By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HAUGHTON (LBM) - Members of First Baptist Church in Haughton humbled themselves individually and corporately leading up to the Haughton Harvest, and consequently saw the Holy Spirit convict 160 people of their need for Christ, May 6-9. “We have never prayed as much for a revival as we have for this,” said Pastor Gevan Spinney. “Everyone got involved and when we showed up during the revival, we were expecting God to move. We asked Him to save our friends during that week, and it was really awesome to see God answer those prayers. The biggest thing is we prayed and asked God to show up, and He did.” The Haughton Harvest is one of hundreds of events held or scheduled this year as part of the statewide Harvest campaign to “pray for every home and share with every person” in Louisiana. 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, door-to-door outreach, one-on-one evangelism, single-church revivals and other activities which leverage compassion ministries to share about the love of Christ. FREEDOM IN CHRIST Almost 2,000 people showed up over the course of the four … [Read more...]
Prayer and revival go hand in hand for two Harvest crusades
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NORTHEAST LOUISIANA - Extended prayer preceded revival at a pair of recent Harvest crusades in Louisiana. Twenty-six people committed their lives to Christ during the Red River Crusade, and the Morehouse Youth Revival saw 16 individuals submit to live for Him. “Prayer was absolutely essential to having the effective crusade we experienced,” said Red River Crusade Director Richard Kaufman, pastor of Martin Baptist Church in Coushatta. “We prayed where vehicles would be parked, where people would sit in the stands and even where people would be standing to get their food and drinks in the concessions area. The great evangelist Billy Graham said three keys to revival are prayer, prayer and prayer. The same thing goes for a crusade. I was overwhelmed at just how the Lord blessed our efforts.” Both crusades were among a number held so far this year as part of the statewide Harvest campaign to “pray for every home and share with every person” in Louisiana. 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, door-to-door outreach, one-on-one evangelism, single-church revivals and other … [Read more...]
Trump appoints Tony Perkins to the USCIRF
WASHINGTON (LBM) – Family Research Council President Tony Perkins was one of three evangelical Christians to be appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) May 15. Perkins, FRC founder and a former Louisiana legislator and interim pastor at the Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, American Values President Gary Bauer, and best-selling author and Kairos Company President Johnnie Moore were among five individuals named to the commission charged with protecting religious freedoms globally. Nadine Maenza, executive director of the family advocacy group Patriot Voices, and California State University Associate Professor Tenzin Dorjee also were among appointees joining the three evangelical appointees. Dorjee was named to a second term and former West Virginia First Lady Gayle Conelly Manchin was appointed in April. President Donald Trump named Bauer and Moore to the commission. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tagged Perkins. Perkins vowed as a USCIRF member to help fully implement the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Frank Wolf Act), passed in 2016 to strengthen the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). He also said he would address religious … [Read more...]
Planned Parenthood abortion license may be set back by Louisiana bill signing
By Louisiana Right to Life BATON ROUGE – In a preliminary ruling issued May 23, U.S. District Court Judge John DeGravelles of the Middle District of Louisiana sided with the nation’s largest abortion provider by allowing it to proceed with its case attempting to force the Louisiana Department of Health to issue a license to perform abortions in the same New Orleans facility where taxpayer funded Medicaid family planning services are provided. However, by the afternoon, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and its abortion-providing affiliate, Planned Parenthood Center for Choice, were dealt a setback when Governor John Bel Edwards signed HB 891 (Hoffmann, R-W. Monroe). That legislation creates a firewall between public funding and abortion by requiring that entities who provide Medicaid family planning services and entities that perform abortion must be “physically and financially separate.” The new law may moot Planned Parenthood’s challenge by its requirement that the State obtain guidance from the Trump administration’s Center for Medicaid Services before the law goes into effect. Louisiana is hopeful for favorable guidance from the federal government on Medicaid funds in light of the administration’s recent announcement of … [Read more...]
Hankins: the SBC presidential election
In fewer than three weeks at our annual convention in Dallas, June 12-13, Southern Baptists will elect a new president. The two announced candidates are Dr. J.D. Greear and Dr. Kenneth Hemphill. J.D. Greear ran two years ago and lost to the current SBC president Steve Gaines in a close and controversial decision. After his loss, some suggested that J.D. should be elected without opposition this year because he was such a good sport last time. He was a good sport. Almost every losing candidate across the decades of Southern Baptist life has been gracious in defeat. However, it was never the practice, or even the suggestion that they automatically would be the president the next rotation. We do not elect two presidents at a time. Things change a lot in two years, as they have this last two. Any group of Baptists or even one Baptist may nominate whom they will for president. But no one can confer the office on someone. It is not our practice and should not be. Only the messengers in session can elect a president. So, again this year, the average Baptist messenger will exercise the right to decide who will lead the convention. I am supporting Ken Hemphill for the office. It is not because of personalities. I like both of … [Read more...]
