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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

While closed during pandemic, Acadian Baptist Center opens new worship facility

By Message Staff EUNICE, La. (LBM) - Acadian Baptist Center leaders recently celebrated the completion of their first ever worship center. The $3 million, 18,000-sq.-ft. facility was finished May 13, and can accommodate up to 1,000 people. Construction began in April 2019. Camp Director James Newsom said he appreciated the effort led by builder Joey West, a member of First Baptist Church in Pine Prairie, and architect Brodie Ardoin, a member of First Baptist Church in Ville Platte. Many others in the area volunteered to help with the project, Newsom said. “The new worship center at ABC is an amazing miracle,” Newsom told the Baptist Message. “It is humbling to think thousands of young people will be worshipping there for many years to come even after we are long gone impacting our world for Christ.”   … [Read more...]

Statement regarding George Floyd and the ensuing riots

By Rod Martin and affirmed by Conservative Baptist Network team In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. For this reason, while strongly affirming due process for all involved, we equally strongly condemn the death of George Floyd and also the rioting in Minneapolis and elsewhere. Every human being is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). An attack on any person, whether intentional or merely reckless, is an affront to a holy God. The people of God must stand for innocent life at all times and in all situations. Police brutality is always wrong. It assaults the innocent, and it also endangers the countless good and heroic police officers upon whom we all depend. But likewise, rioting is not protest. Rioting is not protected by the First Amendment. Rioters are not sympathetic figures. Rioters are engaging in a form of domestic terrorism and should be dealt with accordingly.  These are not normal criminals — they are rioting to advance a political point, which is not just a crime but an act of terrorism.  And their message is simple: give us what we want or die. Civil society cannot long endure such acts — not of police brutality and not of mass violence — both of … [Read more...]

VIDEO: Healing the divide with Fred Luter and Dennis Watson

By Message Staff NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM) - New Orleans pastors Fred Luter and Dennis Watson recently participated in a dialogue about race, relations, respect and restoration. The discussion took place virtually on June 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPa6gsDlAyM&fbclid=IwAR1eN621YV0YJtvXhE_gyRcNvseTs28-G5anq5zZ7l3ztaSbRnP_cgTKa7A … [Read more...]

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Where We Are Now)

By Chuck Kelley The numbers are the numbers. Southern Baptists may be reluctant to accept the reality of the pervasive presence of decline and the loss of a vibrant evangelistic culture in SBC churches, but the official statistics of the Southern Baptist Convention paint a compelling portrait of churches struggling mightily to reach new converts and to hold on to people already in the fold. In spite of multiple efforts by a variety of people to stimulate growth, the SBC continues to decline. Doctors check the vital signs of temperature, weight, and blood pressure at every visit looking for indicators of how healthy we are. The chart below reviews the vital signs of Great Commission health for the SBC from 2010 through 2018, the most recent year for official SBC statistics. Complete statistics for 2019 are expected within the next two weeks. Both charts will be updated as soon as those numbers are made public. Statistical Snapshots of the SBC (2007-2018) This chart does not include two other sobering indicators of Great Commission health. LifeWay Research reports that from 20011-2018, the SBC lost an average of 1,144 churches a year who gave up their SBC ID number. Also, in 2000 the average number of baptisms … [Read more...]

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Evangelism Task Force)

By Chuck Kelley In 2017, SBC President Steve Gaines appointed an Evangelism Task Force, chaired by Paige Patterson, to investigate how Southern Baptists could be more effective in personal soul-winning and evangelistic preaching. Unlike earlier initiatives which received significant Convention attention, this Task Force made its final report to a distracted SBC President and largely uninterested messengers during the SBC meeting in Dallas in 2018. Evangelism and concerns about decline were completely overshadowed by other issues. The report was merely read into the record and formally approved by the Convention with little comment. However, while it is much too early to assess its impact, initial indications are that the recommendations of this Task Force may eventually make a measurable difference in SBC baptism numbers. The Evangelism Task Force (2018) The Evangelism Task Force can be distinguished from others in several ways. Clearly and publicly, the Task Force was instructed by the Convention to focus on direct evangelism. Clearly and publicly, members were told to suggest how churches could act effectively on the evangelism mandate. More importantly, the Task Force created an expectation for the North American Mission … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptists remain faithful during social, economic storm

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) - While many businesses in the state have been hit hard by coronavirus-related closings or reduced operations, a number of Louisiana Baptist congregations have reported remarkable faithfulness by members in financially supporting ministries across the state. Stacy Morgan, an associate with the Louisiana Baptists communications team, said most of the almost 400 pastors he has spoken with since mid-March have reported little to no significant financial hardships. He said creative measures taken to continue worship services, offer online giving platforms as well as the special efforts by pastors to touch the lives of their congregations despite "social distancing" and "stay-at-home" mandates have made a difference. “Church members are seeing first-hand how much their pastors care for them, and the pastors are really desperate to find any way necessary to reach their people,” Morgan told the Baptist Message. “Many churches are concerned about the coming months and the prospect of jobs returning. “However, God's faithfulness thus far has fueled their hope for the future,” he continued. “The recurring theme has been the faithfulness of God and His … [Read more...]

