You may be aware the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, despite a record Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, had to make some serious cuts recently. You may be aware the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, despite a record Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, had to make some serious cuts recently. About 100 missionary candidates have had their service put on hold - and the number of short-term personnel is being reduced 30 percent. Facing a $10 million shortfall, the board also has eliminated 61 stateside staff positions and the Commission magazine. Your heart may have been as burdened as mine upon reading this news. What can we do? Baptist Press recently featured an article on some "missionary kids" who suggested that $1 from each of the 16 million Southern Baptists would more than make up for the shortfall. (See article on Page Nine) From the mouth of babes!" Is there any reason why every Southern Baptist church could not receive a special offering that would total at least ONE DOLLAR for every church member and forward it to the board for the purpose of sending missionaries? We have prayed for our mission force to grow, and record numbers are responding. God forbid this flood of workers … [Read more...]

For the week of July 31, 2003 Roe vs. Wade case The key player in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion is appealing the dismissal of her effort to reopen the case. Norma McCorvey was "Jane Roe" in the case. However, she has who became a Christian and a pro-life advocate about two decades after the Roe ruling. Recently, she filed a motion to have her famous 1973 case reopened. A federal judge denied the motion, saying 30 years after a case does not represent a "reasonable time" for moving to reopen it. McCorvey has appealed that decision. "How could the judge have read the affidavits from over 1,000 post-abortive women in two days?" she said. "I deeply regret the damage my original case caused women. I want the Supreme Court to examine the evidence and have a spirit of justice for women and children." McCorvey presented more than 5,400 pages of evidence in her recent petition, seeking to demonstrate abortion harms women and destroys the life of a human being. The evidence also attempts to show that safe haven laws are better alternative than abortion. Those laws provide legal protection for mothers who leave their babies in a secure location. Work and worship Campers on Mission has scheduled … [Read more...]

In recent months, I have read several articles in the Baptist Message referring to our Baptist Retirement Center at Arcadia, Much-needed mission In recent months, I have read several articles in the Baptist Message referring to our Baptist Retirement Center at Arcadia. I believe it is a much-needed mission to our retired ministers, their wives and the disabled elderly. Actually, I think we should begin planning additional retirement assisted living and nursing facilities for other areas of the state. The Episcopalians have four centers, the Catholics have 27 and other denominations have one or more in Louisiana. Since these facilities, including our own, are non-profit, they can provide a much-higher quality of service than the for-profit centers can as they must have a healthy bottom line. Louisiana Baptists are to be commended on the center at Arcadia, but we should not rest on our laurels. We should be planning for the future as our elderly population increases. I would be happy to volunteer my services to work with any planning group. My 33 years of service in this field might be of help. Winborn E. Davis NHA, MSW Baton Rouge … [Read more...]

Baptist Retirement Center will continue to draw from its primary area. Forty to 50 miles is about the maximum. A scant handful may come from outside this zone, but the majority is local. Baptist Retirement Center will continue to draw from its primary area. Forty to 50 miles is about the maximum. A scant handful may come from outside this zone, but the majority is local. And "local" is not Arcadia or Bienville Association. Local is the service area: Monroe to the east, Winnfield to the south, Minden to the west. It seems to me that if these surrounding associations (Concord, Union, Jackson, Webster/Claiborne, Northeast, Winn, Bienville) each has a trustee committed to the home, he/she could be a voice encouraging consideration of the Baptist Retirement Center. Concord, Webster/Claiborne and Winn currently have one trustee each. Bienville Association, which has averaged one per year for the last 12 years, presently has none. Over the first 30 years of operation, Bienville Association filled one-third of the trustee roles. Only one in five of those were Bienville pastors. These local area men and women have done yeoman service for Louisiana Baptists. And we have the wherewithall to offer an ongoing stream of caring … [Read more...]

I read the July 17, 2003 article about Bro. Jesse Norris with great interest. I thank the Lord that Bro. Norris did preach in the small rural churches. I read the July 17, 2003 article about Bro. Jesse Norris with great interest. I thank the Lord that Bro. Norris did preach in the small rural churches. Bro. Kenneth Wall was the pastor of Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church out from Olla. Bro. Jesse Norris was holding a revival at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church during the summer of 1952. A neighbor took me with their children to the revival on July 7, 1952, where I accepted Jesus as my personal savior and have lived for him all these years. God has blessed me with a very good life. I was successful with a job with the state for 30 years and have been serving as the financial secretary at Highland Baptist Church in West Monroe for the past 13 years. Thanks to Bro. Jesse Norris, I came to know Jesus at an early age and have been able to live my life serving him. Willie Jean Duke Shields West Monroe, La. … [Read more...]

