Week of June 12, 2006 Potpourri DENHAM SPRINGS – Live Oak church: His By Grace in concert; June 25, 10:30 a.m.; Howard Turner, pastor. SHREVEPORT – Pinecroft church:  Joe Bob Alexander, guest speaker; June 18, 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Marty J. Wright, pastor. SHREVEPORT – Kingston Road church: Price Harris, Kingdom  Bound Quartet and the Pinecroft church choir in concert; June 17, 6 p.m. with a fish fry at 5 p.m.; $5 per plate; Trey Lewis, pastor. ST. FRANCISVILLE – First church:  Amy Giacone in concert; June 25, 6 p.m.; Joe Ratcliff, pastor. Youth OAK GROVE – First church: Youth revival; June 26-30, 6 p.m. nightly; Courtney Bolding, Andrea Bennett and Karla Robertson, musical guests; Kevin Miles, speaker/youth minister; Carl Gulde, pastor. Revivals SHREVEPORT – Kingston Road church: June 25, 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.; June 26-28, 6:30 p.m.; Len Turner, evangelist; Jerry Ables, music; Trey Lewis, pastor. BREAUX BRIDGE – First church:  June 25, 10:15 a.m. and 7 p.m.; June 26-28, 7 p.m.; Lyndon Longoria, evangelist; Price Harris, music; Rod Jackson, pastor. Anniversaries BASTROP – Bethel church: 60th; June 25, 11 a.m. with potluck meal to follow; Charles Harlon, guest speaker; Al Duncan, interim … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated one of the most important graduations in the school’s 89-year history May 13, administrators said. NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated one of the most important graduations in the school’s 89-year history May 13, administrators said. One hundred and eighty-six graduates received degrees and certificates during a service in Leavell Chapel on the seminary’s Gentilly campus. The event marked the first post-Katrina graduation on the seminary’s main campus. The Dec. 17, 2005 graduation was held in Birmingham, Ala. The following Louisiana students graduated May 13: Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry Preston Cole Gambordella, Alexandria. Olivia Lea, Maringouin. Uriah J. Oxford, Bossier City: Founding Pastor-Teacher, Christ Fellowship, Bossier City. Catherine Ann Swaim, Kenner: Youth Sunday School Teacher, Crossroads Community Church, Kenner. Master of Arts in Missiology Summer Rains Alexander, Moss Bluff. Master of Arts in Worship Ministries Byron Lee Long, Slidell: Worship Leader, The Harbor Church, Mandeville. Master of Arts in Christian Education Grace Jean … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS - In the midst of disaster, the staff of the Rachel Sims Center put aside their own destroyed homes in order to minister to the city of New Orleans. By Amy Adams Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS - In the midst of disaster, the staff of the Rachel Sims Center put aside their own destroyed homes in order to minister to the city of New Orleans. Because of the selfless act by the staff of The Rachel Sims Center in downtown New Orleans, the center has been back up and running since Oct. 12. The staff has been working around the clock in an effort to get all their programs ready for the area youngsters as they begin to come back for the summer. “We have a variety of different kinds of ministries that we have gotten back to since Katrina,” said Larry Miguez, director of Rachel Sims Center. “One of them in the  summer time has always been the backyard Bible Clubs with the church groups that came in to work with us.” The Rachel Sims Center’s mission has changed and adapted right along with the city they minister to since Hurricane Katrina, Miguez explained. Since Katrina the center has housed groups of volunteers who have come to New Orleans to help with disaster relief and now the … [Read more...]

PORT SULPHUR - Nine months after Hurricane Katrina there are still places in Louisiana with spotty electricity. Lynn Rodrigue, for example, pastor of Port Sulphur Baptist Church, finally was able to turn on the lights in his FEMA trailer just three weeks ago. By Amy Adams Message Staff Writer PORT SULPHUR – Nine months after Hurricane Katrina there are still places in Louisiana with spotty electricity. Lynn Rodrigue, for example, pastor of Port Sulphur Baptist Church, finally was able to turn on the lights in his FEMA trailer just three weeks ago. But the absence of electricity didn’t stop the pastor from ministering to the people in his community, located halfway down the toe of Louisiana’s famous boot shape. “We have become the grocery store for lower Plaquemines Parish, except everyone gets to shop for free,” Rodrigue said. Port Sulphur Baptist began a food distribution ministry four months ago that assists about 550 people each week. The church provides items such as canned goods, cereal, peanut butter, rice, macaroni and cheese, fruit drinks and chips. The church also gives out perhaps 10,000 pounds of water each week. “There’s various agencies we receive this from, and some churches,” … [Read more...]

DALLAS (BP) – When the doctor tells you that the blood gushing from your severed artery isn’t nearly as dangerous as your athlete’s foot, you know you’ve got a bad physician, and it’s time to get a new one. We don’t put ourselves under the care of those who can’t distinguish life-threatening conditions from benign ones. On the contrary, we fire them. DALLAS (BP) – When the doctor tells you that the blood gushing from your severed artery isn’t nearly as dangerous as your athlete’s foot, you know you’ve got a bad physician, and it’s time to get a new one. We don’t put ourselves under the care of those who can’t distinguish life-threatening conditions from benign ones. On the contrary, we fire them. Likewise, no one should subject themselves to the leadership of pastors who cannot distinguish damning doctrinal errors from non-damning ones. The more I hear from emerging church leader Brian McLaren, the more I fear he is not competent to be a leader of God’s people. Recently, he commented on the error-ridden The Da Vinci Code by saying, “Frankly, I don’t think it has more harmful ideas in it than the Left Behind novels.” The problem with what McLaren says here is that he cannot (or will not) distinguish what is … [Read more...]

