By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE -- Louisiana College elevated one of its own as dean of the School of Human Behavior, Dr. Joshua Joy Dara, who is senior pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Pineville. Having previously served as an adjunct professor, Dara became assistant professor for Criminal Justice in 2017. As dean, Dara will oversee Psychology, Social Work, Criminal justice, and the graduate program for Social Work. Dara’s expectations for the School of Behavior to be known for academic excellence and successful graduates: “Social work is community-oriented work. A lot of our students in criminal justice are going in to law enforcement, some will become lawyers or border patrol even psychology, we are sending people into society,” said Dara. “I want our school to produce students that will change the world for the glory of God.” Because he loves teamwork, Dara utilizes his life experiences to dedicate service that contributes to the success of Louisiana College. “I served as an adjunct professor for 2-3 years, then I became an assistant professor, and I have been in this role as a full-time employee for more than a year. So if you look at it together, it’s been about 4 years,” Dara said. "Dr. Dara's life … [Read more...]

LSU expands alcohol sales in Tiger Stadium LSU football fans 21-years and older will be able to buy beer in the “The Chute,” a ground level venue with the capacity for 1,250 customers at any one time. Before last year, alcohol sales were restricted to premium seating areas associated with the “Stadium Club” and suites. The “Skyline Club,” a section of 1,500 seats in the upper level of the south end, opened for beer and wine sales in 2017. LSU officials seem intent on following the example of the University of Texas, which began stadium-wide alcohol sales in 2015, and Ohio State, which began to sell beer and wine stadium-wide last year. Drag Queen movement expands in Louisiana Lafayette joins New Orleans in hosting a public library reading time for kids, targeting children 3-6 years old, led by a drag queen. The latest “Drag Queen Storytime” effort is being led by Delta Lambda Phi, a fraternity for gay, bisexual and transgender men, at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Joel Robideaux has ordered a review of the library’s “approval process for taxpayer-funded events.” But library officials shot back that the program is needed to show children “every person is unique and … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY – Luke Allen dreamed of starting a church in Seattle, Washington, shortly after his graduation from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, but God shifted his church planting focus to his hometown of Shreveport-Bossier City. After his May 2010 graduation, Allen and his wife, Ashley, found themselves meeting inside a rented warehouse in Bossier City with 40 other members of their core group to dream about how God would use them to reach the ethnic communities within their metro area with the Gospel through their predominantly Anglo congregation, the Covenant Church. Over the next eight months, the Lord stirred a passion within them to reach people who had never or occasionally attended worship services as well as connect with those who grew up in church, but as they reached adulthood saw it irrelevant to their lives. “Shreveport-Bossier is a little deceptive in that there are a lot of churches, but a lot of unreached people,” Allen said. “The area is very religious, but also is one of the worst places to live in terms of abortion, homicide and poverty. Though maybe biblically minded, a majority of people don’t follow Christ’s teachings. … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer VIVIAN – Laura Hale lay nearly comatose in a Shreveport hospital March 8, but managed to muster up a tune that planted Gospel seeds into the heart of her husband, Tim. Although he could not understand most of what she sang in the days before her untimely death, Tim managed to decipher one word that gave him hope – Jesus. Four months later, his wife’s deathbed testimony led to his decisions to repent for salvation, commit his life to Christ and obey by being baptized. “I was raising our twins after she passed away and at that point I thought I needed some spiritual guidance for my family,” he said. “I decided then I wished to be baptized in the muddy waters of the river like Jesus -- that was going to be my path as I started my spiritual journey.” RIVER OF LIFE Tim was baptized with three others during a special riverside service hosted by Mt. Gilead Baptist Church in Vivian, July 29. One by one, each of the new believers stepped into the warm waters of the Red River near Hosston to publicly state his or her individual faith in Christ. “Just a few hours before the baptisms, we had three inches of rain fall, but by the time of the service God gave us perfect weather that … [Read more...]