In relation to the recent article in the Baptist Message concerning decreased tithing, I have no doubt that the basic assertion is correct, if you are referring only to tithes given to the local church. In relation to the recent article in the Baptist Message concerning decreased tithing, I have no doubt that the basic assertion is correct, if you are referring only to tithes given to the local church. However, it is imperative that it be understood that many people continue to tithe by giving to other Christian ministries rather than entrusting their tithe to local churches and the conventions. As suggested in the article, one reason for this may be superficially explained as decreased denominational loyalty. But why is there decreased denominational loyalty? I should like to suggest at least two possibilities, but I am sure there are others as well. First, many of us are dismayed at the "Bapostolic" transformation of the local churches, and we refuse to support these changes with our tithe. Second, there is a great deal of dissatisfaction with the fundamentalist takeover and creedal transformation of the Southern Baptist Convention by those who have anointed themselves as infallible interpreters of the … [Read more...]

With all that is going on in the world, both here and overseas, one almost longs for the idealistic fantasies of Superman and other such superheroes to be true. Note: The following is part of a series of articles to be published in the Baptist Message regarding the Cooperative Program and how it is at work throughout Louisiana and the rest of the world. Subsequent articles will appear in the newspaper during the year to highlight Cooperative Program missions and ministry work. With all that is going on in the world, both here and overseas, one almost longs for the idealistic fantasies of Superman and other such superheroes to be true. It would be so much more reassuring if we could just read about the daily disasters on the front page of our newspapers, sink back into our chairs with our morning coffee, and say to ourselves, "Well it's nothing our local superhero can't handle!" But just as not all superheroes are cloaked in bright capes, not all disasters are national headline news - for instance, the closing down of manufacturing plants in a small, central Louisiana town. Within the past year, nearly 1,000 people have been given the pink slip to financial instability in LaSalle parish. "We … [Read more...]

Where is the revival? Throughout American history, revivals have come in the midst of, or following particular kinds of events. Where is the revival? Throughout American history, revivals have come in the midst of, or following particular kinds of events. One of the kinds of times that has brought revival previously has been war. The American Revolution brought a period of spiritual awareness and awakening. Some of the most profound statements of Americans' dependence upon Divine guidance and deliverance were penned during those desperate days. The same was true during the United States' Civil War. Chaplains were in great demand and there are accounts of tremendous revivals breaking out across the country both North and South. World War I and II saw significant revivals and during the Korean War, Southern Baptists seem to have had one of their greatest numerical growth periods. But, the Gulf Wars have not sparked that kind of revival except for that among some of the troops near the battle lines. Worship and Bible study attendances have not experienced an increase, but rather a leveling off at best, and even a decline at worst. Other revivals have come during times of … [Read more...]

Facilities at First Baptist Church of Covington were damaged by a set fire and vandalism early on the morning of July 24. Facilities at First Baptist Church of Covington were damaged by a set fire and vandalism early on the morning of July 24. Cabinets and a wall at the Louisiana Baptist church were damaged by a fire set in the early morning hours of last Thursday. In addition, a vandal or vandals broke windows and emptied fire extinguishers in church hallways. The damage was not as much as it could have been, thanks to the church's sprinkler system, pastor Waylon Bailey said last week. "The sprinkler system worked perfectly, ..." he said. "It came on right over the fire." Although the fire damage was contained, the event still was a disturbing one, Bailey acknowledged. "The fire personnel told us, if (the fire) had not been extinguished, we could have lost a whole wing," he said. In the end, the church sustained window damage, the fire extinguisher damage, water in five rooms and the results of the fire. A door also was damaged. The attack definitely was deliberate, Bailey said. Investigators found various materials inside the church that the vandal or vandals left behind. "It's strange," … [Read more...]

The DeRidder Patriots recently faced a difficult choice - attend church or play for a berth in the American Legion regional baseball tournament. But for the young men on the team, their choice was simple - spend Sunday evening at First Baptist Church in DeRidder. The DeRidder Patriots recently faced a difficult choice - attend church or play for a berth in the American Legion regional baseball tournament. But for the young men on the team, their choice was simple - spend Sunday evening at First Baptist Church in DeRidder. "We felt it was more important to go to church," says Patriot second baseman Micah Harrington, one of three teammates baptized that evening. "I had to think of my priorities, which are God, then family, then baseball." Riding the momentum of a four-game winning streak, the Patriots advanced to the championship game of the Shaughnessy Tournament in Lake Charles. When they learned of the 5 p.m. Sunday start time, DeRidder head coach Reddoch Hooks requested that tournament directors move the game to Monday. When directors denied their request, the Patriots forfeited the game. During the next Sunday morning service, Aaron Dickinson, youth minister at First Baptist Church … [Read more...]