Submitted by philip on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 12:10 Angola Warden Burl Cain has transformed “the bloodiest prison in America” by rehabilitating inmates through the Bible. Since he began his efforts, thousands of inmates have professed Christ as their Lord and Savior and there has been an 85 percent decrease in violence at the prison. He will share his story during the 2014 Louisiana Evangelism Conference Jan. 27-28. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA – Warden Burl Cain is a man who promotes eternal life in a place where many will spend the rest of their days behind bars. Inside the walls of what was once known as “bloodiest prison in America,” an atmosphere of hope and progress is now the norm, thanks in large part to Cain’s desire to rehabilitate inmates through the Bible. “What you’ve seen happen is what God does when He is welcome,” Cain said of the faith-based initiatives that have occurred at Angola. Cain became warden of Angola in February 1995, after serving as warden of Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson for 14 years. Just a few months after he started at Angola, Cain experienced his first administration of lethal injection there on an inmate convicted of murdering his mother-in-law. Cain, who … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – Louisiana Baptists are encouraged to pray and pledge for the future of Louisiana College for one day next month. Scheduled for Feb. 23, Pray and Pledge Day will focus on giving to refurbish dormitories, administrative buildings and other areas of the state’s only Louisiana Baptist college. The special day is part of a larger effort to meet a goal of $50 million for improvements on campus. Of that $50 million goal, $12 million is dedication to student housing, which includes needs such as roofing, new HVAC units, new windows and new lighting that would make the dormitories more energy efficient. One of the dormitories, Cottingham Hall, has not received an upgrade in 70 years. Dr. Rod Masteller, director of the Joseph Willis Institute for Great Spiritual Awakenings at Louisiana College, said too often prospective students will tour the campus and notice facilities in need of repair. As a result, many of those students will choose one of the state schools over Louisiana College, Masteller said. “For the kingdom’s sake and our state convention’s sake, we have to redo these dorms,” Masteller said. Masteller said he hopes Pray and Pledge Day will bring greater awareness to the … [Read more...]

y Staff, World News Magazine WASHINGTON, D.C. – Right before Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor headed to New York’s Times Square to lead the official countdown to 2014 Jan. 31, she issued an emergency stay temporarily blocking the contraceptive mandate for a number of Catholic organizations in Colorado. Sotomayor handles emergency applications from the 10th Circuit, which includes a number of Western states. On Dec. 30, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had denied an injunction to Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, Christian Brothers Services, and Christian Brothers Employee Benefits Trust. The lawsuit was filed as a class action on behalf of a number of Catholic organizations.   Legal Pot Sales Start in Colorado   DENVER, Colo. – As of New Year’s Day, anyone 21 or older with a valid photo ID can buy marijuana in Colorado. At 8 a.m. on Jan. 1 a handful of businesses licensed to sell recreational marijuana opened their doors, making Colorado the first state in the nation to legalize the cultivation, possession, sale, and use of a substance still considered illegal by the federal government. Shops in 19 cities and seven counties began selling marijuana for smoking, as well as cannabis-infused … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor On Aug. 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people gathered at our nation’s capital for the express purpose of making a unified statement that all citizens of America – regardless of their skin color – should be treated with equality. It was to this mighty throng that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most memorable oratory. With an economy of words, Dr. King eloquently articulated a vision that still moves people committed to life, liberty and justice for all. Throughout his “I Have A Dream” speech, Dr. King echoed his vision of a colorblind America where people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” “In a sense,” he told the crowd, “we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Dr. King’s words, as well as his actions, helped galvanize a generation on the issue of civil rights and change the plight of black Americans. … [Read more...]

By Barrett Duke, ERLC Vice-President On Jan. 22, our nation reaches the 41st anniversary of the horrific Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion-on-demand. For 40 years, our nation has sanctioned the killing of more than 1 million unborn children every year, resulting in more than 56 million abortions, with no end in sight. This is a tragic milestone that should cause us to repent and weep. These unborn children are the most vulnerable human beings among us, yet they are afforded no protection by society. They are deemed the property of their mothers, with no rights except what their mothers choose for them. At the moment of conception, a human being comes into existence. This is a person created in the image of God, possessing a soul and deeply loved by God. We are well beyond the days when anyone can claim ignorance of the individual personhood of the unborn. Unborn babies have their own circulatory systems, oftentimes with a blood type different from their mother’s. Within months of their conception, they are even making personal decisions. Unborn children move in the womb to get more comfortable and in response to pain. Given the opportunity, these unborn people could join us in this world, live lives filled with … [Read more...]

By Sing Oldham, Vice-President of Communications SBC Executive Committee Frank S. Page, president and “chief encouragement officer” of the SBC Executive Committee, has challenged Southern Baptists to continue praying in 2014 “like we’ve never prayed before.” Page views his call to prayer as a “catalyst, a weekly reminder of the urgency and primacy of prayer.” “Considering what Jesus endured for us, we must not grow weary and lose heart. We must strengthen our tired hands and our weakened knees before the throne of grace,” Page said, citing the example of Jesus in Hebrews 12. “Jesus wanted His churches to be called ‘houses of prayer.’ Let us not disappoint our Lord.” During 2013, pockets of prayer seemed to bubble up around the nation. These included TenTwo, NAMB’s prayer initiative to pray the Luke 10:2 prayer for laborers into the harvest; the International Mission Board’s intensive prayer boot camp, the School of Prayer for All Nations, held at the International Learning Center; numerous prayer initiatives through state Baptist conventions and Baptist Collegiate Ministries; pastor-led corporate prayer initiatives such as the pastor’s prayer gathering held Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 in Dallas, and thousands of other prayer gatherings … [Read more...]

By Judy Woodward Bates, Author, Creator of Bargainomics The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 5, chastises the Corinthian church because of their acceptance of a blatantly immoral man among their members. Paul tells them: “... Shouldn’t you ... have been filled with grief and ... put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” (v. 2). Paul wanted the church, the corporate body of believers, to understand that though they were to love sinners (just as all of them -– and us –- were merely sinners saved by grace), they were never to embrace or ignore believers’ sins. Fact is, all transgression hinders us from the true freedom found only when we are in right fellowship with Christ. Since each one who claims His name stands as His representative in this world, how are we to conduct ourselves? Are we to gossip? Are we to backbite? What about sarcasm? None of these things pleases our Heavenly Father, nor do these things further His Kingdom here on earth. Yet one of the greatest sins running rampant among the people of God is the sin of busyness -– we’re so busy “gettin’ while the gettin’s good.” We take time to go to work at our secular jobs, but do we take time to witness while we’re on the job? Many of us take plenty of time and … [Read more...]