By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor [img_assist|nid=8077|title=Prayer|desc=Several events related to the 2012 National Day of Prayer are planned at churches and in communities across Louisiana on Thursday, May 3. This year’s theme is “One Nation Under God,” based on Psalm 33:12.|link=none|align=right|width=600|height=640]STATEWIDE – “In prayer we loose the power of God,” says Dick DeBusk, pastor of Alpine Baptist Church in Pineville. DeBusk is to be one of six men praying at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville May 3, which is one of several events related to the National Day of Prayer that are planned at churches and communities across Louisiana. The 6:30 p.m. hour-long service Thursday, May 3, at Philadelphia Deville is to include specific prayers for 1. Our Nation/Government Leaders; 2. Military/Police/Firemen/First Responders; 3. Schools/Education; 4. Churches; 5. Families/Homes/Marriages/Youth of our Nation; and 6. Missions/Missionaries, reports Ricky Belgard, prayer minister for the last two years at Philadelphia, where he’s been a member about 10 years. “We’re hoping to make this an annual event for our church,” Belgard said. “At this juncture in our nation there … [Read more...]
Wave of Prayer to crest April 29 at state capitol
[img_assist|nid=8080|title=Louisiana State Capitol Building|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor BATON ROUGE – As of April 26, only one of Louisiana’s 64 parishes has not been prayed over during the Awaken Wave of Prayer. Since the first week in March, Louisiana Southern Baptists have been gathering at their parish courthouse or another designated site, to pray for the state and nation, for government leaders, and for churches and for God to send a spiritual awakening to Louisiana. The Awaken Wave of Prayer is to crest at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 29, with an approximately 45-minute-long prayer service on the steps of the state capitol in Baton Rouge. Governor Bobby Jindal has been invited, as have each of the state representatives and state senators. All elected officials in attendance are to recognized for specific prayer, said Wayne Shepherd, Louisiana Baptist Convention’s executive assistant to Executive Director David Hankins. Hankins is to bring the main message at the event, which also is to include a 100-voice mass choir, said Tommy Middleton, executive director of the Baptist Association of Greater Baton … [Read more...]
What America needs now is more free speech, not less
By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor America is as divided politically and ideologically as perhaps it has ever been. As a result, I think it is time for a refresher course on the First Amendment. To borrow a line from an old Kellogg’s Corn Flakes ad: “The First Amendment: Read it again for the first time.” If we are to navigate ourselves out of the political and ideological morass we now find ourselves in, it will require more speech, not less. What we desperately need is unfettered expression of ideas and the debate of their consequences. Religious Americans rally around the First Amendment protection of religious liberty. And well they should. However, closely linked to the idea the government should not impugn religious expression is freedom of speech. Freedom of speech goes hand-in-hand with religious liberty. If religious faith is to be promulgated, a person must be able to freely express the tenets of his or her belief system. Speaking as a person of faith, I believe freedom of religion and speech should be granted without reservation to every citizen. America’s founders believed freedom of speech was critical to the success of the republic they were seeking … [Read more...]
Signs and Wonders: Egypt, Sweden, Abortion, Persecution
By Warren Smith, Vice President World News Group No Respect. Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt mourned the death of their spiritual leader, Pope Shenouda III, who died on March 17 at age 88 after serving in that role for more than 40 years. He was the 117th patriarch of the that church, which traces its history to about 40 A.D., when Jesus’s disciple Mark, the same Mark who authored the Gospel of Mark, brought Christianity to Egypt. So what did Egyptian Muslims do to commemorate the death? Leaders of the Islamic Salafist movement thanked Allah for Pope Shenouda’s death, calling him the “head of the infidels.” According to Compass News Service, the Salafists now make up 20 percent of Egypt’s parliament and are hostile toward Christians. A Salafi teacher, Sheik Wagdy Ghoneim, said of his death, “We rejoice that he is destroyed. He has perished.” Ghoneim said on Mar. 18, the day after Pope Shenouda died, “May God have His revenge on him in the fire of hell – he and all who walk his path.” To be fair, not all Muslims feel the same way. Compass reported, “The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest Islamic group in the country, issued a statement expressing his condolences over the … [Read more...]
The Second Great Awakening – How the West was won
By Keith Manuel, LBC Evangelism Associate The Second Great Awakening (1787-1843) still influences churches today. Some elements of revival planning, mission societies and a few denominations have their roots in this Awakening. There were different aspects of the Awakening that affected America. The first, according to Alvin Reid, was the revival among students in Eastern colleges. These schools, started for the Lord, had become atheistic. William and Mary, an Anglican school, was debating whether Christianity had harmed humanity and at Princeton only two students professed Christ. Revival began at Hampden-Sydney in Virginia through four men who committed themselves to prayer, Bible study and worship. A near riot broke out when unbelieving students heard about the men meeting in their dorm room for worship. However, this opened the door for study in the President’s home, leading to revivals that spread to nearby colleges. Yale experienced a time of revival under President Timothy Dwight, grandson of Jonathan Edwards. After observing the spiritual state of his students, Dwight preached for six months on “Is the Bible the Word of … [Read more...]
