him. Dwight Huffman climbs up a hill and looks down on the town lying below him. The cool Canadian breeze ruffles his hair as he surveys the environment, a vast wooded area untouched by development – until now. What had been pristine wilderness now is being slowly transformed into the town of Chestermere, a rapidly-growing community of about 5,000 people not far from Calgary, Alberta. Now, as he looks down on the development, Huffman considers the possibilities and asks himself the best way to bring Christ to its residents. “Chestermere is representative of many towns springing up around the province of Alberta,” Huffman notes. “Some of these towns have no evangelical witness, but that’s why we are here as Canadian Baptists. We want to discover the needs of the community and meet those needs in the name of Christ.” Huffman is no stranger to church planting. While in seminary, he started two churches and served as pastor of a third before he became a Southern Baptist North American Mission Board worker. Today, Huffman is less of a planter and more of a scout in the vein of the old fur trappers who first trudged through … [Read more...]

Macedonia Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C., was in the midst of finalizing plans for a 1,500-square-foot addition to its fellowship hall last fall. Macedonia Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C., was in the midst of finalizing plans for a 1,500-square-foot addition to its fellowship hall last fall. Instead, just a few months later, the small rural church broke ground on a separate new recreational building eight times the size, at 12,000 square feet. What happened is simple – church members submitted to an EKG. This “EKG” refers not for a medical test but for “Empowering Kingdom Growth: The Heartbeat of God,” a 40-day Bible study by Kenneth Hemphill, the national strategist for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Empowering Kingdom Growth emphasis. For the church, the study resulted in a paradigm shift, pastor Sam Gore says. And that shift led to a change in building plans for the congregation, which numbers about 100 in attendance for Sunday worship. “The church no longer expects people to be committed to the church as an institution,” Gore says. “We now expect the church to be committed to its people. The larger building meets the needs of the people.” The Empowering Kingdom Growth study … [Read more...]