Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/04/2013 - 10:46 John Hebert (left), the Director of the Missions and Ministry Team for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, congratulates James Jenkins on being named the new Director of Church Planting for the state. Jenkins will officially start his new position in January 2014. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – When James Jenkins came on board with the Louisiana Baptist Convention as state director of African-American ministries in 1999, he envisioned a day when hundreds of new churches would be planted in the state. That day is almost here, Jenkins believes. From 2014 to 2020, as part of an emphasis on church planting through the President’s 2020 Commission, Louisiana Baptists will seek to start 300 new congregations, including a goal of 230 new churches in South Louisiana, – something Jenkins believes can happen. “This is our hour, this is our time,” said Jenkins, who becomes the LBC’s new Director of Church Planting for the Missions and Ministry Team. He will officially start this position on Jan. 1. “We can do this and we can achieve things that come as an opportunity with the 2020 Commission.” A veteran church planter for 22 years, Jenkins has been a part of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/04/2013 - 10:47 Sadie Robertson, the daughter of Willie and Korie Robertson, most widely known from the Duck Dynasty television show, will be a special featured guest at this year’s 26th annual Youth Evangelism Conference. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Duck Dynasty fever is coming to this year’s Youth Evangelism Conference. Ducky Dynasty reality television show daughter Sadie Robertson is the featured guest during the Sunday evening session of this year’s Youth Evangelism Conference. The daughter of Willie and Korie Robertson, Sadie will discuss her new devotional series for teenagers, and share about her new line of modesty based prom dresses for girls and living out her faith on a Louisiana high school campus. Also, she will have some fun talking about duck hunting. “We’re thankful to have Sadie joining us at YEC,” said Kevin Boles, youth strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. “YEC is about Louisiana teenagers. Sadie is a Louisiana teenager who’s living out her Christianity in very bold ways. She was a last minute addition, due to the complexity of her family’s schedule, and we’re thankful she can be with us.” But YEC will feature more than … [Read more...]

By Staff, World News Magazine PETERSBURG, KY – A Christian foundation recently gave the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., the fossil of a large predatory dinosaur similar to a Tyrannosaurus rex, which offers evidence of the Old Testament global flood. The fossil is believed to be one of the four best-preserved Allosaurus skulls ever discovered, according to a Creation Museum press release. The museum’s new dinosaur, affectionately called Ebenezer, probably stood 10-feet high and 30-feet long and had teeth averaging over four inches. Fifty-three of those teeth are still in place. Unearthed in Colorado, the fossil’s well-preserved condition and the position of the skull and spine suggests it was killed under sudden, catastrophic conditions. It was on its side as though it had been knocked over and rapidly buried in mud. The large layer of sedimentary rock surrounding the fossil indicates dispersion by flood water covering the entire continent, according to Andrew Snelling, a geologist at the Creation Museum. “This is a very remarkable find. It is unique because so far we have found very few complete skulls,” Snelling told World News. Predictably, secular scientists scoff at the idea the skull offers proof of a global flood … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor The possible physical and psychological scars of one industry are potentially so traumatic that the Washington, D.C., Health Department is proposing regulations designed to protect the health and well-being of its citizens. “We’re making sure when that decision is made that you’re in the right frame of mind, and you don’t wake up in the morning saying, ‘Oh my ... what happened?’” a variety of news reports quoted D.C. Health Department spokesperson Najma Roberts explaining the need for the proposed regulations. What specific industry are the good bureaucrats in our nation’s capital seeking to regulate? Is it the abortion industry? Maybe it’s plastic surgery or vasectomies? Actually it is none of these; it’s tattoo parlors. What is wholly ironic about Washington’s proposals to tightly regulate its body art industry is that no such rules apply to the capital’s abortion industry. Yet the same concerns about physical health and psychological issues apply to abortion as they do to tattoos or piercings, perhaps even more so. Along with regulations establishing standards for hygiene and administrative procedures for tattoo shops, the department is asking that a 24-hour waiting period be instituted for … [Read more...]

By Paul Chitwood, Executive Director of Kentucky Baptist Convention Having read “The Insanity of God” by Nik Ripken (pseudonym), I found the book to be a tremendously impacting account of the Ripken family’s journey as missionaries, researchers and encouragers to persecuted believers throughout the world.   If you’re Southern Baptist and have ever doubted the worth of your investment in the Cooperative Program, please read Ripken’s book, a dramatic and powerful illustration of how God has used the generosity of Southern Baptists to shape a man, his family and his life’s work, and to literally impact the world. Ripken was raised on a Kentucky farm, received a divine call to ministry and attended a Cooperative Program-supported college. God began directing Ripken toward mission work through an encounter with “a real live missionary” who was, in all likelihood, supported by the CP. Ripken continued his ministry preparation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he completed two degrees funded by, you guessed it, the Cooperative Program. The Ripkens went to Africa to share Christ among the nations, their work made possible by Southern Baptists who invested in the CP. I have known the Ripkens for nearly 20 years, … [Read more...]

