ALEXANDRIA – The Louisiana Baptist Foundation is continuing to use Give-A-Gift to illustrate how the Foundation assists individuals with gifts that benefit Baptist churches and ministries. Each month in 2016 the Louisiana Baptist Foundation is giving away $1,000 and you decide where it goes. In each issue of the Baptist Message and online at www.baptistmessage.com/give-a-gift a submission form is available to participate. Once a month, a name will be randomly drawn from those who submit a form. The person, randomly selected, will have the opportunity to direct a $1,000 gift to the Louisiana Baptist church, ministry or organization they choose. Since March, the Foundation has distributed $7,000 to 6 churches and the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home. For more information go online to BaptistMessage.com/give-a-gift/ or call the Foundation at 877.523.4636. … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, Director of Planned Giving ALEXANDRIA – Recently I was visiting with a friend whom I’ve known for a number of years. He is retired from a full time church staff position but still actively involved in ministry. He asked me a question that caught me by surprise, given his involvement in Baptist life. “What does the Louisiana Baptist Foundation do?” As I attempted to give him a quick explanation, I wondered how many others understood the work of the Foundation. As an agency of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, the Foundation encourages and assists with gifts that benefit Louisiana Baptist churches, and Baptist institutions that are affiliated with the LBC or the Southern Baptist Convention. The church or organization is selected by the donor. Sounds pretty straightforward but giving can be complicated. The LBF typically does not receive gifts for its own benefit. The beneficiary of gifts directed to the Foundation, whether a “pass-through” gift or an endowment managed by the Foundation, is a church or Baptist purpose selected by the donor. There are many ways to give, some as simple as writing a check while other gifts can be fairly complicated. The Louisiana Baptist Foundation can help a donor … [Read more...]

ON THE MOVE Kirk, wife Natalie, Maxey is the new pastor at Bentley Baptist Church. Trey McGuire is the new associate pastor at Freedom Church, Bossier City. Scott Teutsch is the new pastor at Plain Dealing Baptist Church, Plain Dealing. Randy (wife Chelby) Ziegler is the new youth minister at Barksdale Baptist Church, Bossier City. Silas (wife Lauren) Cross is the new pastor at Simpson Baptist Church, Simpson. Dustin Walters is the new youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, Slidell. Maudie Manzano is the new worship minister at Calvary Baptist Church, Slidell. Thomas Simmons is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, Gramercy. HOMECOMING Emmanuel Baptist Church, Arcadia: Homecoming, Nov. 6, 10:30 a.m. with lunch to follow after the service. Speaker: Don Woodard. Pastor: Bob Jameson. Calvary Baptist Church, Shreveport: 90th Homecoming, Nov. 13, 10:50 a.m. Speaker: John Lary. Former music director Price Harris and former Pastor Step Martin also will have spots in the service.  Music: Calvary’s adult and children’s choir. Lunch, which will also serve as the Church’s Thanksgiving dinner, will follow the service. At the conclusion of the meal 90 food baskets will be delivered to families in the … [Read more...]

By Gary D Myers, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees have approved the establishment of an Adrian Rogers Center for Expository Preaching. Additional initiatives also were approved during the trustees' fall meeting to enhance the training of local church pastors and other church leaders -- a Christian leadership major in the doctor of philosophy program and several enhancements to the seminary's master of divinity program. "Dr. Adrian Rogers is one of the most significant alumni in the history of NOBTS -- well-known for a lifetime of excellent expository preaching," President Chuck Kelley said following the trustee meeting. "This center will enhance our ability to train students and prepare them to open God's Word and teach through great expository preaching over the years of their ministry." Rogers, who died in 2005 after 33 years as pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., earned the bachelor of divinity (equivalent to today's master of divinity) at NOBTS in 1958. The Memphis-area pastor and three-time SBC president, launched his radio and television ministry "Love Worth Finding" in 1987. Through Love Worth Finding, millions of people were impacted through … [Read more...]

