Submitted by philip on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 10:58 More than 50 people, including (top) the Baptist Message’s Regional Reporter Mark Hunter and many Baptists, went “Over the Edge” and rappelled from the top of a 24-story skyscraper to publicize the need for adoption. By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter EDITOR’S NOTE – Beth Green of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home also contributed to this report. BATON ROUGE – First came the political part, when the Louisiana Family Forum and its allies in the state legislature got some laws changed to make adoption easier. Then came the fun – or scary, depending on your perspective – part, when more than 50 people, including many Baptists, went “Over the Edge” and rappelled from the top of a 24-story skyscraper to publicize the need for adoption. But now comes the hardest part of the three-phase plan: finding and enlisting 100 churches to sponsor 100 homes for 100 children now living in state foster care. There are currently 4,787 children in Louisiana foster care homes and 653 are available for adoption, according to the Louisiana Family Forum. “Over the Edge was an over the top success,” said Gene Mills, president Louisiana Family Forum, a non-profit, faith-based organization dedicated … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 11:04 Gov. Bobby Jindal signed legislation – the Louisiana Has Faith in Families Act, SB 220 – on May 31 in a ceremony that took place in the Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson Law Office conference room at One American Place in Baton Rouge, where the Over the Edge event took place. By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE – More than 50 people from all walks of life, from LSU head football coach Les Miles, to Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson, to Miss Louisiana Lauren Vizza, to a host of pastors and others, rappelled from the top of One American Place. The building is 308 feet tall and is the second highest building in Baton Rouge, after to the State Capitol. The rappel was from the roof and ended on a first floor roof so it was actually about 280 feet from top to bottom. Two of those pastors were Jerry Key, administrative pastor at East Leesville Baptist, and Tom Shepard, senior pastor of First Baptist of Addis. Key has a grown, adopted daughter and Shepard has an 8-year-old son adopted last year. Both of their churches are participating in the 100 church plan. “It was a good experience,” Key said. “I have actually rappelled before, in college. … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY – Bossier Parish Sheriff Julian Whittington is sticking to his guns in a battle with the U.S. Department of Justice over “religious freedoms.” The Bossier Sheriff’s office, which runs the highly-successful Young Marine and Youth Diversion progams, has been denied federal funding – $30,000 to be exact – for its mention of God and the use of religion. In December 2012, the DOJ, Civil Rights Division, announced it would not fund the 10-year-old Young Marine Program as long as God or prayer was allowed, even if that prayer was voluntary. In February 2013, the DOJ refused funding for the Youth Diversion Program, which featured a voluntary, student-led prayer session as one of its activities. “We were informed these are unacceptable, inherently religious activities and the Department of Justice would not be able to fund the programs if it continued,” Whittington said. “They wanted a letter from me stating that I would no longer have voluntary prayer and I would also have to remove ‘God’ from the Young Marine’s oath.” DOJ officials told Whittington in order to restore funding he would have to write a letter, promising not to pray or use the word “God” or have voluntary … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 11:09 By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor Those upset with the acquittal of George Zimmerman on the charge of second-degree murder in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin contend Florida’s court system somehow failed. Emotion and, perhaps, some measure of ignorance seem to be driving many who make that contention. Ignorance of the purpose of the court system certainly hasn’t helped those who struggle with the not guilty verdict on July 13. “This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice,” Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once observed. What exactly did one of America’s best-known Supreme Court justices mean? According to Black’s Law Dictionary, justice is “the fair and proper administration of laws.”  On the other hand, law, according to the same reference, is “the body of rules, standards, and principles that the courts of a particular jurisdiction apply in deciding controversies brought before them.” Legally, justice is laws being enforced fairly. Law is the procedure for deciding controversies and/or determining whether specific laws have been broken. What is Florida’s procedure for deciding controversies or determining whether or not someone has committed second-degree … [Read more...]

By Jeff Robinson, Pastor, Philadelphia Baptist Church in Birimingham When major events unfold in the culture such as the Supreme Court’s rulings on same-sex marriage, we as pastors are called to help our people assess the events biblically and help them answer the question the late Francis Schaeffer put so well, “How should we then live?” I have attempted to answer that question for the congregation which God has given me the profound privilege to shepherd: n As followers of Christ, we must realize that America is not our ultimate home. While we are thankful for all that the United States has stood for (and still stands for in many places), this country is not ultimate for believers; the Kingdom of God is ultimate. As fourth-century church father Augustine put it in his work City of God, the Christian is simultaneously a citizen of two cities – the city of man and the City of God. Bottom line: We are not home yet. n The Gospel, not courts or legislation, is the ultimate agent of change. Our deepest need is not the right legislation or different legislators, helpful though those can be to a country. Our deepest need is for the power of God to work in sinful human hearts to transform them. n We must prepare to be persecuted … [Read more...]

