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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Former IMB VP says fired communicators ‘grossly undervalued and maligned’

By Joni B Hannigan, Christian Examiner RICHMOND, Va. (Christian Examiner) – A former high ranking administrator at the International Mission Board cried "foul" in an online posting last week following a statement by IMB President David Platt that 30 communications missionaries let go last month were downsized as the result of their failure to keep current in the digital age. Calling Platt's statement about the team "patently inaccurate," Ken Winter said the team's "stellar efforts have been grossly undervalued and maligned." Winter, who a year ago stepped down as vice president of church and partner services, in a Feb. 19 blog entry in which he spoke fondly of about 200 "gifted and godly" men and women who accepted a "voluntary retirement incentive" offered by the IMB, but had choice words about the suggested deficiencies attributed to the 30 others who were involuntarily "removed." To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]

NOBTS forum addresses early church view on Jesus as God’s Son

By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS communications NEW ORLEANS - A noted evangelical-turned-agnostic and a well-known agnostic-turned-evangelical were the featured speakers Feb. 12-13 at the 12th annual Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Bart D. Ehrman, author of numerous best-selling books including How Jesus Became God: the Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee; Jesus Interrupted; and Misquoting Jesus, dialoged with Michael F. Bird, a lecturer in theology at Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia and the editor of How God Became Jesus and author of the award-winning The Gospel of the Lord. The Greer-Heard forum is a venue in which respected scholars of differing opinions dialogue on critical issues in religion, science, philosophy, or culture. It designed to help students and ministers learn to think critically and to be prepared to engage secular society. The forum’s theme, “When Did Jesus Become God?,” posed the question of when and how the early church came to believe that Jesus was the divine Son of God. The title was a play on words of Ehrman’s book How Jesus Became God and the book Bird edited, How God Became Jesus that were released on the same day two years ago by … [Read more...]

LSU Police searching for suspect who allegedly stole three saws from LSU BCM

By Message Staff BATON ROUGE – Theft has struck another Louisiana Baptist ministry, this time at the Louisiana State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry. According to LSU BCM Director Steve Masters, a man walked into one of their buildings on Feb. 19 at 2:30 pm and stole two skill saws and a jig saw. Masters was in his office in the lodge/worship center side when the suspect walked into its chapel, which is a separate building. The tools were used to build a set for the BCM’s summer missions dinner theater. One of the saws and the jigsaw are owned by the BCM while the other saw is owned by a local pastor. The stolen equipment is worth $300. Masters is asking anyone who recognizes the suspect, who was caught on surveillance video, to contact LSU police at 225.578.3231. Campus police are searching for the suspect. “It is discouraging that he was brazen enough to do this while our BCM staff and students were in the building area next door to the Chapel,” Masters said. The incident comes a few weeks after someone stole $20,000 worth of disaster relief equipment from the chainsaw unit for Woodland Park Baptist Church in Hammond and the feeding unit for the Northshore Baptist Association between Jan. 24 and Feb. 5. … [Read more...]

Your living sacrifice

By Dr. Jeffrey Farmer FIRST-PERSON -- On Wednesday, Feb.  4, a good friend and fellow pastor had a heart attack and died. Terry was 42 years old and a hard worker. His church was a smaller membership church with a significant debt issue. Terry may have had some health issues, but appeared to be fine aside from carrying a bit of extra weight. While all details surrounding his death are not well known yet, it appears as though the contributing factors of extra weight and stress had a significant impact. For me it serves as a reminder of three significant biblical principles for ministry. First, we must remember that we are not our own. Jesus Christ has bought each of us with the price of his blood. This means that we are to serve as Christ commands, not as we see fit. This is important to remember when we consider our lifestyle. Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” As Christ-followers in general, and specifically pastors, we are to present the best body we possibly can for God’s service. This means taking care of our health in all aspects of life. Second, it is very easy for a … [Read more...]

Why the Cooperative Program for Baptists?