Should churches be tax-exempt? (Yes, and here’s why)
Erik Stanley, Legal Counsel Alliance Defense Fund Why is your church tax exempt? Why should it continue to be tax exempt? If I were to sit down and ask you these questions, would you have a clear and coherent answer? I suspect the tax status of our churches is something we seldom think about. After all, tax exemption for churches has always been given and we assume, because of its historical longevity, it always will be given. The fact that many Americans cannot explain why churches are tax exempt indicates a forgotten history and is emblematic of a society that has systematically devalued the church as a beneficial societal institution. Whenever I litigate a case about church tax exemption or speak about the Alliance Defense Fund's Pulpit Freedom Sunday, the inevitable media comments go something like this: "Churches should pay taxes just like everyone else! They have tons of money, so why can't they pay their fair share? Why should churches get a free ride? Make them pay!" Comments like these are more prevalent today than any other time I can remember. Cases involving local governments attempting to tax churches are also becoming more prevalent. For … [Read more...]
Reflections on summertime missions and salvation
By Jason Hiles, Louisiana College As summer approaches the season for short term mission work also draws near. Many churches in Louisiana will be involved in carrying the gospel throughout the United States and the world. In preparation for that great work, it is important to reflect on the indispensable nature of the gospel message and the character of the God who saves through Jesus Christ. In order to properly grasp biblical salvation, one must first understand exactly what humans need to be saved from. This logic shapes discussion in the book of Romans. After some introductory remarks, the argument of Romans 1-3 progresses from a general condemnation of humanity at large to a specific condemnation of those who have rejected God despite the advantage of possessing the Law of Moses. As a result both Gentiles, who have access only to the revelation of nature, and Jews, who have access to God’s Word, find themselves under the wrath of God. Therefore, in chapter 3 Paul concludes that “all, both Jews and Gentiles, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they … [Read more...]
Questions We’ve Pondered
By Bill Warren, NOBTS Question: What do we know from the New Testament about Simon Peter? Bill Warren responds: Peter is probably the best known of the original 12 disciples of Jesus: he had a major role in the early church as he preached at Pentecost in Acts 2, was used by God in a mighty way in Acts 10 to open the door for Gentiles to become Christ-followers without becoming Jews also, and wrote part of the New Testament. While we don’t know as much as we might like about the disciples, several details about Peter are reported. As mentioned in John 1:41, Simon is Peter’s original name, with “Peter” being the Greek translation of the Aramaic name “Cephas” (“rock”) that Jesus’ gave him, with Paul normally using the name “Cephas” for Peter (two exceptions to this are in Galatians 2:7-8). According to John 1:44, Peter and his brother Andrew came from Bethsaida (and Philip also), a fishing town on the other side of the Jordan river from Capernaum and in the territory of Herod Philip, not that of Herod Antipas. By the time when Peter encounters Jesus by the Sea of Galilee and is called to be a disciple (Mark 1:16-17), he is married and living in Capernaum with his mother-in-law … [Read more...]
Help needed across Louisiana in evangelism, construction, hospitality and more
By Staff, Baptist Message Prayer always helps. Giving usually helps. Going? A double blessing: as others are helped, so are those doing the helping. Several ministries across Louisiana are calling for help, leaving it only to Christians to ask God where He wants them to serve. Following are some of many options this spring and early summer: Prison evangelism The annual Angola Prison Revival is set for June 1-2, with 300 men needed. The first 62 can be housed in dorms of the State Police Training Facility at the prison. Background check forms are due in the LBC Evangelism Office by noon, May 10. “We need 300 men to volunteer in order to successfully witness to all 5,200 men on campus,” says Keith Manuel, LBC evangelism associate. “Our desire is to make contact with every man, witness to the lost and pray with the saved. Although the worship services are important, the personal contact with the men is vital.” Because of prison budget restraints, there will not be a worship service in the Rodeo Arena this year, Manuel added. For more information see www.lbc.org/angola. Construction Grace Community Lighthouse Church is a small Southern Baptist church five miles north of Krotz Springs that is … [Read more...]
Joseph Willis set the stage for today’s Louisiana Baptists
By Randy Willis, Special to the Message [img_assist|nid=8089|title=Louisiana Bicentennial|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=320]Editor’s note: To mark the 200th anniversary of Baptists in Louisiana, the following comes from “Joseph Willis: The Apostle to the Opelousas,” written by Randy Willis, fifth great-grandson. Joseph Willis’ tombstone reads: “First Baptist Preacher of the Word West of the Mississippi River.” He was also the first evangelical to preach the first Gospel sermon west of the Mississippi River. His life reads as a history book and a dramatic play performed on the stage of what was at the time a hostile and mostly unexplored foreign land. He first crossed the Mississippi River into the Louisiana Territory before October 1, 1800, the date Napoleon secured the Louisiana Territory from Spain. The Louisiana Territory extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. The territory was vast and largely unexplored with many hidden and not so hidden dangers. [During the Revolutionary War,] Joseph joined General Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox.” Marion operated out of the swampy forest of the Pedee region in the lower part of South Carolina. His … [Read more...]