Webber, pastor, LBC servant, goes home to glory

By Message Staff VIDALIA, La. (LBM) - Ralph Webber, whose ministry spanned 70 years, died May 28. He was 89. Born June 3, 1930, in Jonesville, Webber was ordained to preach at 20 years old while attending Louisiana College. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from LC and later earned divinity degrees at the master and doctoral levels with New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Throughout the years Webber with his wife, Ann, by his side during their 66 years of marriage, served as pastor of Utility Baptist Church, Jonesville; Sicily Island First Baptist Church; First Baptist Church of LaPlace; Suburban Baptist Church, New Orleans; Vidalia First Baptist Church; Harrisonburg First Baptist Church; and, the Osyka Baptist Church in Mississippi . He also served as interim pastor of the Immanuel Baptist Church, Natchez, Miss., as well as a number of other congregations in Delta, LaSalle, and Ouachita associations. Webber also served as director of missions and ministry with the Louisiana Baptist Convention from May 1981 to February 1997. During that time, he worked with 78 churches in Catahoula, Concordia, LaSalle and Tensas parishes. Funeral services for Webber were held May 31 at First Baptist Vidalia. Webber is … [Read more...]

Five old innovations for our new day

By Lane Corley It’s a new day. New normals will emerge. Our churches are picking up new technologies and new innovations to help us continue to deliver the gospel. In this season of new, of change, of adaptation, there may also be some OLD innovations that we need to circle back to. As we reset our churches over the coming days, consider resetting these five practices and attitudes: The prayer chain –principle: mobilize prayer for the church and the lost. Growing up Southern Baptist, every church my family was a part of had a prayer chain. The prayer chain was a phone network built to mobilize prayer quickly when need arose in the congregation or community. How can your congregation be more effective at mobilizing prayer for one another, for the lost, for the community? Today, we have technologies available to us that can greatly enhance the impact of prayer mobilization. We all encourage prayer. How can we move from encouraging prayer to mobilizing prayer? What innovative approaches to prayer can we develop in the new normal? Discipleship training – principle: train the faithful to train others. The creativity of churches has grown tremendously over the last 20 years. Graphic design, stage design, sermon series … [Read more...]

Chuck Kelley on the state of the SBC (Pastors’ Task Force)

By Dr. Chuck Kelley In 2013, only three years after the GCR proposals were adopted, Al Gilbert, NAMB Vice President for Evangelism, convened a task force of twelve pastors and five denominational workers to take yet another look at the issue of steadily declining baptisms. The group sought to examine carefully the state of evangelism in Southern Baptist churches, to identify whatever problems might be at play, and to ask how those problems could be addressed. Pastors’ Task Force on SBC Evangelistic Impact and Declining Baptisms (2014) The group assessed key Great Commission statistics, sharing honestly the evidence indicating the regression of evangelism in the SBC. They found clear indications that SBC churches were experiencing a crisis in making an evangelistic impact on their communities. The task force did not refer to the GCR proposals, the God’s Plan for Sharing initiative, or any other previous approach to SBC decline in their report. Without elaborative details, the Task Force concluded that five problems were driving decline in the Southern Baptist Convention: Southern Baptists had a spiritual problem (need for revival), a leadership problem (need to model evangelism), a discipleship problem (lack of intentionality), … [Read more...]

Ebenezer girl became child of God on Mother’s Day

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HAMMOND, La. (LBM) – The most recent Mother’s Day weekend resulted in an extra celebration for Lachee and Chris Morgan. Their daughter, Bry’Anna, 8, told her parents on May 7 – three days before the holiday – she had declared Jesus as her Savior and wanted to share the decision publicly through baptism. “We prayed together and all cried,” Lachee told the Baptist Message. “As a parent, the only thing you can hope for is your children accept Jesus and that you will all be together for eternity. Eternity is so much bigger than life here and are excited Bry’Anna will join us in Heaven one day.” Bry’Anna, who stirred the baptismal waters at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hammond, May 24, said her salvation experience evoked an incredible joy and excitement that has not waned. “I was happy and excited then, and am still now,” Bry’Anna said. “My job as a Christian is to tell everyone about Jesus and what He did. I can’t wait to do so much for Him.” PRAYER-FOCUSED RESULTS Pastor Ken Schroeder credits a church committed to pray for a harvest for Bry'Anna's openness and readiness to receive salvation and her subsequent obedience in baptism. Hers was the sixth salvation and baptism … [Read more...]