By David E. Hankins, Executive Director of Louisiana Baptist Convention I made the decision. I am going to attend the fifty year reunion of my high school graduating class in a few weeks. As I read posts about this event on social media, I think everyone in the class must be having the same questions I do: (1) where did all the time go, and (2) who are all these senior citizens? I am passing/approaching the half-century mark in other areas as well. I preached my first sermon just over fifty years ago. The fiftieth anniversary of my wedding is a few months away as is that of my ordination to the ministry. There is something sobering about measuring life events in segments of fifty years. As I look back on the past half century, I remember the aspirations I had at the beginning. It was my desire that my life and ministry would be faithful, fulfilling, and fruitful. Have I hit the mark? Others (and ultimately God) will be the final arbiters; but I hope that there is evidence of my having lived consistently with these aims. FAITHFULNESS I remember sitting in a restaurant as a high-schooler while my dad had a cup of coffee with a colleague. At one point, the man said, “David, what are you going to be?” My dad answered … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE – Sherwood Baptist Church was at a crossroads only a year after renovating facilities that had been damaged heavily by the historic flood of August 2016. The multi-ethnic congregation was well-positioned with regard to location, space and amenities to minister to the surrounding neighborhood, but membership had dropped. After months of seeking the Holy Spirit’s direction, Pastor Bruce Worrell was introduced in September to Josh Causey, pastor of Living Hope Fellowship, a predominately Anglo congregation, in Baton Rouge. Following multiple meetings to facilitate a merger, the two churches became one congregation February 25, creating a strong and dynamic body focused on reaching a community ripe for harvest. “Both congregations voted 100 percent to come together and that’s what I call a miracle,” Worrell said. “Before we came together, the group I was left with was a group that, first of all, loved the Lord and they loved the people of this community regardless of an individual’s background or economic status. They wanted to see this lighthouse continue to shine. “They were willing to step out of their comfort zone and move forward with some new ideas and some new … [Read more...]

By Perry Hancock, President & CEO of Louisiana Baptist Children's Home If you drive around any town or city in Louisiana you will find children in need. Our state has one of the highest poverty rates for children in America. According to the latest census data, over 300,000 children in Louisiana (29 percent) live below the poverty level. Louisiana is ranked 49th in the nation for overall child well-being and 50th for child economic well-being. In Monroe, the numbers are even more alarming. The poverty rate for children is almost 57 percent, the highest of the seven largest cities in the state including New Orleans. Monroe is not only the most poverty-stricken city in Louisiana but it is the 4th poorest city in the country. The demographics show that children make up the largest segment of those living in poverty. These children have low academic outcomes. They suffer from high rates of social anxiety. They have more health issues than other children. They are more likely to have feelings of depression and despair. Even more disturbing is the fact that these children often have a negative view of God. “If God loves me so much, why doesn’t He do something to help me?” These precious children have great … [Read more...]

By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter LAFAYETTE – Tears glistened in Shermane Reed’s eyes as she recounted the horror of the abuse she experienced as a child, and how the power of God’s healing brought redemption to her life. As a Mending the Soul facilitator and coordinator of the recovery support group at The Bayou Church in Lafayette, Reed has told her story to countless women and men. It is one of sexual abuse as a child, Reed said, and it helps her to connect with other abuse survivors. It was through the ministry of Mending the Soul that Reed was able to find hope and healing. Mending the Soul is a recovery support group that offers hope for those dealing with all forms of abuse. The 15-week study is a personal and specific look at the effects of abuse that brings hope for personal healing and provides deep discipleship. The intense study, Reed said, may be painful at times, but will lead to God’s healing and help individuals find redemptive purposes for the pain. “I grew up in church. My family was very religious. We went to church every Sunday and every Wednesday night prayer meeting. My Dad was very well known throughout the community, and everyone thought he was the perfect family man. But behind … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer JENA – The Harvest is coming to LaSalle Parish and churches from the LaSalle Baptist Association with some congregations from other denominations are praying for a bumper crop of souls. “Tomorrow’s Hope GO TELL Crusade” will be held Sept. 23-26 at Jena High School gymnasium with Rick Gage, founder of GO TELL Crusades in Duluth, Georgia, and Scott Camp, founder of Scott Camp Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas, bringing Gospel messages and vocalists, as well as an area choir, sharing about Christ through music. “We as the Christian community have the only hope for man,” said crusade chairman Wayne Davis. “There is a large segment of our population that doesn’t even know there is hope. You can see the hopelessness on their face. But those in our parish who know Christ definitely have the hope of Jesus that we will share with them throughout the crusade, and well after.” The crusade is part of the statewide Harvest campaign to “pray for every home and share with every person” in Louisiana through the end of 2018. Nearly 900 of 1,650 Louisiana Baptist churches have signed up to participate in concentrated prayer and soul-winning activities such as multi-church crusades, … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message The Louisiana Baptist Singing Ministers are gearing up for a busy 2018-19 concert season that includes a stop at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. With the first performance just a week away, this group of 55 music ministers and laymen are eager to hit the highways and bi-ways of the state and share God’s love through their variety of music that includes a cappella spirituals, hymn arrangements and contemporary Christian tunes. “The spiritual and musical challenges of being in Singing Ministers builds our abilities to be used by God ‘on the road’ and especially when we go back to our individual home churches,” said Frank Nihard, public relations officer with the group. Since they organized in 1974, the Louisiana Baptist Singing Ministers have presented concerts at churches, detention centers, intervention program facilities and prisons. During each performance, the group collects an offering for needy students. The collection helps fund the Louisiana Baptist All State Choir and scholarships for two Louisiana College and two New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary students preparing for music ministry. Several former scholarship recipients are now members of the group. The … [Read more...]