My ship came in last week.   Everyone has a dream of sudden and unexpected wealth, and editors of state Baptist papers are no different.   For years, those of us old enough to remember black and white television and the program The Millionaire dreamed of having the emissary of the anonymous billionaire knock on our doors. The ship that came in turned out to be just a pirogue   My ship came in last week.   Everyone has a dream of sudden and unexpected wealth, and editors of state Baptist papers are no different.   For years, those of us old enough to remember black and white television and the program The Millionaire dreamed of having the emissary of the anonymous billionaire knock on our doors. Sure, the program was a fantasy of a man dropping off one-million tax-paid, no- strings-attached dollars. Amazingly, the idea was so enticing that in spite of the program’s obvious fantasy format, weekly, thousands of folks wrote the program telling why they would be perfect recipients of the next million. Remember, those were the days when a million dollars was real money.   Nowadays, of course, states make billions of dollars each year from this fantasy by … [Read more...]

For the week of August 22, 2002 Cooperative Program Southern Baptist Cooperative Program gifts totaled $13.5 million last month, an increase of $716,548 (5.6 percent) from the previous July. With just two months remaining in the convention’s fiscal year, overall gifts total $151.9 million, an increase of $5.9 million (4.1 percent) from the same time last year. The total also stands more than $3.3 million (2.3 percent) ahead of budget at this time. Meanwhile, designated gifts totaled almost $5.4 million last month, a decrease of $2.2 million (29.7 percent) from the previous July. For the year, designated gifts total $163 million, an increase of $1.9 million (1.2 percent) from the same time last year. Peru ‘casualty’ A budget battle between U.S. Congress and the Department of State has its first casualty - the cash settlement earmarked for the family of missionary Veronica Bowers and her infant daughter. Bowers and her daughter were killed in June 2001 when a Peruvian air force jet shot down their missionary airplane after it was misidentified as a potential drug-smuggling flight by a CIA-operated surveillance plane. In the months after the attack, the State Department refused to meet with the Bowers family to … [Read more...]

So, divorce is no panacea.   The July 25 issue of the Baptist Message carried an article that reports the findings of a study that included 5,232 married adults certainly not an insignificant number.   Among these were 645 who said they were unhappy in their marriages. With all the press given to what is supposed to be a mass of unhappiness in marriage, it is significant that only about 12 percent said that they were unhappy. So, divorce is no panacea.   The July 25 issue of the Baptist Message carried an article that reports the findings of a study that included 5,232 married adults certainly not an insignificant number.   Among these were 645 who said they were unhappy in their marriages. With all the press given to what is supposed to be a mass of unhappiness in marriage, it is significant that only about 12 percent said that they were unhappy.   The organization conducting this study, New York-based Institute of American Values, checked back five years later with the 645 people who originally said they were unhappy in their marriages. Of the 645, 167 were divorced or separated. The majority, 478, had remained married to their mates.   Then, … [Read more...]

Billy Graham tried to save the world, traveling for months at a time to more than 170 countries to preach the gospel to tens of millions of souls he considered lost.   After one extended trip, it took him awhile to recognize one of his sons when he returned home.   When the ambitious son of this ambitious father grew up, he would carve out his own place in the evangelical world, leaving his children behind while he repaired homes in the Bosnian village of Hadzicido and drove around mined potholes in Angola to bring medicine to a remote hospital. "My child arrived just the other day. He came to the world in the usual way. But there were planes to catch and bills to pay. He learned to walk while I was away. And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew, he’d say, ‘I’m gonna be like you, dad. You know I’m gonna be like you.’"   "Cat’s in the Cradle"   by Harry Chapin   Billy Graham tried to save the world, traveling for months at a time to more than 170 countries to preach the gospel to tens of millions of souls he considered lost.   After one extended trip, it took him awhile to recognize one of his sons when he returned home.   When … [Read more...]

s come with great disappointment that the LBC Executive Board has allowed the issue of phasing out the funding of the director of missions to reach its current status. It has come with great disappointment that the LBC Executive Board has allowed the issue of phasing out the funding of the director of missions to reach its current status.   Therefore, the First Baptist Church of Spearsville, in its July business meeting, voted to send a letter to the Louisiana Baptist Message, requesting that the Executive Board vote to keep the current process as it is and vote no to the motion to phase the funding out. It seems that the proposed option is already available for churches to follow if they so decide.   To adopt the proposed procedure would force our church to reconsider and possibly alter its present giving arrangement through the Cooperative Program. It also seems such changes in giving would affect the Louisiana Baptist Convention and its programs.   We urge the Executive Board not to let this matter go to the floor of the state convention in November, where it is likely to become more divisive than it is now.   Chuck Johnston, Pastor Spearsville Baptist … [Read more...]

thanks for the articles regarding the proposed change in structure of the directors of missions. The treatment you are giving this issue is informative and balanced. Your attempt to present all the sides of the question is journalism at its best. Thanks for the articles regarding the proposed change in structure of the directors of missions. The treatment you are giving this issue is informative and balanced. Your attempt to present all the sides of the question is journalism at its best.   I believe that Philip Robertson and Paul Roney are doing their best to make a full and open disclosure of the issue and the questions that have arisen and will continue to arise.   I think that much of the turmoil and strife of the past 30 years could have been avoided if our leaders would have taken the course you have taken: "Trusting the Lord and telling the people."   Bobby Bonds, Pastor Mt. Hope Baptist Church Oakdale … [Read more...]