FOREST HILL - Clyde Holloway, a former congressman, chairman of Louisiana's utility regulatory agency and a Southern Baptist, died Sunday at his home in Forest Hill. He was 72. A Lecompte native, Holloway, a staunch fiscal and social conservative, owned and operated Holloway's Nursery, a business he started with his wife in the early 1970s. He entered Louisiana politics in 1980, when he unsuccessfully ran to unseat U.S. Rep. Gillis Long in the state's 8th Congressional District. He ran unsuccessfully again in a 1985 special election after Long died before winning the seat in an upset in 1986. "I became a Republican because of Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan inspired me to run for Congress," he often said. He was re-elected twice before the 8th District was eliminated following the 1990 Census. Forest Hill was redrawn into the 6th District, where Holloway faced fellow U.S. Rep. Richard Baker. Holloway lost by about 2,700 votes when Baker took clear majorities in the two largest parishes, Livingston and East Baton Rouge, both of them around his home base of Baton Rouge. He would run unsuccessfully for Congress five more times, the last time in 2014. Holloway served as the Louisiana State Director of Rural … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Church planters, state missions staff and numerous guests gathered in the Louisiana Baptist Building Oct. 5 to commemorate the 150th church planted since 2010. This milestone achievement marks the half-way point for the goal of planting 300 churches by 2020 as part of one of the 10 action steps identified in the President’s 2020 Commission Final Report, which was affirmed by messengers during the 2013 LBC Annual Meeting. Planting healthy, biblically sound, multiplying churches is a key component to the seven-year-strategy which seeks to engage two audiences – the next generation and every people group – in reaching Louisiana with the Gospel. James Jenkins, director of church planting for Louisiana Baptists, said the occasion was a celebration of a partnership between church planters, sponsoring churches and directors of missions. “We have been ramping up our rate of church planting over the months and we knew if we were here at this point that we would be able to get to 300 by 2020,” said Jenkins. “I’m excited because every increase in this number actually corresponds with reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “We are baptizing people,” he … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WALKER – Pastor David Lane will be nominated for the office of first vice president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention during the 2016 LBC Annual Meeting. Willis Easley, pastor of Christ’s Community Church in Denham Springs, plans to nominate Lane for the position. Easley said Lane, who has served as senior pastor of Judson Baptist Church in Walker since May 2012, models Christ’s commandment to go and make disciples. “Throughout his ministry Dr. Lane has used his leadership positions to lead others to fulfill the Great Commission not only through his words but also in his actions,” Easley said. “Judson Baptist Church, under his servant leadership, is committed to not only give to the Cooperative program and mission offerings but also to go on international mission trips and participate in local mission projects. David’s servant leadership begins in his home where he is an example of a Godly husband and father of five.” Lane said he is excited about the possibility of serving alongside Gevan Spinney, who is expected to be elected for a second term as LBC president, especially with regard to the Harvest Initiative, a Louisiana Baptist initiative to engage at least 700 churches … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NATCHITOCHES – When his son Cort was born, Josh Currie wondered what baptizing him would be like should that blessing come to pass. Nine years later, a variety of emotions overcame the pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Natchitoches as Cort publicly declared his faith and was baptized by him. “I was joyful and a little relieved,” Currie said. “When he was relieved of the burden of sin and he had experienced salvation -- to now make that decision public through baptism, I felt like at that moment it doesn’t matter what else happens in his life. “I was baptized by my grandfather and I can remember when he brought me back up in the air he was so happy,” he continued. “I remember his excitement more than anything else from that day.” His son concurred. “I felt joy from head to toe when I was baptized,” Cort Currie said. “I had never felt anything like it before.” LEGACY OF FAITH The older Currie pointed to the crucial role Christian parents serve in a child’s spiritual development. But he also lauded various faith-based activities such as Sunday school, Christian camps and Vacation Bible School for contributing to the solid biblical foundation children need in making … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA -- Registration is now open for both the 2016 Ministers’ Wives’ Luncheon and childcare during the Pastors Conference. Scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Kingsville Baptist Church in Ball during the Monday, Nov. 14, session of the Pastors Conference, the Ministers’ Wives’ luncheon will feature Meredith Floyd, wife of Nick Floyd, teaching pastor of Cross Church in Fayetteville, Ark. The first 100 ladies to register will receive a free gift. Tickets are $15 and can be reserved by visiting louisianabaptists.org/mwl by Nov. 1. Those seeking childcare during the Pastors Conference at Kingsville Baptist Nov. 13-14 should contact Jason McGuffie, vice-president of the conference, at fbcpastor.jason@yahoo.com by Nov. 6. … [Read more...]

DEVILLE – For more than 10 years, Philip Robertson, pastor of Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville, had a vision for starting a second campus. During that time, he watched, prayed and waited for God’s timing, when in March 2015, Horseshoe Drive Baptist Church in Alexandria asked the 750-active-member-strong Philadelphia congregation for help in staying viable. Robertson knew that coming alongside this smaller congregation, which had dwindled to about 35 active members, was “God’s will for Philadelphia Baptist Church.” His faithfulness to the multi-site vision God had given him resulted in a re-launch celebration Sept. 18 with 338 in attendance on the Horseshoe Drive campus, now Philadelphia Baptist Church, Horseshoe Drive. A combined 1,022 worshipped on the two campuses that Sunday, and Philadelphia Baptist Church became one congregation in two locations. “It’s very humbling and an honor they would see us as someone they could reach out to,” said Philip Robertson, entering his 21st year as pastor at Philadelphia Baptist. “I have had multi-site ministry on my heart for more than a decade.... It became apparent very early on that God was in this conversation. There began to be affirmation upon affirmation that this … [Read more...]