By Lili Rose Tullos Editor’s Note: Lili Rose Tullos is a graduate of Louisiana College and a retired Louisiana school teacher. In the early nineteen hundreds, Milton and Mary Hall felt the call to minister in St. Landry Parish. Graduates of Mary Hardin Baylor University in Texas, the couple knew little about the culture of south Louisiana except it had almost no Baptist ministry. Milton pastored First Baptist Church in Opelousas and then seeing the need for Baptist work along the winding Bayou Courtableau, moved to minister to the French population in this remote and rural area. Then tragedy struck. The great flood of the century, better known as the Great Mississippi flood of 1927, caused widespread destruction along the rivers and tributaries in numerous states along the Mississippi River, but especially in Louisiana. It was to become the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States. The flooding, due to the lack of dams and protective measures, completely destroyed the land and displaced thousands of Louisiana families.­ The young Texas mother with seven children watched as all their possessions floated down the bayou. It was mentally devastating and she had to enter a nearby … [Read more...]

Webinar at LC challenges Christians to engage culture

By Norm Miller, LC communications PINEVILLE - Louisiana College’s inaugural Christ, Church, and Culture seminar drew 58 students. Dr. William Osborne -- associate professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at College of the Ozarks -- keynoted the Feb. 4 Webcast, discussing how Christians can engage a post-modern culture. “Dr. Osborne gave some great insight on the many ways Christians engage culture today and explained how we ought to witness in this post-Christian culture,” said LC student Chet Broussard. “I really enjoyed hearing from him.” Dr. Russ Meek -- LC’s assistant professor of Christian Studies -- established the Christ, Church, and Culture seminar to help students integrate faith and culture by thinking Christianly about various issues Christians face in an increasingly post-Christian society. “The purpose of this first meeting was to introduce the concept of engaging culture as a Christian,” Meek said. “Future events will focus on specific topics and areas of culture that Christians can and should be engaging.” LC student Allison Glass said she enjoyed hearing about the church’s role in reaching culture. The March 10 seminar features Matthew Soerens, the US Church Training Specialist for World … [Read more...]

Covington Police Chief Tim Lentz adds “In God We Trust” to all of its police cars

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer COVINGTON – The Covington Police Department has joined a growing movement among law enforcement by placing the decal “In God We Trust” on its police cars. Police Chief Tim Lentz, a member at First Baptist Church in Covington, announced Feb. 17 via the department’s Facebook page he would begin placing them on the vehicles at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 18. Business owners, elected officials and others in the community joined in the effort to help place the stickers on the cars. The idea came to Lentz while praying in a worship service at First Covington last week. He recalled how other law enforcement departments around the country, including some in Louisiana, were placing on their vehicles the decal proclaiming the national motto. After talking with numerous Christian leaders and officers, Lentz received confirmation about going through with his idea. “If other cities were doing this, I thought why not here,” Lentz said. “We are a faithful community and a faithful law enforcement agency. We’re not shy about our Christianity. “It’s time we get back to our values and traditions,” he continued. “This hopefully will be the start of a movement here in Covington to do just that.” No public … [Read more...]

REVIEW: ‘Risen’ is Gospel infused historical fiction

By Michael Foust, Christian Examiner CHICAGO (Christian Examiner) — Some of the best discussions I've ever had in church small groups have revolved around what the Bible doesn't tell us. For example: Who did Cain marry? Why did God get so angry at Moses for stroking that rock? And who wrote the book of Hebrews? Then there's this one: How would Roman officials — and specifically Pilate — have reacted had they learned of the empty tomb? To read the rest of the story, click here. … [Read more...]

Court affirms diocese’s freedom to operate according to Catholic teaching

By Alliance Defending Freedom staff KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Missouri court Tuesday rejected the primary claim of a former Catholic diocese ministry worker who sued the diocese for terminating her employment once leadership learned of her same-sex union. The court ruled that the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion means the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph is free to make its employment decisions without court interference. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the diocese filed a motion for summary judgment last year asking for this result. “A church isn’t obligated to employ those who act contrary to the church’s teachings. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this as recently as four years ago,” said ADF Senior Counsel Erik Stanley. “The district court was on very firm constitutional ground to reject this attempt to drag the government into a church’s theological decisions – the very line the First Amendment says the government cannot cross.” “If churches are forced to employ people who do not follow the religious teachings of those churches, the church will no longer be able to minister consistently or freely in accordance with its faith,” added ADF Legal Counsel Jeremiah … [Read more...]