God’s word, Spirit sufficient to capture souls of the lost The seeker–friendly churches do indeed draw crowds of curious people. But how many are saved and stay and grow spiritually? Crowds flocked to Jesus but many turned away after the miracles and wonders ceased. I agree with Bob Burneys’ article [Willow Creek’s Sobering Confession, Nov. 15] however, he left out another man that has led this movement in many Southern Baptist churches –  Rick Warren. I have a friend in California that saw churches split and hearts broken by the Purpose Driven movement.  When the early disciples went out they depended on Gods’ Word and His Spirit to win the lost. In the last few decades the Church has left the Word and began ‘marketing’ the Gospel like Wall Street promotes new products. Someone started a rumor about a great end–time revival and men have been trying to bring it to pass. God alone can bring revival and there hasn’t been one truly powerful one in this generation. Christianity is under a great spiritual attack from without and within. When Paul wrote to Timothy he said the time will come when people will turn away from the truth.  II Timothy 3:5 says that people would one day be characterized as “having a form of … [Read more...]

The annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention each year spawns several affinity group gatherings. ALEXANDRIA – The annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention each year spawns several affinity group gatherings. A perennial favorite is the luncheon provided by the LBC Pastoral Ministry Team for those people now retired from vocational ministry. The event this year took place at Emmanuel Baptist, where the kitchen staff prepared a succulent meal of brisket, home-made rolls and several vegetables, plus a variety of desserts. After background keyboarding by LBC Music Strategist Randy Turner, and welcomes given by Director Bill Robertson and Bivocational/Small Church Strategist Gary Mitchell, Pat Lofton brought a few words on “Bearing fruit in the fourth quarter.” Lofton is a retired director of missions now living in Epps. “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age,” Lofton read from Psalm 92. Since the average life span in America today for a person is about 75 years, the first quarter of life might be said to be from birth to age 20, Lofton said. Giving two decades to each quarter, people more than 80 might be considered to be in overtime, he added. “You might want to get on the bench and … [Read more...]

The Ladies Auxiliary at Pineville Grace Baptist work six months or more each year developing items for their annual Christmas Bazaar. PINEVILLE – The Ladies Auxiliary at Pineville Grace Baptist work six months or more each year developing items for their annual Christmas Bazaar. Wall decorations, ornaments, jewelry, ceramics, gardening baskets, quilted aprons, baked goods, jelly, pralines and much more, are offered for three hours the first Saturday in December, or as long as supplies last. The event, which started in 1993, is to raise money for missions, said Stephanie Aycock, president of the auxiliary. Forty percent of the proceeds go to missions through the International Mission Board and North American Mission Board, said Debbie Jones, secretary/treasurer. The rest is scattered among several of the church’s mission interests: Community Health Works, a young girl at an orphanage in VietNam, needy families, Doll and Toy Fund, Main Street Mission, school supplies, food drive, Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home and more. Each year the income from the bazaar rises, and the Ladies Auxiliary is able to do more than in previous years. In 2006, $2,000 was raised. No word yet on what came in last weekend. Leon Hyatt is … [Read more...]

DERIDDER – First Baptist is collecting unused/new Christmas cards to be sent to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq providing them with cards to send home to their loved ones at Christmas. Lindsey Burns is pastor. BATON ROUGE – Goodwood Baptist’s Alaska missionary Buckie Smithen is to lead a series of studies on Wednesdays through Dec. 12. The youth fundraiser performances of  “Uncle Phil’s Diner” are set at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 8. Roger Sullivan is interim pastor. RUSTON – Financial Peace University orientation meetings are set for 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, and Sunday, Jan. 6, at Temple Baptist. Rick Byargeon is pastor. BATON ROUGE – Jefferson Baptist is collecting items for the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home White Christmas. Food and kitchen items, paper products, clothing, linens and gift cards are being accepted. The church’s radio station, WBRJ 105.7 FM, is to begin playing Christmas music and requests CDs of wholesome Christmas carols. T.C. French Jr. is pastor. MANY – Sammy Gilbreath, an Alabama State Missionary, is to be the speaker at First Baptist during both worship services, Sunday. Dec. 9. Steve Kelly is pastor. BATON ROUGE – Woodlawn Baptist has recently collected and sent money … [Read more...]

COMINGS, GOINGS Kyle Coates, resigned as pastor of Eastside Baptist, Rayville. Henry Geter, new as minister of music at Broussard Grove, Prairieville coming from Eden Baptist, Ponchatoula.  NEEDED Old Zion Baptist, Albany, needs full-time pastor. Send resumes to PO Box 777, Albany LA 70711. Grace Memorial Baptist, Slidell, needs part-time music secretary. First Baptist, Harrisonburg, needs full-time associate pastor to students. Send resumes to PO Box 707, Harrisonburg LA 71340 or email to thomygreen@bellsouth.net. Mt. Hope, Oakdale, needs part-time youth minister. Send resumes to PO Box 544, Oakdale LA 71463. Broadmoor Baptist, Baton Rouge, needs part-time sound technician. Call 225.927.5454. First Baptist, Minden, has a secretarial position opening for the Outreach, Youth and Children’s Ministries. Resumes may be dropped by the church office.  Jefferson Baptist, Baton Rouge, needs part-time nursery worker. Call 225.923.0356. Philadelphia Baptist, Deville,  needs nursery workers. Call 318.442.0754. Ridge Avenue Baptist, West Monroe, needs a teacher for its English as a Second Language class. Call Brenda Hood at 318.322.6928.   … [Read more...]