By Page Brooks, Pastor, Canal Street Church in New Orleans George Zimmerman has been acquitted. Trayvon Martin is dead. A mother is without her son. Cities are in uproar. Racial comments have flown in the media. Nearly 50 years after the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, our nation still feels the pain of racial tension when trials like Zimmerman’s take center stage on our nation’s media outlets. Our minds fill with questions: Were racial motivations a part of the killing? What are we to make of a mostly white jury, a Hispanic defendant and an African American victim? Reactions from churches and religious personalities have filled the media from across the spectrum. The New Era Baptist Church, located in Birmingham, Ala., posted the following reaction on its church sign: “George Zimmerman jury supported white racism.”   Anthea Butler, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, questioned the goodness of God in situations like the Trayvon Martin case. In an interview with the Daily Caller, Butler stated, “God ain’t good all the time. In fact, sometimes God is not for us. As a black woman in a nation that has taken too many pains to remind me that I am not a white man, and am not … [Read more...]

By Pete Charpentier, Louisiana College I can remember it like it was yesterday.  It’s one of my favorite childhood memories. I was just a little boy, resting on my dad’s chest. I can still hear the muffled sounds of his heart beat as my small body gently rose and fell with every breath my father took. I felt so secure, protected, and loved.  In a word: I felt accepted. I find myself sometimes drifting back to this “happy place” in my mind. Of course, the reason I have to “drift back” to this memory is because it’s not the frame of mind in which I typically live from day to day. I’m not sure just how it happened, but somewhere along the way, things drastically changed. I moved away from resting in my father’s love, and I started trying to earn his acceptance through my efforts. Yet, as bad as this struggle was in my emotional life, it only foreshadowed another battle I eventually faced in my spiritual life. When I became a Christian as a young teenager, I naturally projected my striving to earn my earthly father’s acceptance onto my heavenly Father. While I knew that my salvation was not based on my works, I somehow continued to live as though my daily acceptance before God was. One person summarized my life-long yearning … [Read more...]

By Archie England, NOBTS Question: Since Christians are not under Jewish covenant laws, should we be concerned about Old Testament ethics and integrity? Archie England responds: Let’s examine this question in the light of Proverbs 3, where a loving father relays a series of commands to his son, directing him to make God the priority of his life: obeying the Torah, committing it to memory, trusting and leaning on God (rather than self), staying humble, honoring God through tithing, and accepting His discipline (Proverbs 3:1-12). These six guidelines are all grounded in wisdom: God’s wisdom. From verses 13-20, the writer of Proverbs 3 highlights the profound role of wisdom, how humankind can be continually blessed by it and how God utilized it in the creation of all things. To gain wisdom is to gain blessing, reward, and a relationship with God. To fail to do so – or marginalize, neglect, or devalue it – well, that’s the fool’s path. And, the writer of Proverbs has little nice to say about the fool. However, many profess to be wise but aren’t. Proverbs 3:21-35 explains how to categorize our behavior: by our ethics and integrity. The benefits of right living are given first in verses 21-26. These include a quality of life, an … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 11:21 FBC Coushatta Pastor Nathan Davis By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director COUSHATTA – First Baptist Coushatta doesn’t just talk about growth – they live it. Since 2010, the congregation of 175 has seen a 45 percent increase in Sunday morning attendance. Additionally, in that same time period the church has baptized 22, including five this year, in a town of about 2,000. Nathan Davis credits the growth to one simple philosophy – loving God and loving others. “It is obvious when you come to First Baptist Church that we love each other,” said Davis, pastor of the church since the growth began. “People want to be loved, and they are so loving of my family and each other. “Also, people have prayed that we would grow, and it is obvious to those that have been here that we have, over the last three-and-a-half years,” he said. “Although the congregation would say that it is because of pastoral leadership as well, I would say it is because the Lord has decided to work in our midst. I believe He gets all the credit for it.” One demographic that has seen the most growth is the church’s young married couples, many of whom have children. Davis said it is encouraging to see so many … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 11:32 A bond of love encircles those who participate in the Sunday morning services at Freedom Biker Church in Lafayette, which meets in the HOG – Harley Owners Group – Room at the Cajun Harley Davidson dealership in Lafayette. Pastor Rowdy Daigle is bivocational: He owns Cajun Vacuum in Lafayette. By Rachel Ortego, Regional Reporter dler, Katt Denais was well on her way to becoming an alcoholic. At age four she was drinking sips of champagne given by her mother; at five her father taught her how to mix drinks and she drank from them as she served him. At 13, she became a biker. Just last year, searching for meaning in her life, she turned to the pagan religion of Wiccan, being trained by a high priestess and learning their practices and beliefs. But a trip to a repair shop in Lafayette, and exposure to the gospel message, changed all that. Last summer Denais accompanied her daughter to Cajun Vacuum to bring in a vacuum cleaner for repair. The business is owned by Rowdy Daigle, who is also pastor of Freedom Biker Church in that city. “When we pulled up in the driveway my daughter pointed to the Freedom Biker Church trailer parked outside and joked, ‘Mom, here’s a place … [Read more...]