Abraham applauds proposed Title X rule change
By Office of Congressman Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON - Congressman Ralph Abraham is applauding the Trump Administration for proposing a rule change that will help prevent any federal tax dollars from supporting abortions. President Trump’s administration announced last week that the Department of Health and Human Services will seek to change a rule regarding Title X family planning funding. The new rule would bar a clinic from receiving these funds if family planning services and abortions are offered under the same roof. Title X funds account for about $260 million. The largest single recipient is Planned Parenthood, which receives between $50-$60 million per year. No funding would be cut if the rule change is implemented, and savings from non-compliant facilities would be reinvested in other clinics, such as rural and community health centers. Abraham is staunchly pro-life and joined 153 members of the US House of Representatives in writing to HHS Sec. Alex Azar in April requesting the rule change. “Places like Planned Parenthood have no business receiving any taxpayer money to help them perform abortions. This rule change will ensure that family planning funding is actually going toward family planning services, not … [Read more...]
Be all in for Jesus
By Stewart Holloway Have you ever choked on anything? I’ve never choked, but I’ve had difficulty swallowing and that was bad enough. Choking or even coming close to choking is no fun. Yet, every day, people choke on Jesus. They cannot swallow His teaching. They cannot swallow His demands. They cannot swallow the commitment He requires. In John 6:60-71, we see three responses to Jesus: desertion, devotion, and deterioration. We want to be devoted, but a lot of people desert and deteriorate. In other words, they choke on Jesus. How do you know if you might choke on Jesus? Well, one way you choke on food is when it is too much or not what you expect, and that’s usually what happens when people desert Jesus or deteriorate in their faith – He’s too much for them or not what they expect. Typically, it’s not the big issues of the faith that people choke on, it’s the basics. No one wants to be a deserter! So what do we do? How do we avoid choking on Jesus? We become devoted. How do you do that? You resolve to do so. I know of no other way to say it. You commit. You’re all in when others are all out. You decide to follow Jesus, moment by moment day by day no matter what comes along the way. I pray that … [Read more...]
Encouraging words on a bad Friday
By Steve Horn By now you all know that another school shooting has happened — this time in Santa Fe, Texas. Closer to where I live, in the town of St. Martinville, Louisiana, my wife’s hometown, several students died the same day in a car accident. Fun events for seniors, who were anticipating their last day, were canceled. As I sat down to put some thoughts down, I got a news alert that a plane has crashed in Cuba. Meanwhile, high school graduations in my area were happening all weekend. Keenly aware that these graduating seniors aren’t reading my blog today or any day, if I could address every graduating senior, my words would go something like this. Be thankful. Life is fragile. Life is short. Life is far from perfect. The only way to live life to the fullest is to be thankful. Be thankful because you know you didn’t get to where you are by yourself. Be thankful for parents, teachers, coaches, ministry leaders, the military, police, first responders, doctors, dentists, nurses, and many others. Most of all, give thanks to God. I went to a high school sports awards program the other night put on by our local paper. I was thankful and impressed that most every student gave thanks to God. Alex Haley, author of … [Read more...]
Abraham urges passage of Farm Bill
By Office of Congressman Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Ralph Abraham (R-Alto) issued the following statement in response a vote May 18 on the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, commonly known as the farm bill, failed on a 213-198 vote. "Today a small group of Republicans joined Democrats to block the best chance we had to institute work requirements for food stamps so that people can lift themselves out of poverty and enter the workforce,” said Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church. “I know that Democrats have vowed to block bills like this that President Trump supports, but Republicans should be working together instead of holding each other hostage over unrelated issues. This was a good Farm Bill that implemented work requirements for SNAP and provided the policies our farmers rely on for planning so that they can keep feeding this country. Those who voted "no" turned their backs on President Trump and the American farmer. They need to get on board so we can pass this bill that is critical to the success of American agriculture.” … [Read more...]
Louisiana’s Johnson applauds passage of Louisiana prayer bill
By Office of Congressman Mike Johnson WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mike Johnson (LA-04) applauded the Louisiana Legislature on its amended “school prayer bill” (La. Senate Bill 512), which was passed late Friday evening, May 18, in the final moments of the legislature’s 2018 regular session. Earlier this month, Johnson, who previously served as senior legal counsel for America’s largest religious liberty defense organization, joined with many of the nation’s other leading religious liberty attorneys and constitutional law experts to offer suggestions on how to amend the controversial legislation. “We applaud the hard work of the legislature, and especially those principled leaders in the Louisiana House, who stepped forward to correct and pass the revised version of SB 512," Johnson said in a statement. "What began as a very flawed piece of legislation that would have jeopardized the rights to religious expression in public schools was properly amended in the House. The new law will now provide much-needed clarity for students, teachers and coaches throughout Louisiana. “In the complex and widely misunderstood area of the law pertaining to school prayer, legislation is sometimes proposed on a state and local level that … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 6
- Next Page »