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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Louisiana Notables

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have a Revival, Homecoming, a new pastor, a community outreach or a concert? The Baptist Message would love to share your church news with the rest of the state. It is very easy to do, just send in your information (who, what, where and when) to philip@baptistmessage.com or call 318.449.4345. To get your event in the paper, please submit your information three weeks prior to the event. IN REMEMBERANCE Glen Wagnon, 80, a native of DeRidder and resident of Baton Rouge passed away November 3. He also served in full-time ministry for over 40 years in churches throughout Louisiana -- Ludington Baptist, DeRidder; Baptist Temple, Alexandria; Northside Baptist, Lafayette; First Baptist Church, Olla; First Baptist Church, Starks and Emmanuel Baptist Church, Oakdale. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the Baptist Message for a number of years. Following his retirement he continued to preach as an interim and had supply preaching roles for numerous churches. He preached his last sermon only four weeks before his death. In his spare time, he was an avid hunter, fisherman, and LSU sports fan. He was preceded in death by his mother, Elizabeth Sheppard; by his father, Malvin Wagnon, Sr.; and by his sister, … [Read more...]

8. Skills of a church planter: Commitment to church growth

By John Hebert ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – The Scripture has a lot to say about growth of the Kingdom, but perhaps the key passage is Matthew 13 which describes the four soils and the resulting harvest from each. The same chapter also shares a parable that compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, “which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Both of these references strongly convey the idea that the Kingdom of God should grow, and should convict you that your church should grow. Leaders must be committed to developing key skills and gaining valuable experiences that help them grow their congregations. LESSON LEARNED A key principle about church growth is that it is a function of health. A healthy church will grow almost with little eff ort, and an unhealthy congregation will not grow no matter what you do. These concepts are real to me because of something that happened during my first year of marriage. In fact it was less than a year after Kitty and I had recited our nuptials, and we were living in Lecompte, when I decided I would plant my first garden. I went down to the … [Read more...]

Couple heaven-bound after Gospel dial-up

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LEESVILLLE, La. (LBM) – For many years Gil James and his wife, Karen, believed they were Heaven bound based solely on their good deeds. But on a late July evening, during a phone call with Karen’s brother-inlaw, Eric Jarell, the couple finally accepted that they could enter Heaven only through a relationship with Christ. Moments later, they prayed to receive Christ in their living room, and months later they publicly declared their faith through baptism at Canaan Baptist Church in Leesville. “We had been going right along with our regular life for quite a few years and knew something was missing,” James told the Baptist Message. “One night it hit us we needed to change our life. The morning after we gave our lives to Christ we both woke up with this feeling of newness. Months went by and we realized that we needed to take that next step of obedience through baptism in front of our family members. Both of us lived all these years without Christ and now we can’t get enough of serving Him every day.” SOW AND REAP The Jameses were among four people baptized Sept. 8, and nine since January, at Canaan Baptist Church. Pastor Jason Nolde said the baptisms reflect an increased … [Read more...]

WRAPUP: Resolutions, motions, budget and elections

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists enjoyed fellowship and worship during the LBC Annual meeting, but also conducted important business, passing resolutions, addressing motions, approving a budget and electing leaders. RESOLUTIONS Messengers approved four consensus statements, with three offering respectively: a statement of appreciation to the Randolph Riverfront Center in Alexandria for hosting the annual meeting and to individuals who contributed in important ways to the production of the twoday event; a declaration that being transformed from sinner to believer means our “old selves have passed away” as well as our old identity with those sins; and, a call for Louisiana lawmakers “to provide legal relief for churches to allow them the freedom to share information reasonably believed to be a true allegation about an individual to prospective employers or other congregations – as a means to prevent predators from continuing to harm others.” But the fourth stated Louisiana Baptists’ support for the proposed “Love Life Amendment,” slated to be on the statewide ballot in 2020. The resolution gives “our strongest possible endorsement of the Love Life Amendment and the … [Read more...]

Tennessee Baptists reject controversial SBC resolution

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (LBM)—Tennessee Baptists have broken with Southern Baptists with regard to two controversial concepts creeping into Southern Baptist seminaries, passing a rival resolution at the recently held state annual meeting that condemns Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. The consensus statement said that Tennessee Baptists “are deeply troubled that some are injecting CRT and Intersectionality into theological context” and that the state convention’s members “strongly denounce CRT and Intersectionality as inconsistent with the Biblical worldview and theology.” The Tennessee declaration stands in stark contrast to a resolution passed in June by Southern Baptist messengers that endorsed Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality as “a set of analytical tools” which provide “selective insights … to understand multifaceted social dynamics.” Critical Race Theory can be traced to Derrick Bell, formerly of the Harvard Law School, who insisted that all formal structures in our country such as “the law” perpetuate “white privilege.” Meanwhile, Kimberlé Crenshaw, of the UCLA School of Law, coined the idea of Intersectionality to claim every intersection in life creates … [Read more...]