After reading the August 1, 2002, edition of the Baptist Message article, "A proposed change, ..." my mind was spurred on to think about the issue of polity in our state convention. Philip Robertson and Paul Roney stated that the need to change the way we handle our directors of missions in our state convention is a matter of Baptist polity. After reading the August 1, 2002, edition of the Baptist Message article, "A proposed change, ..." my mind was spurred on to think about the issue of polity in our state convention. Philip Robertson and Paul Roney stated that the need to change the way we handle our directors of missions in our state convention is a matter of Baptist polity. These two brothers seem to be concerned with the autonomy of our local church families and the need for control to issue forth from our local churches up to the state convention.   I am in full agreement! But instead of fixing something that is not broken, let’s fix something that is broken. Let us correct the errors in our Louisiana Baptist Convention polity, beginning with the process of selecting state Executive Board members. If Philip Robertson and Paul Roney wish to protect local church autonomy, then let these two … [Read more...]

For the week of August 22, 2002 Potpourri • MANSFIELD - First church: "Jesus, The One and Only" musical; Aug. 25, 6:30 p.m.; Gary Gregg, minister of music; Calvin Phelps, interim pastor.   • BATON ROUGE - Stevendale church: The Carolina Boys in concert; Aug 23, 7 p.m.; Michael J. LoBrutto, pastor.   • CHASE - Chase church: One Way in concert; Aug. 23, 7 p.m.; Dennis Fontenot, pastor.   • BETHANY - Camp Bethany: Northwest Association sponsored men’s fish fry; Sept. 5, 5:30 p.m.; $6 per person; Charles Thornton, guest speaker; Johnnie Dunn, music; for reservations, call (318) 938-1221; Robert Cole, camp manager.   • HEBERT - Welcome Home church: The New Liberty Boys in concert; Aug. 24, 7 p.m.; Billy T. Gueringer, Sr., pastor.   • ALEXANDRIA - Horseshoe Drive church: Phil Cross & Poet Voices in concert; Sept. 6, 7 p.m.; Don Arbuckle, minister of music; Aubrey Whitlock, pastor.   • WEST MONROE - Ike Hamilton Expo center: "Ropin’ for the Redeemer" team roping event; sponsored by Northeast Association; Sept. 7, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., team roping; 6-7 p.m., music/worship; cowboy church at 7 p.m.; Paul Daily, wild horse trainer and Rusty Rugg, professional … [Read more...]

I NEVER KNEW THAT. Thank God for the Internet.   I only thought I knew what I did not know, but now   I know there is a lot more I do not know than I thought I knew.   Someone sent me a list of things I did not know that I did not know that I did not know but now I know.   You may have receive the same e-mail. Seems every email I show someone, someone else has sent it to everyone. I NEVER KNEW THAT. Thank God for the Internet.   I only thought I knew what I did not know, but now   I know there is a lot more I do not know than I thought I knew.   Someone sent me a list of things I did not know that I did not know that I did not know but now I know.   You may have receive the same e-mail. Seems every email I show someone, someone else has sent it to everyone.   But in case you have not seen this e-mail, I am sure you will want to know all of these things you might not know but will know after you read it.   Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.   Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.   There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.   The average person’s left hand … [Read more...]

People usually encounter 40 to 50 incidents of stress a day - and what is does to their bodies is deadly, a Southern Baptist counselor warned.   Because of the nature of their work, ministers especially are vulnerable, said Barney Self, LeaderCare counselor for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. However, stress impacts all persons, he added. People usually encounter 40 to 50 incidents of stress a day - and what is does to their bodies is deadly, a Southern Baptist counselor warned.   Because of the nature of their work, ministers especially are vulnerable, said Barney Self, LeaderCare counselor for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. However, stress impacts all persons, he added.   "The deal is not whether it will be there, but what we are going to do with it," Self emphasized. "If we don’t take care of it, getting sick is part of how we deal with it."   Indeed, about 60 to 90 percent of all doctors’ office visits are directly or indirectly related to stress, Self noted.   Because stress is the perception of a threat or danger, a person’s body goes through significant changes when it is encountered, Self … [Read more...]