By Al Mohler, Jr., President of Southern Seminary Fall brings the opening of the new school year, the energy of the season of autumn and, for Southern Baptists, the meetings of the state Baptist conventions. In the fall, most of the state conventions hold their annual meetings. Pastors and laypeople gather from local churches and assemble as a convention of Baptist churches. There is a glory in these meetings, and they affirm our need for the state conventions and their ministries. A younger generation of Southern Baptists may well be unaware of the importance of the state conventions and their work. They would be well-advised to attend their state convention and catch a vision of what the Baptist churches in their states are doing together. Americans are regularly reminded that states matter. Our political system respects the role of the individual states, and most Americans identify not only as citizens of the United States, but as residents of their respective states. This does not make our nation weaker. We are stronger because the states retain an important role in building communities and building the nation. In Southern Baptist life, the same is profoundly true of our state conventions. There is a need for Baptist … [Read more...]

To the Editor Earlier this year, the SBC’s “Calvinism Advisory Committee” released a statement which was praised by Calvinists and non-Calvinists within the SBC for it’s charitable tone and unifying impulse. The statement recognized the theological differences which exist within the SBC while affirming the need for friendly conversation rather than contributing to a spirit of divisiveness. In light of this encouraging statement, I was disappointed to read “Calvinism is not Baptist theology” in the October 10, 2013 edition of Baptist Message. If the letter were merely antagonistic and slighting it could easily be met with a sigh and dismissed. However, the letter contained such basic factual errors that a response is justified lest readers assume its veracity. Even a casual reading of the history of the Southern Baptist Convention makes clear that Calvinism has been present from the very beginning. Calvinist theology was, in fact, strongly influential among the founding leaders of the SBC and predominated for several decades. The Calvinism Advisory Committee celebrated the theological diversity that has existed from the SBC’s very first days citing “theological statesmen such as James P. Boyce and B. H. Carroll” among … [Read more...]

By Raleigh Sadler, NAMB Missionary, Pastor of Gallery Church, New York City It’s been a year since I moved to New York with the desire to fight human trafficking and lead the local church in recapturing a passion for freedom. The funny thing is three years ago I made it known publicly that I would NEVER 1) visit New York City or 2) raise support. So how did I end up raising support to serve as a Christian abolitionist in NYC? The quick answer would be that one of my best friends, Davin Henrickson, paved the way for me. Davin was the first person that I met at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2003. Soon, we became friends and then roommates. Davin and I consistently challenged each other to grow closer to Christ. I remember one evening he and I were talking through a struggle that I was going through and “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman came on the radio. As these words played, Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering. Though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be Your name, Davin stopped and looked at me and said “this is what it’s about.” Davin understood that suffering pushes us to depend more and more on the Gospel and he challenged me with those lyrics. That was my friend, “MacGuyver the … [Read more...]

By Bill Warren, NOBTS QUESTION:  How can I understand the Bible better when I read it?  Part 4 Revelation NOBTS’ Bill Warren responds: Where can hope be found when the world is in chaos and there seems to be no hope for the future? Is there really any sense in being faithful to God when the future looks so bleak for God’s people and causes? Apocalyptic writings minister to people in these worse case scenarios, with Revelation being such a writing: Rev. 1:1 “The apocalypse [revelation] of Jesus Christ.” “Apocalypse” implies an “uncovering” or “revealing” of something – this literature seeks to reveal something about the situation at hand that is not being perceived by the larger group, with a goal of inspiring faithful living in spite of the current circumstances. These are ministry documents that speak to real people struggling with real questions (the seven churches) who are going through horrible circumstances that are affecting life both within the group and in the larger culture. History is spinning out of control with intervention by God as the only hope. John proclaims that God will intervene on behalf of his people in the most dramatic of fashions and with the most decisive of victories, thereby offering an … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 11/04/2013 - 11:15 No matter if Brian Prucey was serving in the Air Force or in the pew, he has kept his focus on ministering to people. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY – Brian Prucey’s journey in ministry has taken him from the battlefield in Saudi Arabia to the church field in Louisiana, and countless highways and byways in between. But no matter if he was serving in the Air Force or in the pew, Prucey has kept his focus on ministering to the multitudes. “God has given me a wonderful opportunity to serve both my country and His Kingdom, and for many years to do that at the same time,” said Prucey, a bi-vocational pastor at Elm Grove Baptist Church in Bossier City and one of many who will celebrate Veterans Day on Nov. 11. Though he sensed the call to ministry at 15, Prucey opted to instead focus his attention on one day joining the armed forces. By the time he graduated from a Warren, Ohio, high school at age 18, Prucey was on a plane bound for San Antonio and the start to his 22-year career in the Air Force that ended on Jan. 1, 1999, when he honorably retired as a senior master sergeant with more than 20 medals, awards and ribbons. However, God never allowed … [Read more...]