Chick fil-A drops 2 Christian charities, denies caving in to LGBT demands

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor ATLANTA (LBM) — Chick-fil-A has announced it will drop the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army from its foundation’s charitable giving program after completing multi-year commitments to both. The move comes as the Christian-founded company has endured severe attacks from homosexual groups that attack the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army as anti-LGBT because both ministries champion marriage as a covenant relationship between one man and one woman. According to public records, in 2018 the Chick-fil-A Foundation contributed $1.65 million to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and $115,000 to the Salvation Army. The attacks on Chickfil-A include denials in recent years by airports and universities to prevent the company from opening stores on their respective premises. In reporting the change in its charitable giving policy, the Chick-fil-A Foundation announced its plans for “a more focused giving approach” in distributing $9 million in 2020 “to a smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger.” In an email to the Christian Post, a Chick-filA spokesperson stressed, “No organization … [Read more...]

STUDY: Homosexuals made, not born, that way

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (LBM) – In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers found that from 75 percent up to 92 percent of homosexual behavior is the result of the environment, not genetics. In other words, cultural and social influences have an overwhelmingly greater impact on same-sex behavior than biology. Importantly, the genome study of nearly half a million participants from the U.K., U.S. and Sweden determined “there certainly is no single genetic determinant (sometimes referred to as the ‘gay gene’ in the media).” Of particular interest, the 8 percent to 25 percent of (minimal) genetic influence on same-sex sexual behavior was tied to genetic indicators which also predict behaviors “such as smoking, cannabis use, risk-taking, and the personality trait ‘openness to experience’” as well as “sexual behavior, attraction, identity, and fantasies.” Likewise, same-sex sexual behavior was “genetically correlated with several psychiatric or mental health traits” such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Of special significance, the study did not examine sexual identity but instead focused on sexual behavior. In July 2014, the CDC reported 1.6 percent of U.S. … [Read more...]

LSU longsnapper an NFL prospect, but a confirmed follower of Christ

By Will Hall, Message Executive Editor BATON ROUGE (LBM) —Blake Ferguson has had a remarkable history in football in a unique position. He came to LSU as the number one long snapper as a senior in high school, and last year he was named the best collegiate long snapper in the nation. On top of that, he took over that job for the Tigers from his brother Reid who was signed after graduation as the long snapper for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, and, scouts are predicting Blake will play at that level on Sundays, too. But Sundays have another special meaning for the professional football prospect. He is a committed Christian, and his hometown congregation in Smyrna, Georgia, is Christ Covenant Church, a Georgia Baptist member. Moreover, as much as Blake contributes to the success of the Tigers on the gridiron, observers say he makes an equally important impact off the field. Indeed, Andy Stroup, the greater Baton Rouge area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, called Ferguson “the main guy” in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at LSU. “He has been a part of the leadership team -- going on his third year,” Stroup told the Baptist Message. “He is a tremendous man. “When Blake walks into the … [Read more...]

Pastors Conference offered renewal for the work

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – During the 2019 Louisiana Baptist Pastor’s Conference, Nov. 10-11, at the First Baptist Church, Pineville, speakers offered words of encouragement and conviction to pastors. ROBERT SMITH Robert Smith, professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, spoke during the opening session from Joshua 14:6-15 to urge the crowd to resist a “me first” attitude and instead to embrace God’s calling “to be second.” Pointing to the faithfulness of Caleb, who waited 45 years for God to fulfill his promise of a new land, Smith said Caleb saw his patient obedience rewarded. “God’s delays are not God’s denials,” he said. “It’s been 45 years.  How do you live with a dream, a vision for 45 years? It has been delayed. But God is not in time. Time is in God. If you will trust Him and be faithful, it may be a delay, but it’s not a denial.” PAUL CHITWOOD Paul Chitwood, who was elected president of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board in November 2018, told pastors to adopt the wisdom that Nehemiah displayed when he fought off the enemy who was trying to dissuade him from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. “The … [Read more...]

Speakers press messengers to unite for the Gospel

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Wait on God and He will deliver in His timing, Eddie Wren said during his Louisiana Baptist Convention president’s address Nov. 11. Referencing Isaiah 40:27-31, Wren, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Rayville, exhorted Louisiana Baptists to “wait on the Lord. Keep following Him and wait on Him.” “Though the world tells us the church is falling apart, and the world tells us the church is antiquated, though the world tells us we need something else, we must not be shaken,” Wren told messengers. “The rebellious time we live in is no time to compromise. Never believe God doesn’t know where we are. Never listen to the lies of the devil as he tells us God cannot help us. “Though we may be experiencing some difficulties, it’s not the end,” he proclaimed. “Don’t give up; don’t give in. Wait on the Lord and in due time He will renew your strength, He will lift you up and He will change your situation. And you will be renewed. You’ll leave the rubble and despair behind and by God’s grace you’ll soar.” JAKE ROUDVOSKI During two Bible study sessions, Jake Roudvoski, professor of evangelism and church leadership with New Orleans Baptist Theological … [Read more...]