An estimated 2.5 million people contracted the virus that causes AIDS last year, bringing the total number of people in the world living with HIV/AIDS to 33.2 million, according to updated figures from UNAIDS, the joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS.  GENEVA, Switzerland (BP) – An estimated 2.5 million people contracted the virus that causes AIDS last year, bringing the total number of people in the world living with HIV/AIDS to 33.2 million, according to updated figures from UNAIDS, the joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS. Also, an estimated 2.1 million individuals died from AIDS in 2007, based on the best available information released in a report by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization Nov. 20. Of the more than 30 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 2.5 million are children, UNAIDS reported in its global summary of the AIDS epidemic. More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981, UNAIDS said, and Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans. The UNAIDS report drew attention mostly because it contained numbers indicating United Nations scientists have long overestimated both the size and course of the AIDS epidemic, The Washington Post said. Estimates released in November showed a more than 40 … [Read more...]

After her 19-year-old daughter was killed in an automobile accident, Helen didn’t know how she would get through the holidays. “The idea of facing an empty chair from Thanksgiving through the new year intimidated and even terrified me,” she remembers. After her 19-year-old daughter was killed in an automobile accident, Helen didn’t know how she would get through the holidays. “The idea of facing an empty chair from Thanksgiving through the new year intimidated and even terrified me,” she remembers. After talking about that issue with her husband, the couple came up with a creative solution. They decided to fill the empty chair with someone else. “Granddad flew in for Thanksgiving. On Christmas eve, a widowed neighbor joined us for dinner. One of my husband’s colleagues, who was recently divorced and would otherwise have spent the day alone, joined us for Christmas Day. And on New Year’s Day, a college friend of our daughter’s came and had brunch with us. All in all, there was never an empty chair, and amazingly, our visitors eased our holiday pain considerably.” For the majority of people, the holidays are a festive, happy time filled to overflowing with bonds of love. But for those who have experienced the … [Read more...]

Getting a book published is a very exciting venture and the Rev. Robert L. “Bob” Adams is naturally pleased, but also very humbled by his experience. Getting a book published is a very exciting venture and the Rev. Robert L. “Bob” Adams is naturally pleased, but also very humbled by his experience. This quiet-spoken Bogalusa First Baptist Church pastor has written articles for many different religious publications over the years, but Growing Up In Charis is his first book. It is a children’s book, but not with large pictures and few words that small children would enjoy. It is more for middle and older children, with several line drawings by Lane Tanner, a young man in Adams’ congregation who also created the cover. It might be described as being somewhere between the fantasy style of “Alice in Wonderland” and the spiritual impact of Chronicles of Narnia. Growing Up In Charis is “a magical story of four everyday children who live in a land where it is always light and never dark. Mirrors in the grass, bubbles at sea, and an old bent over man are just a few of the unseen experiences that awaken the children to an unseen but very real presence.” This charming story was written by Adams four years ago for his four … [Read more...]

It’s a cheap shot to criticize socially conservative American “values voters” for narrowing the political litmus test to abortion and “same-sex marriage,” because “narrowing” and “prioritizing” are two different things. It’s a cheap shot to criticize socially conservative American “values voters” for narrowing the political litmus test to abortion and “same-sex marriage,” because “narrowing” and “prioritizing” are two different things. Can there be a higher priority or a more compelling moral issue than 3,600 babies dying every day? If a child is born poor, he at least has some chance of escaping poverty. If he is killed before he is born, he doesn’t have a chance of escaping his mother’s womb. We lose more babies through abortion every year than the total fatalities in all of the wars in which we have ever participated, commencing with the French and Indian War and including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War I, and Gulf War II. What’s wrong with religious people who are not making this their paramount issue? Again, I would contend that supporting traditional marriage is not narrowing, but prioritizing. Marriage is the … [Read more...]

Incongruous as it sounds, atheists are now organizing Sunday Schools. TIME magazine reports in its Dec. 3 issue that many non-believing parents are concerned that their children are not adequately grounded in secular thought and feel left out of experiences like Sunday School that are common among their friends. Incongruous as it sounds, atheists are now organizing Sunday Schools. TIME magazine reports in its Dec. 3 issue that many non-believing parents are concerned that their children are not adequately grounded in secular thought and feel left out of experiences like Sunday School that are common among their friends. Reporter Jeninne Lee-St. John understands that the idea seems a bit strange. “On Sunday mornings, most parents who don’t believe in the Christian God, or any god at all, are probably making brunch or cheering at their kids’ soccer game, or running errands or, with luck, sleeping in. Without religion, there’s no need for church, right?” Well, not exactly. TIME explains this new development: “But some nonbelievers are beginning to think they might need something for their children. ‘When you have kids,’ says Julie Willey, a design engineer, ‘you start to notice that your co-workers or friends have church … [Read more...]