Submitted by philip on Thu, 05/02/2013 - 19:03 The Louisiana College Board of Trustees voted to exonerate President Joe Aguillard concerning allegations of impropriety. By Kelly Boggs, Editor PINEVILLE – The Louisiana College Board of Trustees met on the school’s Pineville campus April 30 for the purpose of addressing the college’s “budget and other items of regular business,” according to a statement released after a regularly scheduled meeting of the board on March 19. Gene Lee, chairman of the LC board, read a statement after the most recent trustee meeting that indicated that at least one item of “regular business” with which the board dealt concerned allegations of impropriety on the part of LC President Joe Aguillard. After a daylong meeting Lee read a hand-written statement to the media; Aguillard was by his side. “After a long, thorough investigation, the board has exonerated Dr. Aguillard of all allegations that were brought forward in the whistleblower complaints,” Lee read.  “Concluding the vote, the board, led by Chairman Gene Lee, circled the president, laying hands on him in prayer, asking God for love and unity amongst the board and the administration.” Lee declined to comment on any specifics of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Thu, 05/02/2013 - 19:10 The Louisiana College Board of Trustees voted to exonerate President Joe Aguillard concerning allegations of impropriety. By Kelly Boggs, Editor PINEVILLE – The Louisiana College Board of Trustees met on the school’s Pineville campus April 30 for the purpose of addressing the college’s “budget and other items of regular business,” according to a statement released after a regularly scheduled meeting of the board on March 19. Gene Lee, chairman of the LC board, read a statement after the most recent trustee meeting that indicated that at least one item of “regular business” with which the board dealt concerned allegations of impropriety on the part of LC President Joe Aguillard. After a daylong meeting Lee read a hand-written statement to the media; Aguillard was by his side. “After a long, thorough investigation, the board has exonerated Dr. Aguillard of all allegations that were brought forward in the whistleblower complaints,” Lee read.  “Concluding the vote, the board, led by Chairman Gene Lee, circled the president, laying hands on him in prayer, asking God for love and unity amongst the board and the administration.” Lee declined to comment on any specifics of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 09:41 The Louisiana College Board of Trustees voted to exonerate President Joe Aguillard concerning allegations of impropriety. By Kelly Boggs, Editor PINEVILLE – The Louisiana College Board of Trustees met on the school’s Pineville campus April 30 for the purpose of addressing the college’s “budget and other items of regular business,” according to a statement released after a regularly scheduled meeting of the board on March 19. Gene Lee, chairman of the LC board, read a statement after the most recent trustee meeting that indicated that at least one item of “regular business” with which the board dealt concerned allegations of impropriety on the part of LC President Joe Aguillard. After a daylong meeting Lee read a hand-written statement to the media; Aguillard was by his side. “After a long, thorough investigation, the board has exonerated Dr. Aguillard of all allegations that were brought forward in the whistleblower complaints,” Lee read.  “Concluding the vote, the board, led by Chairman Gene Lee, circled the president, laying hands on him in prayer, asking God for love and unity amongst the board and the administration.” Lee declined to comment on any specifics of … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Baptists and others are concerned that unless something changes, abortions will be carried out by Planned Parenthood for the first time in Louisiana next year as the organization moves to open an expanded facility in New Orleans. SBC President Fred Luter, Jr. and Franklin Avenue Baptist Church have responded by joining with Nola Needs Peace, a coalition of concerned citizens that is taking a stand for life. Planned Parenthood’s proposed 7,000 square-foot “New Orleans Health Center” will open on South Claiborne Avenue, at the edge of one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the heart of New Orleans. Luter said his reasons for joining with Nola Needs Peace, an initiative of the Louisiana Right to Life, are not political. “This is about saving lives,” Luter said. “This is not a political issue. This is a biblical issue. I’m concerned as a pastor and a believer.” Nola Needs Peace will hold a city-wide prayer meeting and community gathering May 16 at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, where Luter is pastor. A press conference follows on May 20 at the Planned Parenthood property site. The Nola Needs Peace campaign comes amidst President Obama’s canceled appearance as … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor “Tyler Perry is a moralist who doesn’t have sense enough to engage us by making sin look like fun,” is how one critic featured on the movie review Internet site “Rotten Tomatoes” sums up the film Temptation: The Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, which is currently in theaters. A brief synopsis of the movie on the “Temptation” website describes the film as, “A bold exploration of the intrigue and perils of infidelity.” As the critic points out, the movie does not portray marital unfaithfulness as innocent fun; rather it depicts it with all the negative emotional and physical consequences that are possible. While the critic quoted in the first paragraph deems Perry’s effort as nothing more than trite moralizing, I find it encouraging that a mainstream filmmaker would be bold enough to portray marital infidelity for what it really is: life-altering and destructive. In short, the movie is about a young woman who steps outside of what has become a stale marriage to experience what is initially an exciting fling. Eventually, negative consequences begin to multiply and the woman finds herself living with the constant regret of her selfish choices. “Temptation” opens with a couple seeing a marriage … [Read more...]