French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a massive stroke in December 1995. Twenty days later, the 43-year-old father of two awoke from a coma to discover the only muscles in his body unaffected by the stroke were those of his left eye. By blinking, he was able to make it clear that though his flesh was unresponsive, his mind was unimpaired. French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a massive stroke in December 1995. Twenty days later, the 43-year-old father of two awoke from a coma to discover the only muscles in his body unaffected by the stroke were those of his left eye. By blinking, he was able to make it clear that though his flesh was unresponsive, his mind was unimpaired. Through an amazing process, Bauby was soon able to communicate. A special chart was devised that listed the letters of the alphabet based on frequency of usage. As letters were pointed to, Bauby would blink to indicate his selection and thus spell out his communication. Undaunted by his debilitating setback, Bauby continued to write. He worked daily in three-hour shifts, blinking his thoughts one letter at a time as a secretary pointed to the chart. Though the process was painfully slow, by the end of the summer of … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA – The statistics are surprisingly the same, year after year that Louisiana Baptists go on mission to Brazil. By Karen L. Willoughby Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – The statistics are surprisingly the same, year after year that Louisiana Baptists go on mission to Brazil. “We’ll see 2,000 to 3,000 people get saved in a week,” said Wayne Jenkins, evangelism and church growth team leader for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. “We’re doing a lot of different kinds of things in hopes we can touch as many people as possible. “Every year we have hundreds saved as a result of coming into the clinics,” added Jenkins, who with Dwight Lowrie of Texarkana, Texas, has led a team to Brazil for 23 years, this year to Greater Sao  Paulo, where about 20 million people live. About 150 Louisianians from several churches are expected to participate this year in the July 14-27 mission trip. A construction crew is set to build an orphanage and chapel; 19 teams are to be involved in church-type and street evangelistic events; and six teams in medical/dental clinics. VBS workers make up the largest component of volunteer missionaries. And rounding out the plans, some will work in sports clinics while … [Read more...]

NEW IBERIA – When Mennonites came to New Iberia to minister through disaster relief, they turned to Southern Baptists for a place to worship. By Amy Adams Message Staff Writer NEW IBERIA – When Mennonites came to New Iberia to minister through disaster relief, they turned to Southern Baptists for a place to worship. “When we go out as Mennonite Disaster Services, one of the things we usually try to do is find a home church that we can attend on a regular basis and since there is no Mennonite church in this area we chose the First Baptist Church of New Iberia,” said Mike Wilson, MDS project director. “We have been blessed by our attendance here and that’s because we have not only been spiritually fed very well, we have also been physically fed very well.” MDS came to southwest Louisiana earlier this year to help rebuild what Rita tried to demolish late last summer, and is working on six homes in the area at the present time. They anticipate staying until the end of the year at least. Most of their volunteers come from all over the United States and some from Canada; one man even came all the way from Germany. Unlike the way the Southern Baptist Convention does disaster relief, not all MDS … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS – Southern Baptists from across the nation have their hammers out and ready. By Amy Adams Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS – Southern Baptists from across the nation have their hammers out and ready. Operation NOAH [New Orleans Area Hope] Rebuild and Baptist Crossroads both are national SBC projects focused on New Orleans with the singular goal of reaching people for Christ through construction ministry, leaders say. “We are experiencing a great affirmation from the Father in this project, for we started it before the storm and are the only building blitz going on in the flood zone in New Orleans,” said Dr. David Crosby, senior pastor of First Baptist New Orleans and visionary for Baptist Crossroads. Baptist Crossroads anticipates building 40 single-family homes over the next 10 weeks in the New Orlean’s traumatized Upper Ninth Ward. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity and WorldChangers, a North American Mission Board teenage construction ministry, Baptist Crossroads expects to involve upwards of 3,000 volunteers over a 10-week period. They will hammer and saw in new construction of 10 houses each week. NOAH’s goal involves rebuilding 1,000 hurricane-damaged homes and 20 churches … [Read more...]

GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP) – Billy Graham’s impact on the Southern Baptist Convention will last for generations, and a bronze sculpture unveiled June 14 at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention will likewise cement forever the famous evangelist and his Gospel message for passersby in downtown Nashville, Tenn. By Jeff Robinson Baptist Press GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP) – Billy Graham’s impact on the Southern Baptist Convention will last for generations, and a bronze sculpture unveiled June 14 at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention will likewise cement forever the famous evangelist and his Gospel message for passersby in downtown Nashville, Tenn. Representatives from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), sculptor Terrell O’Brien and financers Chris Fryer and Matt Samuelson joined officials from LifeWay Christian Resources and SBC President Bobby Welch to dedicate a larger-than-life sculpture of Graham during a brief ceremony. Graham’s grandson, William Franklin Graham IV, who pastors a small Southern Baptist church outside Winston Salem, N.C., closed the ceremony in prayer. The sculpture features a seven-foot-tall depiction of Graham standing beside a 17-foot … [Read more...]