By Russell Moore, President of the SBC's ERLC I have long suspected that many Christians dread not just death but heaven. We won’t admit that, of course. Our hymnody, of whatever era, is filled with songs about the joy of the afterlife, and “what a day of rejoicing that will be.” We’re glad we’re not going to hell or to oblivion. But most of our songs and sermon mentions are about that first few moments in heaven: when we see Jesus, when we’re reunited with our loved ones, and so on. It’s like the happy ending of the story. And that’s the problem. The Gospel tells us that Satan keeps unbelievers bound by fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Believers, too often, dread death also, though not as much from fear as from boredom. We see the story of our lives as encompassing this span of 70 or 80 or 100 years. The life to come is our “great reward” in “the afterlife.” But just think about that word “afterlife.” It assumes eternity is an endless postlude to where the action really happens. It’s “after.” Our “reward” happens after we’ve lived our lives. Here’s why this language matters. Imagine a couple referring to their marriage as their “after-love.” They explain to you that years ago they met, fell in love, and married. The years … [Read more...]

By Erich Bridges, IMB Watch out. They’re coming. And if they bite you, you’ll soon be joining them – after you die an agonizing death, reanimate and become one of the “undead.” I’m talking about zombies, of course. You can find them stumbling around looking for their next human snack in countless comics, books, computer games and movies. “The Walking Dead,” one of the most popular shows on TV, follows the grim adventures of survivors of the zombie apocalypse as they fight off hordes of mindless-but-hungry creatures in Georgia. No wisecracks, please; that’s my home state. There are any number of theories floating around about why folks are fascinated with zombies, ranging from our timeless appetite for scary stories to heavy-duty dissertations analyzing our fear of global pandemics, terrorism, world-ending wars and even the dehumanizing effects of consumer culture. But there’s a deeper and more universal human fear underlying the zombie obsession: our dread of death itself. And what comes after. “The zombie’s horror is that he is ... a slave forever,” culture commentator Russell Moore wrote in a Baptist Press column last year. “After all, if even death cannot free you, you can never be free. That’s exactly the point, and … [Read more...]

By Thom S. Rainer, President of LifeWay Christian Resources With apologies to Gary Chapman for playing on his well-known “Five Love Languages” theme, I asked 24 pastors how a church member might speak to each pastor in his own love language. And though 24 persons do not constitute a massive survey, I was amazed at the consistency of the responses. To fit the theme of five, I determined at the onset that I would only report the top five responses. To my surprise, there was an obvious break between the fifth and sixth most-frequent responses. The five love languages thus were a natural fit. So how can you speak a love language to your pastor? Here are the pastors’ top five responses in order of frequency. I offer a representative response from one of the pastors for each of the five. 1. Books. “I have a limited family budget, so I can’t just go out and buy a bunch of books. One year a deacon gave me a $200 gift card to a Christian bookstore. I was ecstatic! Now the church gives me a $300 book allowance each year. I know it’s not much for the type of books I get, but I sure am grateful.” 2. Encouraging notes. “I treasure every word of affirmation I get. It helps to soothe the pain of the criticisms. I keep all of my notes of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 10:21 By Archie England, NOBTS Question: Does the sin of Adam impact all humanity? Did Adam’s sin render all others guilty before each one personally sinned? NOBTS Professor Archie England responds: For the Apostle Paul, Adam’s first transgression caused death to come upon all humanity (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21). What God emphatically commanded (not eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Gen 2:17), Satan enticingly challenged. Deceived, Eve ate; but, knowingly Adam transgressed (Gen 3:6). By this first act of sin, death resulted and caused all humanity to lose the ability to live physically forever. Consequently, sin and death would reign over all humanity. Except for the miraculous translations of Enoch and Elijah, no person would escape death’s plunge into the grave; no one escapes sin’s grip. Though some deny “racial guilt” – that all bear Adam’s guilt – I’m not at all troubled by the corollary: all bear his judgment. This kind of judgment on one’s posterity surfaces in the Lord’s declaration to Moses: He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 10:24 Saeed Abedini By Erin Roach, Baptist Press TEHRAN (BP) – In another effort to force American pastor Saeed Abedini to recant his faith, prison officials in Tehran have placed him in solitary confinement, something the American Center for Law and Justice calls “perhaps his most grave situation since his imprisonment last fall.” Abedini – a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent – has served time in solitary confinement in the past, telling his family it was the hardest time in his life, according to a statement by his wife Naghmeh. He explained that “every hour was like one year and that he was losing his memory and his health was deteriorating quickly,” she recounted. In addition to solitary confinement, ACLJ reported April 29 that Abedini’s severe internal bleeding continues – still going untreated – and now his kidneys are not functioning properly. “We have been able to confirm that the horrible conditions in Evin Prison led Pastor Saeed and a number of prisoners in Ward 350 to sign a letter expressing to prison officials their concern about the lack of medical care received and the threats and harsh treatment facing family members who come to visit,” ACLJ said. The … [Read more...]